Okinawa is blanketed with sparkling blue seas and white sandy beaches. It also has a rich history and many places of interest to visit. (JG Photo/Marcel Thee)
Since April, the American-based cruise line Princess Cruises began its Japanese-focused program by sailing from the two home ports of Tokyo (Yokohama) and Kobe. The Japanese-built Diamond Cruise ship will — during a four-month summer season — offer 20 departures with a mix of itineraries, visiting more than 20 different destinations located in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Russia.
The diversity of the itineraries is designed to cover the broad interests of all different types of cruisers. Some of these cruises last as short as three nights, and some lasts up to 17 nights — fitting for those wanting to explore in a deeper way. As part of a team of journalists invited to cover Diamond Cruise’s Yokohama-ported cruise, I had the pleasure of experiencing some of this first-hand.
One stop that has become popular with Diamond Princess cruisers is Okinawa, the southernmost prefecture in Japan, fitting for a short trip. As our tour guide —an Okinawan who studied in Hawaii and is fluent in English — explained, Okinawa’s biggest source of income is its tourism industry, making it clear that this is a place where many tourists — both local and international — come to unwind.
The weather is almost always warm without being unbearably hot, while winter in Okinawa is only as chilly as springtime in other Japanese regions like Osaka and Tokyo.
It is not difficult to notice the many souvenir shops around the prefecture, ready to attract outside visitors with their collection of merchandise (Hawaiian-styled clothing being the most popular, it seems) and both traditional and modern Japanese snacks. There’s a sense of opportunistic commercialism here, but it is — as yet, at least — not too bloated to become a turn-off.
The people of Okinawa are famous for their longevity — the residents of the island have a longer life expectancy than anywhere else in the world. This may of course be due to their healthy diet that consists mainly of fish, tofu and seaweed; but perhaps it is also the relaxed and easy-going lifestyle as well as the close-knit community spirit predominant on the island that contributes to a long and happy life.
Okinawa is blanketed with sparkling blue seas and white sandy beaches, rich with marine life. Driving through, we could only see hints of the sea, though the bright weather made it clear that the descriptions were accurate.
It was not difficult to spot the rich variety of flowers. Since Okinawa is located in a subtropical zone, a wonderful array of flowers blossoms through all seasons. There is the Taiwan cherry, which blooms in the prefecture quicker than anywhere else in Japan, as well as Deigo flowers. There are also Bougainvilleas, Easter lilies and tabebuias.
Okinawa, which for about 450 years prospered as the kingdom of Ryukyu, was initially a state independent of the Japanese government. The region’s cultural characteristics are therefore more related to the foreign countries that it established relations with, more than the rest of Japan (various artifacts and festivals attest to this).
Our tour took us to Shuri Castle in Naha city, which reopened in 1992 after extensive reconstruction. The castle was home to the king of Ryukyu (Okinawa Prefecture is made up of 160 islands in the the Ryukyu chain, all varying in size). Inscribed as a World Heritage Site, the castle attracts many visitors. The reconstruction might take away some of its organic feel, but the majority of the replicas, based on historical photographs and drawings, still retain a sense of visual history worth learning about. The traditional houses left much to be desired as they were still in construction and were too artificial to appreciate.
The prefecture preserves much of its traditional forms of entertainment. This includes shishi-mai , a dance of lions, and eisa , a kind of group-oriented dance featuring martial drums and traditional strings. There is also the Ryukyu-buyo , a form of elegant dancing aimed to express women’s emotions, often acting as a tribute to her feelings for her loved ones. Leaving Shuri Castle, we were treated to one such display of Ryuku-Buyo, basking easily in its elegant beauty.
Okinawa is a place that invites one to linger and explore — island-hopping would be on top of the list — but unfortunately, as the ship set sail, we could only get a short glimpse of the island. But at least, it was a beautiful one.
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