DE S T INAT IONS


WOR D S JE RE MY T RE DINNIC K


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to a truly memorable ten minutes on aptly named Sunset Beach, a short stroll from my plush lodgings at the Hilton Okinawa Chatan Resort. Tis particular sunset had me mesmerised, my gaze


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fixed – like the 100-plus people around me – on a horizon of low purple-black storm clouds (which had drenched us earlier in the day), a thin strip of azure sky, and an ocean of deep blue, from which emerged the silhouetted peaks of the distant Kerama Islands. Behind the clouds, the sky glowed bright orange and


rich gold before the fiery sun emerged and then quickly dipped below the waterline. It’s a deeply satisfying feeling, seeing Mother Nature put on a show like that.


SHAPED BY HISTORY Okinawa – about a two-hour flight from Tokyo – is an intriguing island of many faces. Centuries-old castle ruins with walls of coral limestone serve as a fascinating reminder of the Ryukyu Kingdom, whose rulers oversaw a dynasty that lasted almost 500 years, from the early 15th to late 19th centuries. Its success was built on the sea trade between Japan, Korea, China and South East Asia, its strategic location on the main sailing routes bringing wealth and power. In the latter part of the Second World War, it was this


strategic location that made it the focus of imperial Japan’s final defence against the advancing US naval forces. Te Battle of Okinawa involved three months of fierce fighting from April to June 1945, claiming the lives of more than 100,000 Japanese soldiers and native Okinawans. Aſter the war, Okinawa was the site of a large US military base and under the control of the US


here are many places to see a breathtaking sunset, and I’ve been lucky enough to experience more than my fair share – almost to the point of indifference. Almost. In Okinawa, the largest of Japan’s subtropical Ryukyu island chain, surrounded by pollution-free sky and the deep, clear waters of the Pacific, I was treated


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RIGHT: Shurijo Castle, the home of the Ryukyu Kings


bus ine s s tr a v el ler .c om


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