Cultural Paradise

Beauty and heritage combine on Japan’s subtropical Okinawa island.

- Jeremy Tredinnick

There are many places to see a breathtaking sunset, and I’ve been lucky enough to experience more than my fair share – almost to the point of indifference. Almost. In Okinawa, the largest of Japan’s subtropical Ryukyu island chain, surrounded by pollution-free sky and the deep, clear waters of the Pacific, I was treated to a truly memorable ten minutes on aptly named Sunset Beach, a short stroll from my plush lodgings at the Hilton Okinawa Chatan Resort.

This particular sunset had me mesmerised, my gaze fixed – like the 100-plus people around me – on a horizon of low purple-black storm clouds (which had drenched us earlier in the day), a thin strip of azure sky, and an ocean of deep blue, from which emerged the silhouetted peaks of the distant Kerama Islands.

Behind the clouds, the sky glowed bright orange and rich gold before the fiery sun emerged and then quickly dipped below the waterline. It’s a deeply satisfying feeling, seeing Mother Nature put on a show like that.

SHAPED BY HISTORY

Okinawa – about a two-hour flight from Tokyo – is an intriguing island of many faces. Centuries-old castle ruins with walls of coral limestone serve as a fascinating reminder of the Ryukyu Kingdom, whose rulers oversaw a dynasty that lasted almost 500 years, from the early 15th to late 19th centuries. Its success was built on the sea trade between Japan, Korea, China and South East Asia, its strategic location on the main sailing routes bringing wealth and power.

In the latter part of the Second World War, it was this strategic location that made it the focus of imperial Japan’s final defence against the advancing US naval forces. The Battle of Okinawa involved three months of fierce fighting from April to June 1945, claiming the lives of more than 100,000 Japanese soldiers and native Okinawans.