3 Reasons to Visit Okinawa in Winter 2023/2024

While most assume the tropical beaches of Okinawa look best in the warmer months, winter is also an excellent time to visit! The refreshingly cool and pleasant weather of Okinawa in winter makes it a great time for sightseeing without breaking a sweat, and those willing to brave slightly chilly waters can still enjoy swimming, snorkeling, and diving. In this article, we’ll show you 3 reasons why visiting Okinawa in winter is a great idea!

Check out our writers’ top Japan travel ideas!

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1. The flight ticket is not as expensive as the one in summer.

Kyosuke Nakazawa/Flickr

Many people want to go to Okinawa in summer to go to the beach or the famous festivals, so the price of the flight ticket jumps up. But in winter, you can go there with a much cheaper price! 

Our Top Tips

JR Pass for Whole Japan

Explore Japan in the most convenient and economical way with a Japan Rail Pass! It is valid for the majority of railways and local buses operated by JR. 

2. You can enjoy the earliest cherry blossoms of the year!

In Okinawa, cherry blossom season starts around the end of January and it ends around Valentine's Day. It is really early compared to other parts of Japan (the cherry blossoms in Kyushu bloom in March, Honshu is April and in Hokkaido it's in May). So if you visit there around the season, you can enjoy the earliest cherry blossoms of the year!

 

nekotank/Flickr

As you can see, the color of the Okinawan cherry blossom is darker than the ones in Honshu.  This color matches with the Okinawan blue sky ind the contrast is really beautiful! 

3. There are a lot of events even in winter!

okinawa-winter

While most of the famous events in Japan are in spring, summer or fall, in Okinawa, there are many festivals to join even in winter!

Our Top Tips

Japan Shinkansen, Narita Express (N'EX) & Express Train Tickets

Plan ahead by booking your shinkansen, airport train, and express train tickets online in English. Have the tickets sent to you by mail or collect them at the station once you're in Japan.

Illusion of Light and Art

Momoso Monomairi 百人御物参(ももそおものまいり)

MomosoMonomairi is a historical religious service at Shuri Castle, and it's a service to pray for the peace of Ryukyu, prosperity of descendants, safe trips and so on.

In 2015, it was held on January 24th and 25th. 

More event info in English

https://visitokinawajapan.com/discover/events/

This website has an event calender so it's really convenient for you to find events to want to go to while you are there!

Or, you can use the Multilingual Call Center too. It's a free service!

Tel:
0570-077201

Skype:
call-center-en01
call-center-en02

Enjoy your stay in Okinawa in winter!

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The information in this article is accurate at the time of publication.

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