Chinen

Chinen was a village until 2006, run from Kudeken, and its villages string along the coast, on flatter ground toward Sashiki and halfway up 100 m hills toward Tamagusuku. Kudaka and the islet of Komaka belong to it. In 1945 the villages from Kudeken to Shikiya became refugee camps holding more than 25,000 people, and a short-lived Chinen city was run from Shikiya.

Visitors come to Chinen for its sacred sites. Sefa-utaki, the royal sanctuary, sits above Route 331 at Kudeken, Chinen Misaki Park looks out to Kudaka from behind the ticket office, and Chinen castle ruins keep their arched stone gate. Azama port and its beach are a short ride north.