Culture

Every year, as Obon approaches, the streets come alive with Eisa and each night the sound of sanshin and singing emanates from the folk music bars. Okinawa City is a Mecca for Okinawa’s two most cherished arts: Eisa and Okinawan folk music. Aiming to foster deeper understanding and appreciation of non-Japanese traditional culture, the city is a hotbed of cultural and traditional arts events. Worth noting are the “Kijimuna Festival” where children’s imagination is richly fertilized by watching the best dance arts from around the world, and the “Okinawa City International Festival” where you can experience a variety of cultural forms and customs courtesy of the many non-Japanese residents of Okinawa City.