Okinawa, Island in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan
Okinawa is an island in Okinawa Prefecture in Japan, covering roughly 1200 square kilometers (465 square miles) and forming the largest landmass in the Ryukyu chain. The terrain includes limestone cliffs, coral reefs along the coast, white sand beaches, and subtropical forests across the interior.
The Ryukyu Kingdom ruled from 1429 and built trade ties with China, Korea, and Southeast Asian ports. Japan incorporated the kingdom in 1879, turning it into Okinawa Prefecture.
At local festivals musicians play the three-stringed sanshin while singers perform old melodies and dancers move in traditional robes. In homes and small restaurants people eat Okinawa soba in pork broth, stir-fried bitter melon goya chanpuru, and marinated seaweed that appears at almost every meal.
The Yui Rail monorail connects central districts in Naha, while a rental car is needed to reach northern areas like Nago or the Motobu Peninsula. Most public transit ends in the southern and central parts, so a vehicle helps access remote beaches and villages.
Several villages hold unusually high numbers of people over one hundred years old, who eat sweet potato, bitter melon, and seaweed daily. This diet and lifestyle appear to support longer life spans, drawing researchers from around the world.
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