Undiscovered Okinawa by car: our travel guide (2024)
[Music] [Music] in this video we’re taking you with us to discover hidden gems in the east and south of Okinawa we’re still on our amazing Okinawa road trip and after exploring the area of Nago we’re now off to uruma and nanjo to see all the beauty that these places have to offer in 300 M turn next our first stop of the day is at the caturan castle ruins which is on the grounds of a former ryuku castle and is now a world heritage site when you arrive you park the car at Amari Park the museum that’s dedicated to the castle the entrance ticket that includes both a visit to the museum and the castle grounds cost 600 Yen per person our visit started with a spectacle on the day that we visited it was a special day and they were giving performances all day showing the history of this area and the stories of the people who lived here a long time ago but the reason why we’re here of course is the castle which is across street from the museum first we got to take a free shuttle up the hill thank God this but keep in mind it doesn’t take you all the way up [Music] the castle grounds were beautiful with amazing views and we especially loved that we learned more about the history in the museum and then could go outside and see it with her own eyes we definitely recommend a visit close to kutuan Castle you’ll find a bridge that will take you over to two islands Miyagi Island and and if you drive a little further eai Island the day that we went here was a very hot day so we could use a little stop at the beach and the drive to get there was also absolutely [Music] gorgeous we drove up all the way over to eai beach which is a little private beach very local and located on you guested the island of eai here you can swim relax and do many water activities entrance costs 400 Yen per person and it keep clean and safe driving back our eyes caught this food truck called rhythm coffee with an amazing deck overlooking the Pacific Ocean we enjoyed to view a lot and of course the pancakes and coffee helped after our snack we had a little troll on this free beach which was basically private and [Music] [Applause] untouched we definitely want to come back here next time for now let’s head to the hotel that we booked the hotel that we booked is located in uruma and we’ve managed to book a real Gem of a hotel the Anza Okinawa Resort this is a three and a half star resort style Hotel nestled in the hills in a quiet location with an amazing view it comes with a giant cool an onson plus manga read room a large gym and even a karaoke room we got the deluxe twin room for yes only 7,400 Yen per night excluding breakfast and the room comes with this amazing view [Music] also included in our stay this doorbell welcome to family mod if you want to see the full review of this hotel be sure to keep an eye out for it at yes and explore as for food options there aren’t many in the direct vicinity of the hotel so we decided to end our day with a dinner buffet at the hotel because yeah we love food and we love buffets so this was a no-brainer the price for this extensive buffet was 3,9 0 Yen per person and that includes drinks like coffee tea and water sometimes you’ve just got to treat [Music] yourself and look it looks like a balanced meal but don’t worry this is just plate one Bo I made a braced beef taco and a sweet chili uh shrimp taco and I got some extra stuff I try oh exy it’s a new day and time to leave early from our beautiful Resort time to check out and Lawrence is bringing the car around our first highway on Okinawa the infamous toll road woohoo sa was actually 30 minutes so it’s a it’s a pretty good save after leaving the tollway we will be driving a Southbound Route stopping at some amazing locations and it’s 100% recommended to do this with a car it’s Pikachu it’s Pikachu bus blocked our first stop of the day is of course food and we’re going to Jeff a classic local favorite with Drive-In fast food an original Okinawan place you can drive into a parking slot and get food delivered to your car but here we ran into a bit of a problem I’m stuck no I want the order but look it’s all in Japanese so I don’t know what I don’t I don’t [Music] knowu so I don’t know I don’t know how to order cuz my Japanese is like pre Dynasty Japanese so it’s not so good as this one so yeah we had to go inside order food get a number and we wait it’s a jumbo pork cutlet at Jeff this a pork cutlet and mustard C flour ketchup and a sauce a special sauce but it’s really nice this is chicken sandwich Perfection the chicken I’ve got sauce the chicken is super hot there’s a nice layer of mayo on top of it we’ve got lettuce and that’s it it’s super delicious it’s moist it’s fatty it’s juicy it’s a perfect chicken sandwich this place is just a must visit when coming here and such a fun thing to experience it’s like stepping back into time all right on to our next stop which is definitely best reachable by car Cape chinan Park a gorgeous Ocean Park with panoramic views on the Pacific [Music] Ocean it’s a beautiful well-maintained place with amazing views and not overflooded with tourists but even if it were we totally understand it what a beautiful place lastly for today we’re going to visit the Okinawa peace Memorial Museum in itoman which is located at yet another stunning location to go into the museum you need to buy a ticket and these cost only 300 Yen per person the memorial was built to remember victims of war and to teach teach future Generations about the Battle and promote Global Peace sadly but understandably we were not allowed to film inside the museum so you just have to go see it for yourself apart from it being a beautiful place it was very informative detailed and interesting to learn what happened to the people of Okinawa after the museum we headed to our hotel for the night which is the Maring Harbor a hostile style accommodation where we booked a private room because we’re not really about that bad bathroom sharing life and for this basic twin room we paid 9,000 Japanese Yen per night including [Music] breakfast in the morning we had breakfast at the hotel which was a tasty plate of food with some iced tea sadly no coffee was included so after leaving the hotel we went for a quick coffee break and luckily Lawson’s really delivered here woohoo it’s a large coffee really [Music] large let’s hit the road and explore some more our first stop of the day is gushikawa Castle an abandoned and destroyed Castle On The Rocks overlooking the ocean these are the kind of places that makes us love Okinawa King of the castle blue ocean and views for days [Music] [Music] now from a very quiet and peaceful place onto tourist central umig gaji Terrace it’s a tiny Resort style Island right below the city of naha and it’s built up like a Rice Terrace overlooking the ocean and airport it’s a popular place to visit and the umig gaji teres have more than 40 Restaurants shops and CAF face [Music] we had to get some food here and we started with these super cheesy grilled cheese sandwiches and as a dessert we had some soft serve and a doughnut filled with whipped cream and pistachio [Music] cream well it was a fun place to check out it was incredibly hot as there was no shade and it was a little too overhyped for our liking [Music] last moment in the rental car oh no oh no before we go back and drop off the car there is one more stop Lawrence really wanted to go to which is the former Japanese Navy underground headquarters yes an actual preserved underground Japanese HQ and Memorial Place tickets were 600 Yen per person and you walk down 102 steps to get into the bunker [Music] and the bunker consists of a small network of tunnels with different rooms that they dug out with these pickaxes [Music] it’s been a long and interesting day but we have to drop off the car back in naha sad to say goodbye to the rental car it’s brought us everywhere we got so far as is common in Japan you fill up the car close to the rental drop off place before bringing it back and you keep the receipt so the rental company can verify that you did it when returning the car we always recommend to make a final video of the car just like you do when you pick it up to avoid any possible confusion about the state of the car all right Laura we’re done with the car oh I missed it already I L it I love it how was your experience it was a good experience we left in the rain we came back in beautiful sunshine and really bloody hot but that’s okay the car experience it was actually super easy booked on a platform um got the cheapest price we just showed up waved the credit card paid for the car we drove off and the roads are actually really big um pretty well maintained it’s really worth renting a car especially going up north visit Nago visit Cape hoo um overall super good experience 10 out of 10 would recommend dear viewer this is the end of our road trip by car in Okinawa if you happen to have missed part one we put a link in the description box below we enjoy driving around Okinawa a lot and we are happy that we got to share some of these amazing places with you which one was your favorite let us know in the comments we want to thank you so much for watching and don’t forget that if you want to see more subscribe to us at J and explore bye [Music]
Looking for undiscovered Okinawa? In this video we will take you on a road trip to uncover hidden gems of the east and south of Okinawa Japan. Most places are best reached by car and not many tourists go here. Skip those crowds and come with us to see beautiful capes, lots of food and museums!
We’ll tell you all our experiences and give you tips as we go, because at Yes and Explore we’re to help you travel smarter, not harder!
BOOK HOTEL
► Ansa Okinawa Resort: https://www.agoda.com/partners/partnersearch.aspx?pcs=1&cid=1931844&hl=en-us&hid=9998108
► Marinx Harbor: https://www.agoda.com/partners/partnersearch.aspx?pcs=1&cid=1931844&hl=en-us&hid=9630723
(The above are affiliate links, if you click on them and book we’ll receive a commission at no additional cost to you )
LOCATIONS
► Peri Chiki Jr. https://maps.app.goo.gl/kzBiN6NQtc1c2HVWA
► Ansa Okinawa Resort https://maps.app.goo.gl/DEK1TDgLLQaYM3AQ6
► Amawari Park https://maps.app.goo.gl/A2tmpGSUNmB4Lcu58
► Katsuren Castle https://maps.app.goo.gl/uJPBT83UGPectN3N6
► Ikei Beach https://maps.app.goo.gl/as7u2iCqnuY7eqCg6
► RHYTHM COFFEE: https://maps.app.goo.gl/L3dd3rjXqWoEXnwk8
► Jef Yonabaru https://maps.app.goo.gl/mCJ1FZHa3KrbMmtY8
► Cape Chinen https://maps.app.goo.gl/x5YuGMQ2bEWGbzCcA
► Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum https://maps.app.goo.gl/qKWhLHWuvn29SinB6
► Marinx harbor: https://maps.app.goo.gl/t8uRutMk1FeZN8Hf7
► Gushikawa Castle: https://maps.app.goo.gl/DfZutTnEJW8JFsFt8
► Umikaji Terrace Senagajima https://maps.app.goo.gl/u2maL397vUWkwpNq6
► Former Japanese Navy underground HQ https://maps.app.goo.gl/6h6LKi4nYP2pcMWv8
RECOMMENDED VIDEOS
► 3-Day Okinawa Road Trip: Hidden Gems from Naha to Nago (Travel Guide): https://youtu.be/APMvBRVqSdY
► 4 star Nest Hotel Okinawa Review | Naha Kumoji https://youtu.be/06OSq0FHf2w
► Flying with Japan’s best airline? | Skymark Airlines: https://youtu.be/Ng39AdppIyE
► Huis Ten Bosch Nagasaki | Dutch theme park in Japan https://youtu.be/VFXGsC2ZHUU
SUBSCRIBE
► If you want to see more, subscribe to us @yesandexplore
SUPPORT
► Want to support us on our journey? https://www.buymeacoffee.com/YesandExplore
SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow our travel updates on Instagram
► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yesandexplore/
#travel
CHAPTERS
00:00 Okinawa Japan
00:41 Katsuren Castle
02:30 Miyagi & Ikei Island
03:56 Ansa Okinawa Resort
06:25 Jeffs Drive-In
08:00 Cape Chinen
08:43 Okinawa Peace Museum
09:20 Marinx Harbour
10:12 Gushikawa Castle
10:45 Umikaji Terrace
12:16 Former Japanese Navy HQ
13:13 Car drop-off Naha