Naha

Orchids growing in the airport lounges are the first sign you've come to a very different sort of place. Okinawa's provocative capital city Naha is the center of commerce, tourism, and youthful enterprise in the region. People here are less scrubbed-clean looking and more laid-back than elsewhere in Japan, and you'll probably have an easy time feeling relaxed and energized by the city's verve as you tour the sights. Naha's appeal has a short half-life, however, and you may quickly tire of the students on school trips swarming the sidewalks, the chintzy souvenir shops and arcades, shore-leave marines shouldering into bars, and noisy teen moped-gangs dominating street traffic, helmet straps flapping worryingly in the wind. Enjoy the wonderful sights before moving out to explore the rest of the island.