Naha

Naha is the capital of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, with an estimated 317,405 people on 1 June 2019 in 39.98 square kilometres. That works out at 7,939 people per square kilometre, so the city is small on the map and dense on the ground. It sits on the East China Sea coast of southern Okinawa Island, which runs about 106 kilometres end to end and lies roughly 640 kilometres south of Kyushu. The modern city dates from 20 May 1921, but the port was the commercial centre of the Ryukyu Kingdom long before that, and the prefecture still reads as its own place.

Kokusai-dori, the International Avenue, is 1.6 kilometres of shops, restaurants and bars, and it is where most first evenings go. Makishi Market is the food end of the same walk, and chanpuru, the Okinawan stir-fry, is the dish to order. Shuri Castle, in the Shuri district, was the palace of the Ryukyu Kingdom from 1429 to 1879 and has been a World Heritage site since 2000 as part of the Gusuku Sites of the Kingdom of Ryukyu. Its main courtyard buildings burned on 31 October 2019; the rebuild is still running, with a completion ceremony scheduled for 22 November 2026, so check what is open before you walk up. The Okinawa Prefectural Museum, open since November 2007, covers the art, history and natural history of the Ryukyus.

Naha Airport, IATA code OKA, is 4 kilometres west of the city hall and operates around the clock, so a late arrival is workable. From the port, a daily ferry links Naha with Kagoshima, and smaller boats run to the Kerama islands, Tokashiki, Aka and Zamami, which lie 32 kilometres southwest of Okinawa Island and have been inside Kerama Shoto National Park since March 2014. We do not list lines or fares here: check the route to your hotel before you fly and save it offline. A Suica or Pasmo IC card pays for local trains and buses across the country, taxis are expensive, and small restaurants still prefer cash.

Okinawa keeps its own calendar. The rainy season starts early in May and runs to mid-June, weeks before the mainland's, and the subtropical climate keeps the whole year warm with high rainfall. The UK Foreign Office puts the typhoon season between June and December, peaking from July to September, and says the risk is highest in the south, which is here, so leave slack around ferry days and island nights.

Goodbars sells a Japan eSIM you install at home and switch on when you land; it runs on NTT docomo, Japan's largest mobile network by mobile contracts, and our Japan coverage page shows where it reaches and what independent speed tests measure. Renting a pocket Wi-Fi is a long-standing habit for visitors to Japan too, and it suits a group that moves together all day.