Location: Naha
Top Things to do in Naha
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The 10 Best Historic Sites in Naha, Kyushu-Okinawa
Go from the 13th century to the 21st in one day in Naha. Its ancient Ryukyu Kingdom centerpiece, Shuri Castle, has been restored and is the city's top tourist attraction. Meanwhile, on Kokusai-dori (International Boulevard), the pace never lets up as locals and tourists hop from restaurants to bars to nightclubs.
Restaurants in Naha
1. Takaraguchihija
2. Tamaudun
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 413 reviews
Reviewed By PeterthePauper - Ulsan, South Korea
Nearly gave the Tam-u-dun Mausoleum a miss after seeing the number of 'negative' reviews on Trip Advisor (most commenting on the lack of access to the tombs or complaining that there was "nothing much to see" at the Site). On the contrary, I found the Tam-u-dun Mausoleum to be the most interesting and informative exhibit I encountered on the island of Okinawa. The three compartments that comprise the Mausoleum face northwards and is built up against a natural rock outcrop to the south. The Central compartment is where remains were kept for a limited time before the bones were washed and interred in burial urns; Kings, Queens and Crown Princes were then interred in the East Room with remaining members of the royal family in the West Room. Built in 1501 to house the re-interred remains of Shō En (1415 ~ 1476), 17 of the 19 kings of the Second Shō Dynasty who ruled between 1470 and 1879 are entombed here. The last internee was former Prince of Nakagusuku, Shō Ten (1864 ~ 1920), the son of the Ryukyu Kingdom's last king, and interred as recently as 1920. The structure suffered extensive damage in the 1945 battle of Okinawa, but the tombs and royal remains themselves remained intact. Although much of the structure has since been restored, unsurprisingly the tombs themselves are off-limits to the general public. It is essential therefore to visit the Museum (located downstairs from the Ticket Office) before proceeding to the Site itself, in order to put the whole exhibit into context. The Museum contains many contemporary photographs from before WWII; that show the devastation wreaked on the Site as a result of the 1945 battle of Okinawa and others that show the extensive restoration carried out between 1975 and 1984. Most interesting are the contemporary photographs that show the actual contents of the tombs; some 37 urns in East Room, a single urn in the Central compartment and a further 32 urns in West Room. Plan layouts and scale models have the individual urns numbered and cross-referenced to the particular king/queen they contain, although I had to look up Wikipedia on my return to get an English version. All-in-all I found the whole exhibit fascinating and sufficiently intriguing to further research this peculiarly Okinawan ritual of "senkotsu"; i.e. 3 & 7-years following death, family members wash the bones of their deceased ancestors after the flesh has disappeared as a mark of respect. The bones are then placed in these small earthenware containers and interred in a Mausoleum.
3. Keiseimon Gate
4. Former 32nd Army Headquarters
5. Kankaimon
6. Suimuiutaki
7. Sonohyan Utaki Stone Gate
8. Ieudumbaka
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 2 reviews
