On Sunday, August 26th, Miguel Da Luz, PR representative for our center appeared on RBC announcer Mr. Hijikata's radio program titled "Words of a 1000 people." You can listen to the 30 minutes program on the link below. Sorry, in Japanese only.
Karate enthusiasts who visit Okinawa usually train a lot, enjoy time with their instructors and friends and dedicate the rest of their time enjoying and discovering Okinawa, its culture and multifaceted society. Some interested in karate’s history take the time to visit karate monuments or take a karate tour to physically experience the tangible aspects of Okinawa karate and to pay their respect to the masters of the past.
Others who are really into culture and history take the time to visit local museums and libraries, some even spending their free time navigating between the many second-hand bookstores in search of a rare book. One of the few bookstores specialized in karate is Yōju Shorin (in Japanese) located in Ginowan City.
There is also the Okinawa Prefectural Archives that houses many documents and films related to karate.
When it comes to books, the must visit library was the Okinawa Prefectural Library (in Japanese) that was located in Yogi Park, Naha City. This facility is being relocated on the grounds of where used to be the Naha Bus Terminal. It will be housed on the 3rd to the 6th floor of a new complex building constructed as part of the Asahibashi monorail station redevelopment project. The new library should open in December 2018.
No need to mention that a must visit site is the Okinawa Karate Kaikan and its Archives. But did you know that the exhibition hall home of the Archives also houses a small but precious room known as the Shiryō etsuran shitsu or document reading/research room. With the many books and documents donated by late masters such as Takamiyagi Shigeru, the room’s collection is quite consequent and worth the visit. Indeed, the research team is working daily to file and unveil new books and documents such as newspapers’ articles some dating of 1895!
Now, if you have an inquiry regarding documents that might be on the bookshelves or about any other type of project, the best is to first send an email to one of the curators working at the Karate Promotion Division. The email address is 82500[@]pref.okinawa.lg.jp (Please remove the [ ] before and after @). Note that this office is not located within the Okinawa Karate Kaikan but within the Okinawa Prefecture Government Building.
As you see, and although he meant something else, Funakoshi Gichin's principles “dōjō nomi no karate to omou na - Do not think that karate is only in the dōjō” is very much true.
From August 3 to August 31, the Okinawa Karate Information Center is appearing on FM Okinawa Radio (87.3 FM) in the program "RADIO de Okinawa KARATE Dojo". Today will be the third broadcast.
Personalities Shiori Ueda and Chinen Dashinichiro talk in a relaxed atmosphere about karate with Miguel Da Luz, our center’s PR representative.
Broadcasting time is within the program “Sh@re TIME” every Friday from 19: 25 to (5 minutes).
Unfortunately, the program is in Japanese only…
Here is a list of not too expensive and karate friendly accommodations in Naha City. The ones marked with a (★) have online English information available. For other ones, send an email in English. When contacting them, make sure to mention that you are visiting Okinawa for karate purposes as some may have discounts for karate enthusiasts.
Please understand that we can not be held responsible for any issue happening when contacting or staying at one of these facilities as well as regarding the style and services of each facility. This information is only provided as a start for someone looking for a place to stay.
If you wish to suggest an accommodation, feel free to contact us.
| Abest Cube Naha★ | https://www.abestcube-naha.com/plan.html |
| Andon Matsuo★ | http://www.okinawayado.com/ |
| Asahi Guest house★ | www.agari-tida.com/room.html |
| CamCam Okinawa★ | www.camcam-okinawa.com |
| Guest house Base Okinawa★ | http://okig-e.cloud-line.com/nawa.net/ |
| Guest House Sea pappa★ | http://www.sea-pappa.com/ |
| Guest House Umikaji★ | http://umi-kaji.com/ |
| Hikari no Ie Anex | http://www.hikarinoie.jp/ |
| Karate Mate | https://okinawakaratemate.wixsite.com/okinawakarate |
| Kariyushi Hotels★ | |
| Kina Mansion | http://www.kina.co.jp/weekly/ |
| Lohas Villa★ | http://lohas-cg.com/english.html |
| Minamikaze | http://minamikaze-cg.com/ |
| Minshuku Green House | http://greenh.jp/ |
| Minshuku Hakuseisho★ | www.hakuseisou.com/ |
| Okinawa guesthouse Grand Naha | http://grandnaha.jp/ |
| Okinawa Harborview Mansion★ | https://www.okinawa-weekly.com/english.php |
| Shell House Backpackers Hostel★ | http://shellhouse.net/ |
| Stella Resort Okinawa Guest House★ | http://stella-cg.com/english.html |
| Tokyu Stay Okinawa Naha | https://www.tokyustay.co.jp/e/hotel/ON/ |
Other locations
| COZY STAY apartment, in Tomigusuku★ | https://cozy.okinawa |
| Karatel, in Yomitan★ | https://karatel.jp/ |
Karate was born during the Ryukyu Kingdom era on the island of Okinawa. There it spread its roots and grow to such an extent that today there are 130,000,000 karate enthusiasts in 187 countries. Why does karate fascinate the world? How come that the small Okinawa island developed such a martial art that will be included in the Tokyo Olympic games in 2020? In the garden dojo, a gentle tanme (grandpa) awaits to tell the story of karate. Come in the garden and discover the technique and spirit of karate, and the traditional performing arts that have a deep relation with it. May you be a novice or a karate enthusiast, everyone is invited in a world of new discoveries…
Overview:
Title: Okinawa Karate Garden
(2018 Okinawa Performing Arts Magnet Contents Development Project)
Organizer: Okinawa Dento Karatedo Shinkokai
Support: Okinawa Prefecture Government, Okinawa Prefecture Culture Association
Venue: TENBUSU HALL (On the 4th floor of TENBUSU NAHA)
Dates and times:
10/3 (Fri) 19：00~
10/4 (Wed) 19：00~
10/5 (Fri) 19：00~
10/6 (Sat) 11：00~, 15：00~, 19：00~
10/7 (Sun) 19：00~
Creative team
Supervisor: Ikemiyagi Masaaki
Director: Kamiya Takefumi
Producers: Miguel Da Luz, Tomita Megumi
Support: Ryukyu Entertainment Embassy, Theater Create, Kukuru Vision, Wada Mizuki SAVA, Ryukyu Labo
Tickets:
Tickets (tax included) - All free seats
Adult \2,500
Child (up to senior high school student) \2,000
Please note that tickets cannot be re-scheduled, refunded or reissued. Free preview for preschool children provided they sit on adult’s lap. Otherwise, please purchase a separate ticket.
Purchase at the Okinawa Karate Kaikan and receive an original good!
Special group discount: 5 tickets → 10% OFF 10 tickets→ 20% OFF 15 tickets → 25% OFF 20 tickets → 30% OFF
Above discounts are available only for one-time booking of a single performances through telephone or email transaction. Please contact us for discount for groups of more than 20.
Ticket reservation, sales and inquiries:
098-851-3707 (Okinawa Dento Karatedo Shinkokai 9:00 - 17:00)
Tickets available at the Okinawa Karate Kaikan, Naha City Tourism Association, Ryubo Palette Kumoji, Coop Apple Town, Shureido, Dojo Bar, Ippon-do.
Official website
