Kokusai-dori
国際通り26°13′ N 127°41′ EStreetRainy-day optionGood with kids
Kokusai-dori is Naha's main shopping street and runs a little over a mile from the Prefectural Office to Asato; on Sundays from 12:00 to 18:00 about 1.3 km of it closes to traffic.
Photo Roméo A. · Unsplash and others, credited in the gallery
Before the war this was the new prefectural road out to Shuri, laid in 1933 across fields and wetland. After 1945 the US military took the old centre of Naha, and people settled instead around Tsuboya and Makishi. In 1948 the Ernie Pyle International Theatre opened beside the road and gave the street its name. It grew so fast through the 1950s that people started calling it the Miracle Mile, after both the recovery and its length.
Today the frontage is mostly souvenir shops and hotels, and you have to step off it to find the Naha people shop in. Turn down Heiwa-dori or Ichiba-hondori near the Mutsumibashi junction and the covered arcades lead to the Makishi Public Market and on toward Tsuboya's pottery lane. On a Sunday afternoon the car-free stretch fills with street performers and families, and it is the easiest time to walk the whole length.
Worth knowing
- Kenchomae station sits at the west end and Makishi station at the east, with Miebashi a short walk north of the middle.
- The transit mall can be called off in heavy rain and has been suspended around New Year in past years.
- Shurijo-sai's Ryukyu court procession runs down the street in late October.
FAQ
Quick answers about Kokusai-doriよくある質問
When is Kokusai-dori car-free?
Kokusai-dori closes to traffic every Sunday from 12:00 to 18:00 between the Kencho-kitaguchi junction and Saion-bashi by Makishi Station, a stretch of about 1.3 km. Bicycles have to be pushed during those hours.
How long is Kokusai-dori?
Kokusai-dori runs for roughly one mile, about 1.6 km, which is where its nickname the Miracle Mile comes from.
Can you cycle on Kokusai-dori?
Yes, outside the Sunday transit mall. Bicycles are exempt from the weekday bus-lane hours (7:30–9:00 westbound, 17:30–19:00 eastbound), but the street is narrow and busy with buses, so a parallel back street is calmer.
What are the opening hours of Kokusai-dori?
Kokusai-dori is open Open at all hours; shops keep their own hours. Transit mall (car-free) Sundays 12:00–18:00.
Can you get to Kokusai-dori by bike?
On weekdays the street runs a one-direction bus lane from 7:30 to 9:00 toward the Prefectural Office and from 17:30 to 19:00 toward Asato, and bicycles are exempt from it. During the Sunday transit mall (12:00–18:00) every vehicle is barred between the Kencho-kitaguchi and Saion-bashi junctions and you have to push your bike. The street is one lane each way and chronically congested, with more than 2,000 buses a day.
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