Tourism

If anyone were to ask me why choose Okinawa as a destination, I would answer that Japan is much more than its temples and geishas, more than Buddhism or Taoism, than Ikebana or the tea ceremony. Okinawa sprouts like a cherry blossom, splendid, delicate and strong at once, to give us its beauty and perfumes, unique in Japan, notable as herself.

On arrival you land in the city of Naha, with 300,000 inhabitants, capital of Okinawa (population: approximately one million), the largest of the islands that form the Ryukyu archipelago, volcanic in nature. It is an active commercial port and a recognized tourist destination, and all this points to the fact that this island is definitely different from the rest of Japan. In Okinawa one breath an almost tropical air, as on this island the temperature does not fall bellow 16° C during all the year. So it is not strange to enjoy the festive climate and see that the people give us a warm welcome with a wide and open smile, for to the Okinawans anything is a pretext to laugh, sing and dance. In addition to the joviality, they are characterized by their splendid tans, differently from the majority of the Japanese who are not big lovers of the sun and its caresses; therefore they adore showing off their precious golden color.

On the other hand, its sophisticated cuisine promises pleasing surprises to the epicure. The local cuisine is defined by the Japanese word “Tiandaa”, which in the language of Okinawa could be translated as “doing something with loving care” and which production is very elaborate and intricate. As a matter of fact, Ryukyu cuisine has matured and been refined throughout the centuries by means of the wise combination of thoughts, imagination and ancestral wisdom; in short, local gastronomy is the result of diligent and loving effort. The specialty, in addition to fish, is pork: truly exquisite, especially accompanied by vegetables and soba or udon, noodles which are different from the classic Tokyo version, tastier and with more body.

An effervescent joy is perceived in the vitality of its people, in its typical music, so different from the rest of the archipelago, where the drums play a dominating roll and the rhythms are always happy and festive; dances are varied and are a primordial part of its festivals. Its ceramic, known as ara-yachi, is characterized by being baked only once and not using a glaze; it is a technique unique to the island called “fire technique”, which produces unexpected and unique pieces; its textiles, its blown glass, colored so vividly as the spirit of its inhabitants... are only some of the wonders the tourist can dare to discover.

For the lovers of martial arts it is interesting to know that karate was born in Okinawa. To protect themselves from pirates and defend themselves, the Okinawans developed the bujutsu (martial arts technique). At first only one form of karate was developed (in ancient times called Ti) and from then on the kobudo was systematized. The relationship that Okinawa maintained with China and other countries from the South of Asia helped in the development and enhancement of these antique defensive arts locally, and which then extended to the entire Japanese archipelago.

Okinawa and the neighboring islands offer a little know destination worth exploring. For example, this pearl of the rising sun hides beauties like the Shuri Castle, believed to have been constructed around the middle of the 14th Century.

When we look at this other culture, so different from ours, it is necessary to let oneself be guided by the compass of innocence, which smiles at us in a transparent way from its beaches and its people, inviting us to explore its millennial secrets.