Kokusai Dori, Naha, Okinawa 国際通り
Kokusai Dori in Naha, Okinawa, is the city’s main shopping street. It is famous for its many souvenir stores, bars, hotels, and restaurants. This is a good place to sample Okinawan cuisine as well as listen to Okinawan music as some of the restaurants offer a dinner with musical accompaniment.
History
Kokusai Dori is a roughly 2 km strip and takes its name from the post-war Ernie Pyle International Theater, named after the famous American war correspondent, Ernie Pyle, who was killed on Iejima, just off Okinawa in 1945.
The street runs from near the Palette Kumoji department store at Kencho-mae Station on the Yui Line to Makishi Station and a bit beyond.
Shopping
Naha’s Kokusai Dori is busy day and night. Shoppers throng the many fun, souvenir shops to pick up Okinawan mementos such as bottles of the local spirit awamori, Orion beer, clay Shisa statues, t-shirts, Okinawan pottery and glassware. In addition, look out for surfer goods, Ryuku Islands’ sea salt and Okinawan foodstuffs, to name just a few of the items on sale. Most stores on Kokusai Dori stay open late until around 11 pm.
About halfway up Kokusai Dori at the junction with Okiei and Ichiba Chuo streets are the atmospheric covered market areas (shotengai) of the Makishi public market. These include both Heiwa Dori and Mutsumi Dori.
This market developed from a post-war black market run by Okinawan war widows. It now has hundreds of individual stores selling fruit, vegetables, fish, and exotic Okinawan pork delicacies along with discounted souvenirs, arts and crafts, and general bric-a-brac.
Not far to the east of the Makisihi public market is the Tsuboya pottery area. Here a number of workshops still produce and sell traditional Okinawan pottery. The Tsuboya Pottery Museum has displays of historical Okinawan ceramics.
For eating and drinking try Yatai Mura – a series of 20 casual “yatai” (street stall-style) eateries arranged in two narrow lanes.
Accommodation in Naha
Hotels on the strip include Hotel JAL City Naha, August Inn Kumoji, Naha Grand Hotel, Kokusai Plaza Hotel, Hotel Yamanouchi, Hotel Palm Royal Naha, Hotel Ocean, Hotel Sun Queen, Hotel Royal Orion, Station Hotel Makishi and the Nansei Kanko Hotel.
