In 1605, Naminoue Shrine became the top shrine of the Ryukyu Kingdom and was officially recorded as such, and today still remains the main Shinto shrine for Okinawa.

Perched up on a hill, it overlooks Naminoue Beach and the East China Sea—although I hadn’t realized the beach was there until our visit; otherwise I would have packed a picnic lunch and our water stuff to make a day of it.