Okinawa is probably the most visually distinct place in Japan. There are obviously very distinct buildings and landscapes in mainland Japan, but they all follow the same rules and have the same ideas at heart. Okinawan buildings are built to withstand typhoons and harsh summer heat. But even so, the concrete buildings have all been aged by the weather beating down on them.
Much of the architecture and stores come from the overall demographic of Okinawa, which is split into 3 mostly balanced cultures, compared to the overall Japanese culture of the mainland. These three cultures are Ryukyuan, Japanese, and American. The Ryukyuan culture comes from the original inhabitants of the islands until the Japanese emperor took over. The Japanese culture comes from the empire, obviously. And the American culture comes from the US Base in Kadena, and its influence.
Besides that, the other distinct thing about Okinawa is elevation. It is the flattest place in all of Japan. It's weird looking across the horizon and not seeing any mountains or high hills of any kind.
While walking around Naha, I took a few photos of Kofun darted in various neighborhoods.
Kofun are ancient Japanese tombs or burial mounds. Kofun were constructed in Japan from the 3rd to 7th century and used to bury highly influential people of the area. Throughout Japan, over 150,000 kofun have been discovered, and archeologists have catalogued their contents, as well as the sarcophagi and those within.
In the main islands of Japan, Kofun actually look like burial mounds. A main circular room was constructed within the ground, with walls built up from rocks and a primitive version of plaster. Above ground, dirt was piled and compacted on the room the create stability. Attached to the circular room is a rectangular or trapezoidal area, given the mound its overall keyhole shape.
In Okinawa, Kofun are much smaller and are nicknamed "Turtle Back Tombs" because of their shape.
Below are the photos I took from walking around town and finding new and interesting things.
Note: This post was made in Feb 2025 and back-dated to the time of the events
