Okinawa is also such a beautiful place in general. Go to Nago on the northern end and do the castle hike, specifically during February's sakura festival if you can: https://visitokinawajapan.com/discover/events/nago-cherry-blossom-festival/
If they've rebuilt Shuri Castle after the fire, it's also worth seeing. The Nago castle was destroyed in the war so it's more of a jungle hike full of shinto shrines but they reconstructed the old Ryukyu stonghold in the capital.
edit: Also, the main base protests should still likely be outside of Camp Foster in Chatan and Camp Schwab in the north. Chatan is a nice little town with a lot to do and it's interesting to see the cultural imprint of the American presence juxtaposed with the Ryukyu and the Japanese influences. It also has some of the best diving in the world but avoid the China-facing coast because it has incredibly dangerous rip tides.
These are both great ideas thank you.
Okinawa is also such a beautiful place in general. Go to Nago on the northern end and do the castle hike, specifically during February's sakura festival if you can: https://visitokinawajapan.com/discover/events/nago-cherry-blossom-festival/
If they've rebuilt Shuri Castle after the fire, it's also worth seeing. The Nago castle was destroyed in the war so it's more of a jungle hike full of shinto shrines but they reconstructed the old Ryukyu stonghold in the capital.
edit: Also, the main base protests should still likely be outside of Camp Foster in Chatan and Camp Schwab in the north. Chatan is a nice little town with a lot to do and it's interesting to see the cultural imprint of the American presence juxtaposed with the Ryukyu and the Japanese influences. It also has some of the best diving in the world but avoid the China-facing coast because it has incredibly dangerous rip tides.