A weekend in Okinawa for Naha and the Aquarium

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
6
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
5
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
7
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
4
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
4
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
6
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
57 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
311th/454
Top 70%
continent
Asia
country
Japan
Length of time
1-2 days
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$150 ($100-$350 in 2018 prices)
Time of year visited
August
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Aquarium Islands Wildlife - Sharks
All Tags
Bustling restaurants Partying / Lash Restaurant recommendations Wildlife - Manta Rays
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"
⭐⭐
Summary
Okinawa offers a very different style to the rest of Japan.  Yes you still have the politeness, cleanliness and things, well, just working.  But its all within the backdrop of semi-tropical trees and a culture quite different to that of mainland as the Okinawa island chain used to be the former Ryukyu Empire and only joined Japan in the 1870s

 

Not many places in the world have that developed vibe in the tropics, so it’s definitely worth a trip, especially if living in this part of the world and fancy a weekend away.  Worth also picking up a few of the local’s habits – Okinawans are some of the longest living people in the world!
Highlights
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#1 The world-class Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, which has the world's largest aquarium tank, including Whale Sharks and Manta Rays.  Grounds are also well worth the visit

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#2 Having a few of the Orion Beers - it may just be the setting, but they are surprisingly so much better than out the can!

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#3 As you'd expect in Japan, the food is outstanding and the Okinawan cuisine offers an additional twist to the usual dishes

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#4 Wandering around the slightly odd shopping arcade areas of central Naha. Touristy but worth it for the randomness

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EXTRA - taking the 2 hour ferry for 2 days on the nearby island paradise of Zamami Jima. If you thought Okinawa was laid back, Zamami takes it to another level

Travel Tips

  • #1 Tip – make sure to make the trip up to the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, which has the world’s largest aquarium tank, including Whale Sharks and Manta Rays.  The grounds around the aquarium are also beautiful, so its worth the 2 hour bus trip there

 

  • #2 Tip – try to give yourself 2 days for a trip over to the nearby Zamami Jima and Aka Jima.  They feel a world away from Naha, with white sand beaches, sea turtles and an extremely peaceful and underdeveloped atmosphere.  Definitely worth the 2 hour ferry trip – to the degree that I would actually recommend, if you only have a weekend, spending it in these islands.  For more details and tips on the trip, see this specific travel entry – Zamami Jima and Aka Jima, from Okinawa

 

  • #3 The food – as with so many things in Japan, the secret is often just to relax in the ever so softly done surroundings and focus on the wonderful food.  Naha is no exception, and has the extra benefit of having a different cuisine to the main islands.  Make sure to try the various pork dishes (Okinawan pork is prized across Japan), the widely available Okinawa-soba of thick udon noodles served in a pork broth and, slightly bizarrely, the horsemeat sushi (which they are also more than happy to let you blow torch!)

 

  • #4 Visit the Kokusai Food Street Village – right in the centre and slightly tucked away it is a series of very small restaurants (4-10 seats each) that are super cute and a good place to get started

 

  • #5 Make sure to try the freshly served Orion beer – my personal favourite!  Whilst the cans are exported around the world, the draft with the special foamy head is so much better and can be found just about everywhere in Okinawa.  Watch out for the Okinawan Sake though, it is seriously horrible stuff

 

  • #6 Nightlife – with the tourist vibe and the nearby US military bases, the nightlife in Naha is superb (I had one the heaviest nights of my life in Okinawa . . . woke up in Zamami Jima . . . can confirm its capabilities!).  Start your night off with some food in the many restaurants along Kokusai-dori (the main road in the centre of the city) and then make your way to the various bars around Wakasa Odori

 

  • #7 Accommodation – you want to stay somewhere on or near Kokusai-dori, just for ease of getting around both in Naha and to make trips to the aquarium / nearby islands.   We stayed at the Hotel Palm Royal, which although nothing special, was fine and had a good central location
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The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences

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Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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