Christian's Travel Blog

Tripadvisor has a list (by ranking) of 26 campgrounds on Okinawa and surrounding islands. By now, my island hopping introduced me to six islands of the Ryukyu archipelago, or in other terms, 4 weeks by camping on three of them. So what about Ama Beach Campground on Zamami-jima? Interestingly it is not mentioned at all by TripAdvisor ... Today it's already a week that I arrived from Naha by ferry - on the cheaper cargo ferry a two-hour crossing with a short stop at Aka-jima. And I'm still not departing this pearl in the Keremashoto National Park. Ama Beach Campground.So close to the touristic hub Naha (Okinawa), a hidden secret in terms of camping right at an incredible turquoise beach - and still it escaped the mighty virtual eyes of TripAdvisor. Let it be like that. I won't put it on TripAdvisor's ranking on top. It's just right as it is. One of those few places - like the one at Maupiti in French Polynesia, or 'U...

A solo traveler too needs protection from evil spirits - be it from jellyfish in tropical coral gardens, Habu snakes on a trail in dense rainforest, or be it simply an exotic food experience. However, long before offering me that 'good luck charm', the Shīsā Lion Dog has been tasked in the Ryukyu kingdoms to prevent evil from coming into a home. Already at that time construction of buildings was restricted by rank. Encircled by a coral limestone wall and trees, a classic wooden house has a ceramic tiled roof and is raised off the ground. In addition it is surrounded by an overhanging roof for protection and air circulation to enhance living quality. Nowadays concrete buildings substitute the classic residences, but the farer you depart from the main island Okinawa, you'll still find those structures fit into their environment - some of them built before the Meiji period.