Naha (Okinawa Island Japan)

Naha is a port city and capital of Japan's Okinawa Prefecture (country's southernmost). The city has population around 320,000 (metro over 1,18 million) and covers land area approx 39 km2 (15 mi2). The port is on East China Sea, located on Okinawa Island's southern coast.

The city was officially established in May 1921. It is Okinawa Prefecture's economic, education and political center. The rebuilt Shuri Castle (former royal palace of Ryukyu Kingdom) is one of the finest Okinawan castles and among Naha's most important historical sites. The palace with its series of underground tunnels served as a command post for the Japanese military during WW2 (1939-1945). The castle was destroyed at the end of the war (in 1945) by the US forces. Today, Shuri Castle is reconstructed and registered as an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The covered with beautiful mangrove woods Lake Man is another tourist attraction. The lake is located on the boundary of Tomigusuku city and is Ramsar-listed. Ramsar Convention (aka Convention on Wetlands) is an international treaty for conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. It is named after Ramsar city in Iran, where the Convention on Wetlands was signed in 1971.

An interesting fact is that Naha-te (aka Nawate) is a type of martial art that developed here.

By 2021, Okinawa government targets around 2 million foreign cruisers. Statistics for 2016 showed that Japan received a total of 2017 cruise ship calls, of which Okinawa got the biggest share (388). In 2017, Port Naha handled 515 ship calls. On Okinawa Island there are 4 other ports that plan to become cruise port destinations.

Naha cruise terminal