Makishi (牧志), Naha
Makishi is one of the most vibrant and culturally authentic neighborhoods in Naha City, located in the heart of Okinawa's capital just south of the famous Kokusai-dori shopping street. It is a district where the everyday commercial life, culinary traditions, and community character of Naha are most genuinely and accessibly on display, offering a layer of local authenticity that complements the more tourist-oriented energy of the surrounding streets.
The neighborhood is most famous internationally as the home of the Makishi Public Market (Makishi Kousetsu Ichiba), one of the most celebrated and atmospherically extraordinary food markets in all of Japan. Known affectionately as "Okinawa's Kitchen", the market has served the culinary needs of Naha residents for over 70 years and remains one of the most vivid and immersive market experiences available anywhere in the country.
The Makishi Public Market occupies a multi-story building accessible through the covered arcade streets branching southward from Kokusai-dori. The ground floor is entirely devoted to fresh food vendors selling an extraordinary range of products that reflect the unique culinary traditions and tropical biodiversity of the Ryukyu Islands in a completely unfiltered and authentic market environment.
The seafood section of the market is the most visually extraordinary, displaying tropical fish, crustaceans, and shellfish in vivid colors and unusual forms that are rarely seen in markets on the Japanese mainland. Varieties including irabucha (parrotfish), garahi (grouper), miibai (coral trout), fresh mozuku seaweed, and enormous shako (mantis shrimp) reflect the extraordinary diversity of the marine ecosystem surrounding Okinawa.
The pork section of the market is equally distinctive and reflects the central importance of pork in Okinawan cuisine. Every part of the pig is represented, including mimiga (pig's ear), tebichi (pig's trotter), nakami (pig's intestine), and various preparations of soki (spare ribs) that are essential ingredients in traditional Okinawan cooking. The saying that Okinawans use every part of the pig "except the squeal" is amply demonstrated by the extraordinary variety available at the market stalls.
One of the most beloved and uniquely Okinawan market customs is the practice of purchasing fresh seafood or meat from the ground-floor vendors and carrying it upstairs to the second-floor restaurants, where the kitchen staff will cook the purchased ingredients for a modest preparation fee. This "bring your own ingredients" dining custom creates one of the most convivial and enjoyable eating experiences available in Naha, particularly popular for sashimi cut from freshly purchased whole fish.
The Heiwa-dori covered shopping arcade running through the heart of Makishi is one of the most historically continuous and genuinely local shopping streets in Naha. The arcade stretches southward from Kokusai-dori through the market area and beyond, containing an extraordinary mix of everyday shops, traditional craft retailers, small restaurants, and family-run businesses that have served the local community for generations.
The character of Heiwa-dori is distinctly more neighborhood-oriented and less tourist-focused than the main Kokusai-dori street above, and the further south one walks from the main street the more genuinely local and unpretentious the commercial environment becomes. The deeper sections of the arcade contain the kinds of everyday shops serving local residents that are rarely encountered in the more heavily visited tourist districts.
The Tsuboya Pottery District (Tsuboya Yachimun-dori) sits at the eastern edge of the broader Makishi neighborhood and is one of the most historically and culturally significant craft districts in Okinawa. The area has been a center of Okinawan ceramic production since the 17th century, when the Ryukyu Kingdom consolidated the island's pottery workshops in this district under royal patronage.
The Tsuboya potters produce Yachimun, the traditional Okinawan ceramics characterized by their bold geometric patterns, earthy glazes, and robust forms that reflect both Ryukyuan and Chinese ceramic influences. Several active kilns and pottery workshops remain in operation within the district alongside retail shops selling both traditional and contemporary Yachimun pieces directly from the producers.
The Tsuboya Pottery Museum within the district houses an important collection of historical Okinawan ceramics and documents the development of the Yachimun tradition from its origins through the present day. The museum building itself, a beautifully preserved traditional Okinawan structure, is one of the finest architectural examples of vernacular Ryukyuan urban buildings surviving in central Naha.
The Makishi neighborhood and the surrounding streets contain numerous small izakaya, Okinawan restaurants, and casual dining establishments serving the full range of traditional Okinawan cuisine at prices reflecting a local rather than tourist market. Eating in the smaller restaurants of Makishi away from the main tourist streets offers one of the most authentic and affordable introductions to Okinawan food culture available in the capital.
Makishi is served by Makishi Station on the Yui Rail monorail, connecting the neighborhood directly to Naha Airport in approximately 13 minutes and to Shuri Castle in approximately 13 minutes in the opposite direction. The station's central position makes Makishi one of the most conveniently located neighborhoods in Naha for visitors wishing to explore both the city center and the broader attractions of the island using the monorail network as their primary transport.
