Why this ride
A 277 km round trip from Naha - roughly 6 h 37 in the saddle. It goes by way of Nakagusuku-jô site, Zakimi-jô site, Katsuren-jô site and Nakijin-jô site.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Naha afternoon · Nakijin-jô site
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 277 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 37
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Naha
Naha is the capital of Okinawa, a low, bright, warm city at the southern end of a long, thin island that for centuries was the Ryukyu Kingdom, independent and rich from trade between China, Japan and Southeast Asia. Its royal seat was Shuri Castle, on a hill above the city, with red lacquered halls in a style that mixes Chinese and Japanese ideas. A fire destroyed the main buildings in October 2019, and reconstruction is under way, though the walls and gates and the view over the city remain. The castle site belongs to the Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu, listed by UNESCO in 2000.
Read the complete Naha write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Naha is where the day begins. Next is Nakagusuku-jô site.
2. Nakagusuku-jô site
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.
Read the complete Nakagusuku-jô site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Nakagusuku-jô site comes up about 22 km into the recorded legs. Next is Zakimi-jô site.
3. Zakimi-jô site
The walls of Zakimi gusuku curve across the top of a hill in Yomitan like a ribbon of pale limestone, following the contour of the land in graceful arcs rather than straight lines. Built in the early fifteenth century by Gosamaru, a celebrated castle builder of the Ryukyu Kingdom, the fortress is small but beautifully made. Its arched stone gateways, held in place by a wedge-shaped keystone, are among the oldest stone arches in Okinawa. Zakimi is part of the UNESCO site of the Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu, listed in 2000.
Read the complete Zakimi-jô site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 43 km into the recorded legs you reach Zakimi-jô site. Next is Katsuren-jô site.
4. Katsuren-jô site
Katsuren castle stands on a limestone hill on the east coast of Okinawa, near the base of the Katsuren peninsula, and its curving walls step up the slope in a series of enclosures to a summit with sweeping views across the sea. It is one of the gusuku, the castles of the old Ryukyu kingdom and the warring lords who came before it, and it was inscribed in 2000 together with Nakijin, Zakimi, Nakagusuku, Shuri and several sacred groves.
Read the complete Katsuren-jô site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Katsuren-jô site, about halfway. Next is Nakijin-jô site.
5. Nakijin-jô site
On a hill on the Motobu peninsula in northern Okinawa, the long, curving walls of Nakijin castle follow the contours of the limestone like a stone dragon. In the fourteenth century, Okinawa was divided into three kingdoms, and Nakijin was the seat of the northern kingdom, Hokuzan, until it was conquered by the Chuzan kingdom in the early fifteenth century. The site is part of the UNESCO-listed Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu, which celebrates the unique culture of the Ryukyu islands, shaped by trade with China, Japan and Southeast Asia.
Read the complete Nakijin-jô site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Nakijin-jô site sits at 122 km, about halfway. Next is back through Katsuren-jô site.
6. back through Katsuren-jô site
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Katsuren-jô site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Katsuren-jô site comes up about 209 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Zakimi-jô site.
7. back through Zakimi-jô site
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Zakimi-jô site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 232 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Zakimi-jô site. Next is back through Nakagusuku-jô site.
8. back through Nakagusuku-jô site
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Nakagusuku-jô site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Nakagusuku-jô site, late in the day. Next is Naha.
9. Naha
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Naha write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 277 km.
Leg by leg
Naha to Nakagusuku-jô site
Naha → Nakagusuku-jô site is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Nakagusuku-jô site to Zakimi-jô site
Nakagusuku-jô site → Zakimi-jô site is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Zakimi-jô site to Katsuren-jô site
Zakimi-jô site → Katsuren-jô site is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Katsuren-jô site to Nakijin-jô site
Katsuren-jô site → Nakijin-jô site is 72 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Nakijin-jô site to back through Katsuren-jô site
Nakijin-jô site → back through Katsuren-jô site is 71 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Katsuren-jô site to back through Zakimi-jô site
back through Katsuren-jô site → back through Zakimi-jô site is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Zakimi-jô site to back through Nakagusuku-jô site
back through Zakimi-jô site → back through Nakagusuku-jô site is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Nakagusuku-jô site to Naha
back through Nakagusuku-jô site → Naha is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.