Nago

名護市なごしNago-shi

Where the north of Okinawa Island begins

Nago is the largest city in the northern half of Okinawa Island, spanning the island from the East China Sea to the Pacific and serving as the gateway to the Yanbaru forests and the Motobu Peninsula.

Overview

Nago lies at the neck of the Motobu Peninsula, where Okinawa Island narrows and the gentle, urbanised south gives way to the mountains of Yanbaru. The city's territory crosses the island: its centre faces Nago Bay on the west coast, while districts such as Kushi and Henoko lie on the Pacific side. It is the commercial, educational and administrative centre for the whole north of the island.

For visitors Nago is above all a base. The Okinawa Expressway ends just outside the city, and from here roads lead to the Motobu Peninsula with the Churaumi Aquarium and Nakijin Castle, to the island of Kouri, and north into Yanbaru National Park. The city itself offers the resort coast of Busena, where the G8 summit met in 2000, a castle hill famous for Japan's earliest cherry blossom in January, and the brewery of Orion, Okinawa's own beer.

Nago is also known nationally for its place in the debate over US bases: the plan to relocate Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to a new facility off Henoko, next to Camp Schwab, has been contested in local and prefectural votes and courts for decades.

Landmarks

Nago Castle Park
名護城跡Nagusuku ato
Hill of the old Nago gusuku, planted with thousands of Taiwan cherry trees that bloom deep pink in January.
Himpun Gajumaru
ひんぷんガジュマルHimpun Gajumaru
Giant banyan tree in the city centre, a national natural monument and symbol of Nago.
Busena Marine Park
ブセナ海中公園Busena Kaichū Kōen
Underwater observatory tower at the end of a pier and glass-bottom boats over the reef of Cape Busena.
Bankoku Shinryōkan
万国津梁館Bankoku Shinryōkan
Conference centre on Cape Busena where the G8 leaders met in 2000; its name recalls the Ryukyu Kingdom's role as a bridge between nations.
Nago Museum
名護博物館Nago Hakubutsukan
Local museum of the history, whaling and dolphin-hunting traditions and folk life of northern Okinawa.
Orion Beer brewery
オリオンビール名護工場Orion Bīru Nago Kōjō
The brewery of Okinawa's own beer, with tours explaining its history since 1957.

Districts

Central Nago
The old town along Nago Bay with the market, bus terminal, the banyan tree and the castle hill.
Busena and Kise
部瀬名Busena
Resort coast south of the centre with beaches, large hotels and the marine park.
Haneji
羽地Haneji
Farming district in the north with rice paddies, rare on Okinawa, and tankan citrus orchards, facing the inland sea of Haneji.
Henoko and Kushi
辺野古Henoko
Pacific-coast communities beside Camp Schwab; the coral and seagrass beds of Ōura Bay are feeding grounds of the dugong.

History

Under the Ryukyu Kingdom, Nago was one of the magiri (districts) of the northern region, with a castle on the hill above the bay whose lords traced their descent to the Hokuzan era. The Confucian scholar Tei Junsoku, known as Nago Ueekata, was steward of the district in the early eighteenth century and is remembered for introducing moral education texts from China.

The modern city was formed in 1970 by the merger of Nago town with the villages of Yabu, Yagaji, Haneji and Kushi. Its profile rose with the opening of the expressway in 1975 for the Ocean Expo, with the 1997 municipal referendum on a proposed offshore base at Henoko, and with the G8 summit at the Bankoku Shinryōkan in 2000.

14th–15th century
Nago Castle is built on the hill above Nago Bay.
1708
Tei Junsoku brings the moral primer Rikuyu Engi from China, later used in Japanese schools.
1957
Okinawa's first beer brewery, Orion, is founded in Nago.
1970
Nago town merges with four villages to form Nago city.
1975
The Okinawa Expressway reaches Nago in time for the Ocean Expo in Motobu.
1997
A municipal referendum is held on the proposed offshore heliport at Henoko.
2000
The G8 Kyushu-Okinawa Summit is held at the Bankoku Shinryōkan in Busena.
2016
Yanbaru National Park is designated, covering the forests to the north of the city.

Culture

Nago has a strong sense of being the capital of Yanbaru, the northern countryside. Eisā drum dancing fills the villages at Obon, and community festivals keep up older rites such as the Unjami sea-god ceremonies in some northern settlements. The city hosts Meio University and a national college of technology, making it the educational centre of the north. The Henoko question has made Nago a symbol in national politics, and opinion within the city itself has long been divided.

Festivals

Nago Sakura Festival
名護さくら祭りNago Sakura Matsuri
One of Japan's first cherry-blossom festivals, held on the castle hill in late January.
Nago Summer Festival
名護夏まつりNago Natsu Matsuri
Summer festival with eisā, parades and fireworks over Nago Bay.
Eisā
エイサーeisā
Drum dances performed by neighbourhood youth groups around Obon.

Food

Orion beer
オリオンビールOrion Bīru
Light lager brewed in Nago, the standard beer across Okinawa.
Agu pork
アグーagū
Native Okinawan black pig breed, revived in the north after nearly dying out.
Hīja-jiru
ヒージャー汁hījā-jiru
Goat soup with mugwort, a strongly flavoured traditional dish of northern Okinawa.
Tankan and pineapple
タンカンtankan
Winter citrus from Haneji and pineapples from the red soils of the Motobu area.
Okinawa soba
沖縄そばOkinawa soba
Northern Okinawa is known for soba shops serving noodles made with wood-ash lye water.

Getting around

There is no railway; express and highway buses link Nago Bus Terminal with Naha and Naha Airport in about one and a half to two hours via the Okinawa Expressway.
Local buses run to the Motobu Peninsula, Busena and along the coasts, but services to Yanbaru are sparse; most visitors use a rental car.
The Okinawa Expressway ends at Kyoda interchange on the southern edge of the city.

Day trips

Yanbaru National Park
やんばる国立公園Yanbaru Kokuritsu Kōen
Subtropical forests, waterfalls and Cape Hedo in the far north, home of the Okinawa rail.
Nakijin Castle
今帰仁城跡Nakijin-jō ato
Seat of the Hokuzan kings with long, winding limestone walls; a Gusuku World Heritage component.
Motobu Peninsula and Churaumi Aquarium
沖縄美ら海水族館Okinawa Churaumi Suizokukan
Large aquarium with whale sharks in the Ocean Expo Park, about 40 minutes by car.
Kouri Island
古宇利島Kōri-jima
Small island reached by a long bridge over turquoise shallows.
Northern Okinawa World Heritage area
The Yanbaru forests form part of the 2021 natural World Heritage property with Amami-Ōshima, Tokunoshima and Iriomote.

Other cities in the prefecture

CapitalNahaNaha-shiPort town and royal capital of the Ryukyu Kingdom CityIshigakiIshigaki-shiCoral seas and the hub of the Yaeyama Islands CityMiyakojimaMiyakojima-shiFlat coral islands in a sea of improbable blue

Frequently asked questions

How far is Nago from Naha?

About 70 kilometres by road, roughly one and a half hours by car or highway bus via the Okinawa Expressway.

Is Nago a good base for northern Okinawa?

Yes. The Motobu Peninsula, Churaumi Aquarium, Nakijin Castle, Kouri Island and Yanbaru are all within an hour's drive.

When do the cherry trees bloom in Nago?

The Taiwan cherries on the castle hill usually bloom from mid-January to early February, among the earliest in Japan.

What is the Henoko issue?

The Japanese and US governments plan to move the functions of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan to a new facility on reclaimed land off Henoko in Nago; the plan has been opposed by many Okinawans and supported by others, and it remains politically contested.

Sources

1.令和2年国勢調査 (opens in a new tab) — 沖縄県企画部統計課
2.名護市役所 (opens in a new tab) — 名護市
3.やんばる国立公園 (opens in a new tab) — 環境省
4.Okinawa (opens in a new tab) — Japan National Tourism Organization