One Week in Okinawa, Japan | Off the Beaten Path Without Driving

Henza acommodation: Guest House Renga II (民宿レンガ)

DAY 7) URUMA: Henza Island & Katsuren

It’s a long (1h30min) but nice walk between the Yakena Bus Terminal and Henza Island, the road crosses the sea and has a bit of a promenade in some sections, it can get very windy so it was quite fun overall. I’d stayed overnight on Henza Island. In the middle of the long road connecting the mainland with Henza is a tourist information center and rest stop, the internet mentioned they had a bike rental service so for day 7 I had planned to go there in the morning and spend the day exploring Hamahiga island next door.

There was a small Sea Culture Museum at the rest stop, but they didn’t seem to rent any bikes! I wasn’t feeling particularly inspired to walk all the way back to Henza Island and then over another bridge to Hamahiga, it’s a long journey to do on foot, so I decided to forego the initial plan and just go to Katsuren instead.

So off I went, after stocking up on mozoku tempura, another 45min walk and a quick bus ride and I was at Katsuren Castle which I had missed the day before. There was less to see than at Nakagusuku but I appreciated the views all the same, and the history of the place is interesting.

I took the direct bus back to Naha without any problems and, since I had more time than I expected after skipping the original plan, I did a bit more sightseeing in the city. You can see the continuation of this day in the Naha city tab.