Naha

Naha is the gateway to the prefecture, with Naha Airport on its southwest edge and Tomari and Naha ports sending boats to the outer islands. It is also crowded. By area it is the smallest prefectural capital in Japan, and its population density is among the highest outside the Tokyo and Osaka regions. The city takes in the old capital of Shuri on its eastern hill, the market quarter around Kokusai-dori and Makishi, the pottery lanes of Tsuboya and the Oroku peninsula by the airport.

The name, by the most common explanation, means a fishing ground. The Battle of Okinawa left the centre in ashes, and while the US military held the old downtown around Nishi, Kume and Tsuji, Kokusai-dori and the Makishi markets grew out of the black markets that sprang up inland. After the war Naha absorbed the cities of Shuri and Mawashi and the village of Oroku.

For a cycling trip Naha works as a base when you pair it with early starts. The city streets are slow and busy, and Kokusai-dori has weekday bus lanes and a car-free Sunday afternoon. The Manko wetland, a Ramsar site on the Tomigusuku boundary, marks the edge of town on the ride south.