Naha Travel: Okinawa Prefectural Museum

The Okinawa Prefectural Museum (��ꌧ��, Okinawa Kenritsu Hakubutsukan) is a great place to learn more about Okinawa's unique history and culture. The museum was previously located near Shuri Castle, but was relocated and reopend in a modern building in 2007. It consists of two separate museums: a history museum and an art museum.

The history museum covers the entire history of Okinawa from before the time of the Ryukyu Kingdom to modern times. The scope of the museum is wide and includes natural history, folklore, crafts and archaeology. There is a great deal of well presented information about Okinawan culture and history which visitors could spend a few hours exploring.

The art museum is a bit smaller than the history museum and features a variety of art forms in multiple galleries, including sculptures, paintings, sketches and videos. The museum's collection focuses on local artists and themes, and the works on display are generally modern or contemporary. There is also space for special exhibitions, which come with separate admission fees.

Outdoor displays of traditional Okinawan architecture

The Okinawa Prefectural Museum is located in central Naha, a ten minute walk northwest of Omoromachi Station on the Okinawa Monorail. Alternatively, it is served by multiple bus lines, including bus number 10 which runs from Naha Bus Center along Kokusaidori to the museum. Get off at Kenritsu Hakubutsukan-mae (��ّO, 230 yen, 2-3 buses per hour).

How to get to and around Naha