MARCH 2019 businesstraveller.comDESTINATIONS
RIGHT: Shurijo Castle,
the home of the
Ryukyu KingsWORDS JEREMY TREDINNICK
32
T
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
to a truly memorable ten minutes on aptly named Sunset
Beach, a short stroll from my plush lodgings at the Hilton
Okinawa Chatan Resort.
This particular sunset had me mesmerised, my gaze
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. The
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.
After the war, Okinawa was the site of a large
US military base and under the control of the US →