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Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium opens a branch shop on Kokusai Street

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium opens a branch shop on Kokusai Street

April 27, 2014 Ryukyu Shimpo

The Okinawa Churashima Foundation opened an Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium merchandise shop on Kokusai Street in Kumoji district of Naha on April 26. Many people visited the shop to buy products that were previously only sold at the aquarium and in the Yambaru areas of the northern part of Okinawa.

The shops displays a mini aquarium that contains clownfishes, a popular feature of the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. It also screens whale sharks swimming on a 200-inch...

 

Okinawa’s population up to 1.414 million in April, 2014

May 1, 2014 Ryukyu Shimpo

The estimated population of Okinawa as of April 1, 2014, has reached 1,414,148, according to statistics published on April 30 by the Okinawa Prefectural Government. The figures showed a decrease of 5,856 people from the previous month this year, but it marked...

Royal Crown of the Ryukyu Kingdom exhibited at the Naha City Museum

Royal Crown of the Ryukyu Kingdom exhibited at the Naha City Museum

April 25, 2014 Ryukyu Shimpo

From April 25 to May 7, the Ryukyu Kingdom’s Royal Crown with an ornamental hairpin is on display at the Naha City Museum of History. Tatsuro Furutsuka, a curator of the museum, hopes many people will visit the exhibition. He said, “This little crown contains...

Record 6.58 million tourists visited Okinawa in fiscal 2013

Record 6.58 million tourists visited Okinawa in fiscal 2013

April 22, 2014 Ryukyu Shimpo

On April 21, the Okinawa Prefectural Government announced the number of tourists who visited Okinawa from April 2013 to March 2014 was 6,580,300, a new annual record. This represents an 11.1 percent increase from the previous year. It exceeded the previous record...

Atlas moths’ love season begins on Yonaguni Island

Atlas moths' love season begins on Yonaguni Island

April 23, 2014 Ryukyu Shimpo

Thriving on Yonaguni island, the world’s largest Atlas moths have reached the time of emergence. They are called Ayamihabiru on Yonaguni Island. The Ayamihabiru Museum in Yonaguni displays a female moth that emerged on April 15, and a male that emerged...

Okinawan radio station to support peace-keeping in East Timor

Okinawan radio station to support peace-keeping in East Timor

April 24, 2014 Ryukyu Shimpo

A community radio station of the Yomitan Village FM Yomitan began a project with nonprofit organization Okinawa Peace Assistance Center. They have set up a radio station in East Timor aimed at preventing conflict. The radio station starts broadcasting in September....

Nobel laureate Oe speaks out on Okinawa problem in Tokyo

Nobel laureate Oe speaks out on Okinawa problem in Tokyo

April 27, 2014 Ryukyu Shimpo

A symposium on the Futenma-Henoko issue was held in Tokyo on April 26. Nobel laureate and novelist Kenzaburo Oe, Gavan McCormack, an emeritus professor of the Australian National University and Masaaki Gabe, a professor at the University of the Ryukyus, made the...

A giant bluefin tuna caught at Tomari Fishing Port in Naha

A giant bluefin tuna caught at Tomari Fishing Port in Naha

April 25, 2014 Ryukyu Shimpo

In the middle of the fishing season, Asumaru ship captain Masanori Isagawa caught a giant bluefin tuna weighing 327 kilograms at Tomari Port in Naha on April 25. Isagawa said with a smile, “After seeing the tuna caught by longline fishing, I was so happy.”

The...

English tourist guidebook on Okinawa published

English tourist guidebook on Okinawa published

April 25, 2014 Ryukyu Shimpo

The Singapore-based Tuttle Publishing Company published an English tourist guidebook on Okinawa Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands on April 24. The book targets foreign tourists visiting Japan and Okinawa. The company plans to publish 16 countries and regions...

Late Deigo blooming heralds the eve of Summer

Late Deigo blooming heralds the eve of Summer

April 12, 2014 Ryukyu Shimpo

On April 11, the Okinawa Meteorological Observatory announced Deigo or tiger’s claws are in bloom in Naha. They have arrived 10 days later than last year. It was a summery day with a maximum temperature reaching 25.5 degrees Celsius. Last year, deigo bloomed on...

Golden week hotel bookings remain strong in Okinawa

Golden week hotel bookings remain strong in Okinawa

April 25, 2014 Ryukyu Shimpo

Hotels and travel agencies expect a bumper Golden Week this year, with an increase in domestic and international tourists.

According to JTB Okinawa, domestic customers’ bookings for hotels in Okinawa were up about 20 percent from the same period last...