Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A little north of Yomitan, Kadena and Okinawa City, the island shrinks to its most nar-
row. From Ishikawa City and its bay on the east, to Nakadomari and its bay on the west, it's
a mere 1.75 miles (3 kilometers) across. This ultra-narrow neck runs north for about 3 miles
(5 kilometers), then starts to widen. From Kin town on the east to Onna village on the west,
it's about 4.5-5 miles (7-8 kilometers) across. Okinawa Island retains this width for approx-
imately the next 9 miles (15 kilometers). This section has Ginoza village on its eastern and
southern shore and most of Okinawa's top luxury resorts on its northern, western side. At
the end of the stretch of beachfront hotels, Okinawa's third largest city of Nago begins. And
1
NAKAGUSUKU CASTLE RUINS
中城城跡
Let's first explore the island's central section, starting on the east side. From the US Consulate,
it's about 6.5-7.5 miles (11-12 kilometers), depending on the route, northeast between
Ginowan and Nakagusuku, to the Nakagusuku Castle Ruins (
中城城跡
; Naka-gusuku-jōato).
For many visitors, this is the most impressive of all the
gusuku
ruins on the island—or in
the Ryukyus—for two reasons. As is the case with most citadels, it was sited as a defensive
measure high above the surrounding territory. It has a commanding view overlooking Nak-
agusuku Bay and the Pacific on one side and the East China Sea on the other. The fortress was
built atop a precipice of land sited midway between the present-day villages of Nakagusuku
and Kitanakagusuku. It's also very large. Built in an age of no mechanization, it's difficult
to imagine today how much labor was involved in assembling any great construction pro-
ject built of stone. As was the case with the great pyramids of Egypt and Mexico, the Gothic
cathedrals of Europe and the Great Wall of China, all involved the toil of countless men, so
too with these
gusuku
, albeit on a somewhat smaller scale. Nonetheless, it's breathtaking and
sobers the mind to think of the amount of back-breaking work required.
Okinawa Soba
(
沖縄そば
)
A bowl of noodles, a few choice morsels of pork, a litle red ginger, all bathed in a steaming broth and
you've got a simple and delicious meal. All over Japan,
soba
refers to a dish of buckwheat noodles,
but not in Okinawa. Here,
soba
is enirely made from wheat lour. Some popular toppings include a
slice of hard-boiled egg, some pink or white fish flakes (
kamaboko
蒲鉾
), stewed, boneless pork spare
ribs (
ōki
ソーキ
) and a thick slice of stewed pork belly (
san-mai niku
三枚肉
). Two popular garnishes
are pickled red ginger (
beni-shōga
紅生 姜
) and Korean chili peppers (
kōrēgūsu
高麗胡椒
).
