Hello.🖐️🖐️ Today I’d like to introduce you to the Nanjo City Ocean View Rest Area, located in front of Chinen Misaki Park, which was the first place I visited in my rental car on my trip to Okinawa. It has about 50 free parking spaces, a shop where you can buy various souvenirs from Nanjo City, and an observation deck with a great view of the ocean. It’s a must-stop on your way to visit Chinen Misaki Park, Cape Chinen, and Sehwa Utaki, a World Heritage Site.
About Nanjo Roadside Station
This is the first place we visited after renting a car on our trip to Okinawa. It takes about 50 minutes by car from Okinawa Airport, and there are several tourist spots around the rest area, such as Chinen Misaki Park, Cape Chinen, and Sehwa Utaki. There is parking for about 50 cars at the service area, and if it is full, you can use the Chinen Misaki Park parking lot.
Shisha are like Okinawa’s guardian deity and symbol, so you’ll see them everywhere you go. Here, the shisha with angel wings seem to be the most popular.
When I visited, it was September, and it was quite hot, with meltingly hot weather. Drinks are a must to cool off and stay hydrated. By the way, they also sell tickets for Sehwa Utaki (斎場御嶽) here. I thought about going there, but I was told it was a long walk, so I gave up because it was too hot.
The museum also serves as a tourist information center for Nanjo City, which is in the southern part of Okinawa, so you can see exhibits and tourist information, but I didn’t know much Japanese, so I didn’t get to see much.
There is also a service where you can rent Ryukyu costumes, so if you want to take a souvenir photo, it would be a good idea to rent a costume and take a photo. It used to cost 500 yen, but when I visited, the rental price was not listed, so you may need to inquire.
There’s also a space in the back where you can do things like current affairs painting. I was taking a break from the hot weather, so the staff suggested it to me first and kindly guided me through it.
Ocean view from Nanjo Rest Area
If you go outside, you’ll see a stunning ocean view of Okinawa. The gradation of emerald and dark blue colors was really stunning👍👍 You can also see it from Chinen Misaki Park or Cape Chinen later on, but it’s a different feeling to see it from here. I recommend visiting on a nice day if possible.
There is a small bridge off to the side that serves as an observation deck and photo spot. It’s called Happiness Bridge (幸せの架け橋), and you can take a picture with the stunning ocean view in the background : )
Chinen Misaki Nanjo Roadside Station Shop
The roadside station is home to Fukusuke no Tamagoyaki (福助の玉子焼き), a chain store that sells Okinawa’s famous musubi (rice balls) and tamagoyaki (egg rolls). They have a signature dish called 厚焼きポーク玉子 (thickly grilled pork egg roll), which is a simple and delicious snack that utilizes the local flavors of Okinawa.
As a country of characters, there is a mascot character at the Nanjo City Local Specialties Center, and he’s pretty cute with a mustache and a heart pattern on his chest.
Inside the roadside station shop, there were many local specialties from all over Okinawa. I tried the bananas from Okinawa for breakfast at the hotel and they were so sweet and delicious👍 The cute yellow pineapple dolls are sold at full price everywhere in Okinawa, so you can buy one as a souvenir.
The shop also sold various fresh fruit juices and ice creams, and I bought a cool pineapple juice. They have a cute mascot character on it too haha
When I was done shopping, I drove to Chinen Misaki Park, which was right in front of me. Misaki Park has a great ocean view, but I’ll tell you more about it in my next post.
Chinen Misaki in a nutshell
Renting a car in Okinawa made it easy to visit places that are hard to reach by public transportation👍 The Nanjo City Tourist Information Center and Rest Area, which was my first stop on the road, has a great ocean view and is a great place to learn about Okinawa and its local specialties, as well as a place to take a break from the scorching heat. Stay tuned for the next installment of our Chinen Misaki Park review💛
[Okinawa Rental Car Booking and Review]
