Okinawa is famous for a variety of crafts, including bingata (stencil-dyed fabric with bright tropical motifs made into clothing and accessories), pottery, Ryukuan lacquerware, Ryukyuan glassware, kariyushi shirts (the Okinawan version of the Hawaiian Aloha shirts), Shisha (lion dogs, used to ward off evil spirits), shuri-ori weaving, and awamori (a potent spirit made from Thai rice and black-koji mold). There are many souvenir shops along the 1.5km (1 mile) Kokusai Dori, but for one-stop shopping, be sure to visit Tenbusu Naha, in the Naha-shi Dento Kogei-kan building on Kokusai Dori at 3-2-10 Makishi (tel. 098/868-7866), with the Naha Municipal Arts and Crafts Museum with English-language descriptions of Okinawa's various crafts (open daily 9am-6pm; admission ¥300 adults, ¥200 students, ¥100 children); the Traditional Arts & Crafts Center where you can try your hand at Bingata stencil dying and other crafts; a shop selling local crafts; and a theater with performance art three times daily Monday to Friday.
Just a few minutes' walk south of Kokusai Dori via the covered Heiwa Dori shopping arcade is Makishi Public Market (Makishi Kousetsu Ichiba) with food items unique to Okinawa (including pig's face, feet, and stomach), while another 7-minutes' walk farther south on Heiwa Dori brings you to Tsuboya Yachimun Dori with its 20-some ceramic-art workshops and galleries, definitely worth the stroll.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.
