On the ridge above Nakagusuku Bay the walls of an old castle follow the curve of the hill in a long ribbon of pale limestone, and the shapes are surprisingly sophisticated. Nakagusuku was built, probably in the fourteenth century and extended in the fifteenth, by the lord Gosamaru, who was respected as a master builder, and its walls use a technique of fitted, curved stones with no mortar, in a pattern the Okinawans call nunozumi, cloth-laying, and a more rugged style called aikatazumi, which looks like a jigsaw. Six enclosures step up along the ridge, with gateways, a well and the foundations of halls.
The castle's story ends in political tragedy: in 1458 the king's forces, who feared Gosamaru's growing power, attacked and he took his own life. Centuries later, in 1853, Commodore Perry's expedition passed through Okinawa and the officers admired the skilful masonry and the arches, which they believed to be a Western skill. The site is one of the Gusuku Sites of the Kingdom of Ryukyu on the UNESCO list, and from the highest enclosure the view takes in the Pacific on one side and the East China Sea on the other, a rare thing on an island so narrow.
The ride to the castle runs along Route 329 and local roads through Kitanakagusuku, with sugar cane fields and views of the bay. Traffic keeps left on Okinawa, speeds are modest, and military traffic and rental cars are common. The weather turns quickly, with sudden showers in the rainy season in May and June and strong typhoons in late summer and autumn. Summer is hot, with humidity above eighty per cent, so start early and drink a lot of water.
Chatan, a few kilometres away, is a lively seaside town of about twenty-eight thousand, with American Village, a shopping and entertainment area, as well as fuel stations and many restaurants. Try Okinawan soba, taco rice and sata andagi, a round fried doughnut. The castle has an entrance fee, a small visitor centre and good paths. Sunset from the walls, when the stones turn warm and the bay glows, is worth waiting for.