Okinawanderer

18/08/2025

Joined to the Mashiki district Tug of War festival in Ginowan city last night!

So local but really special experience 😁

17/08/2025

Stayed in Yomitan last night and had a BBQ at beachside🏖️🍺

It’s the best things on Okinawan summer 😁

And also wandering around Yomitan today!

16/08/2025

Wandering Okinawa! (current Yomitan village) !

Zakimi castle, Yuntanza Historic Museum, Kina Banjo site (old village hall)😁

Feeling Okinawan summer and Ryukyu history!

12/08/2025

Wandering Okinawa! Visited the Naha City Museum of History for watching “The Historic Family Tree Exhibition”!

Also there is another special exhibition about “National Treasure of Ryukyu Kingdom” too!

The museum will move to Shuri by 2026, and will close from September 1st in 2025, means open for only 20 more days at there.

If you have a chance, try to visit there 😁👍

PIN: https://maps.app.goo.gl/vT3oZdcP2iaHR683A?g_st=ipc

11/08/2025

Wandering Okinawa! Visited the night Kokusai Street yesterday since long time ago and felt Okinawan tourism is coming back 😁👍

Actually its hard to find Okinawan, even Japanese on the street, but mostly foreigners are there 😅

Hope everyone love Okinawa and knowing Okinawa and spread out our history to the world!

10/08/2025

Eisa Night event at Okinawa Prefectural Comprehensive Park in Okinawa city tonight 19:00~! (It’s not the All Okinawa Eisa Festival which will happen Sep. 12-14 at Koza Gate 2 street and Koza Athletic Park. )

PIN: https://maps.app.goo.gl/dYmXbtziDEB8QR3J9?g_st=ipc

09/08/2025

Wandering Okinawa! Dam in Okinawa city! Good relax time in such a hot sunny day😁👍

We have the three day weekend including “Mountain Day:August 11th”, have a great weekend!

07/08/2025

A bat walk around on the fence 🦇

04/08/2025

Okistyle Weekly Housing Pick Up!!

¥180,000 Available 4 [Okinawa Area] by Star Housing

https://www.okistyle.com/realestate/

03/08/2025

OkiEvent! Some local tug-of-war festival will happen in Ginowan city today (Aug. 3rd)!

Everyone is welcome!!

Oyama Tug of War @ Oyama Elementary School (15:00~)



PIN: https://maps.app.goo.gl/i68S99BTGFyBHEPk8

Nodake Chinahichi Moui Festival @ Nodake Ashibina Park (18:00~)

https://www.facebook.com/ginowancity.official/posts/902022018638849?ref=embed_post

PIN: https://maps.app.goo.gl/cBRnZett3LbKCQBF7

Elementary school

02/08/2025

OkiEvent!! Yonabaru Tug-of-War is community-wide effort

The 43rd Yonabaru Great Tug of War Festival takes place Today and Tomorrow, Aug 2nd and 3rd (postponed from July 26th~27th), at the Yonakohama Park and Yonabaru Udunyama Youth Field, with most of the action for the great tug-of-war taking place Sunday afternoon at the Udunyama Youth Field. The first day of the festival, Saturday, is mostly dedicated for usual Okinawan Festival activities of eating, drinking and having fun at the food and game stalls on the Yonakohama Park.

Yonabaru used to be the main port for transporting goods between the island’s northern parts and main cities in the south. A narrow-gauge railroad connected Yonabaru and Naha City via a dozen stations before the war.

The Procession leading up to the Tug-of-War that includes a sacred ceremony for a good harvest and is an important part of the event, starts on Route 330 at 3:50 p.m. The actual Tug-of-War begins at 5 p.m.

A unique feature of the event is local residents’ participation in carrying the big rope to the venue and preparation for the pull. On the big rope, seven people called ‘Sh*taku’ dressed up as historical characters from the history the Ryukyu Kingdom accompany the rope to the venue where the tug-of-war starts.

Admission to the festival, which boasts 440 years of history, is free. The festival grounds are open 11 a.m. ~ 8:30 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. ~ 9 p.m. on Sunday. Free parking is available at temporary parking areas on the prefecture-owned land next to Marine Plaza Agarihama, Kirakira Beach, Yonabaru Elementary School.

The venue of the Yonabaru Tug-of-War Festival, the Yonabaru Udunyama Youth Field is located at https://goo.gl/maps/kC6rF

29/07/2025

OkiLife!! Remembering Reversion and Driving on the Right Side, or is it the Left?

When Okinawa was returned to Japan on May 15th, 1972, part of the package was an entirely new set of challenges that needed to be met. For Okinawans, the joy of being returned to the homeland and the challenges that came with it was not an unmixed blessing. One major challenge was switching from U.S. traffic laws and driving on the right side of the road, to existing Japanese law and driving on the left. Switching the roadways on July 30th, 1978 was officially dubbed the Nanasanmaru Campaign (nana = 7, san = 3, maru = 0).

This particular problem took a lot in both time and planning as the entirety of Okinawa Prefecture would have to convert traffic lights, road signs, and lane markings literally overnight. Not to mention the time drivers would need to adapt and get their bearings (in the beginning, accidents were a frequent occurrence). Altogether, from reversion in May 1972 to July 1978, the switch took over six years to plan and complete.

At 10pm on the night of July 29th, 1978, all traffic—with the exception of emergency vehicles—was barred from public roads as police and road crews spent the next eight hours preparing for the switch. This included swapping traffic signals, replacing roads signs, moving bus stops and taxi stands, replacing some 1,000 buses and 5,000 taxis, and changing headlights that pointed left instead of right on over 300,000 vehicles. Purchasing all new buses to service passengers on the new roadways was especially costly for bus companies. The story is so famous among Okinawans that any old bus still in service is referred to as a 730 (nana-san-maru) bus.

All told, the Japanese government spent roughly $150 million to cover the conversion costs, and the United States spent another half a million for converting base roadways. Finally, at 6am on July 30th, the roads were reopened and traffic resumed on the left side. Because Okinawa is one of the few places to have made the switch from driving on the right to the left, July 30th is a date remembered island-wide and holds a special place in the hearts of many Okinawans.

Forty-seven years after the switch most of the original 730 buses have been decommissioned and replaced with newer, more fuel efficient models. Yet, two companies—Toyo Bus Company and Okinawa Bus Company—still rolls out an original 730 bus, and Okinawa bus number 1064.