10 Best Things to Do After Dinner in Okinawa

Located in the town of Chatan in the middle of the main island of Okinawa, Araha Beach is full of American ambience. One of the more exotic spots here is the Hamby Night Market, which is held on weekends around Sunset Street. As there's a US military base nearby, this flea market mainly deals in used clothing and goods made in America, but there are also stalls where you can enjoy international cuisine. Mihama American Village, which is within walking distance of the market, is another must-visit attraction. At night the Ferris wheel and shops in the area are lit with vivid neon lights, producing a dazzlingly photogenic scene.

About an hour's drive north of Naha Airport, Southeast Botanical Gardens in Okinawa City offers night tours for a limited time during the summer. These tours feature illuminated tropical plants together with digital art using projection mapping. Southeast Botanical Gardens has a "water paradise" area as well as a botanical garden area, and you can see more than 30,000 tropical and subtropical plants covering about 1,300 species. 

Highlights include huge plants such as the baobab, with its uniquely upside-down look, the dragon tree, which is said to have the longest life of any tree in the world, and a row of 25-metre-high Yusura palm trees. From June to August, pink and white lotus blooms all over the pond, and bright red hibiscus can be enjoyed all year round on Akabana Street.

Fancy taking an unforgettable photo under a vast starry sky? Okinawa Starry Sky Studio offers private photo tours limited to one group at a time. This is a great opportunity to have a professional photographer take a special photo to commemorate your family trip or honeymoon. The tour takes around 60 to 90 minutes and the location is the seaside of Yambaru in the northern area of the main island of Okinawa, renowned for its untouched nature. 

Kouri Island is crowded with tourists during the day, but at night it's enveloped in complete darkness, except for the quiet sandy beach shining beneath the infinite stars in the sky. So how does it work? Simply find the perfect shooting location, pose, smile if you want to, and the professional photographer will take a beautiful picture of you under the starry sky. The finished photo will definitely be a keeper.

The largest nightclub in Okinawa Prefecture, Club Epica is a resort-style dance club in Naha City. The luxurious interior is a throwback to Japan's economic boom years in the 1980s, but it's equipped with a state-of-the-art sound system. Here you can dance the night away with various genres of music including house, hip-hop, R&B and pop. 

Entertainers and popular DJs who play throughout Japan are often invited to perform here. There are also menus of all-you-can-eat sweets, fruits, and ice cream, so you'll definitely want to drop by if you have a sweet tooth. The venue is usually crowded with Okinawan regulars who have the privilege of discounted prices.

Shuri Castle, a World Heritage Site that's full of tourists during the daytime, was the political, diplomatic, and cultural centre of the Ryukyu Kingdom that prospered for 450 years. The illumination of Shuri Castle at night, its vermilion structure glowing in the light, is also one of Okinawa's must-see attractions. 

The castle walls and outer areas are lit up from sunset until midnight all year round. The best place to see this is on the banks of the Ryutanike artificial pond in Shuri Castle Park. Visible in the distance over the pond, Shuri Castle looks fantastic as it emerges illuminated from the dark. 

If you're hungry after a night on the town, why not head on over to the drive-in for a midnight snack? Seaside Drive In on the coast of Onna Village, was founded in 1967 as Okinawa's first drive-in restaurant. The American-style retro building is a local landmark. From inside you can enjoy great ocean views. 

This drive-in is open 24 hours a day for takeaways. The menu covers pretty much everything from Japanese to Western and Chinese food, including rib steak, fried chicken, katsudon (pork rice bowl), and sweet and sour pork. But you might be better off going for the light meal menu as a midnight snack. The tonkotsu-based soup and seaside sandwiches are particularly excellent.

For some excitement in the dark, explore Ishigaki Island at night in search of nocturnal creatures that live in the Yaeyama Islands. The Yaeyama Bat, which hangs from palm trees and has red eyes, is a huge bat that has a metre-long wingspan. Watch in awe as they fly between the palm trees. You'll also find the endangered Coconut Crab, a large hermit crab, that lurks in mangrove forests and caves. Other amazing sights include the dance of thousands of Japan's smallest fireflies, the Yaeyama Hime-botaru, which can only be seen for a few hours after sunset from March to June. There are also many night tours where you can enjoy the nocturnal nature of Ishigaki Island, including a canoe tour of Miyara River where mangroves grow under the starry sky.

A 30-minute drive south of Naha City, you can take a tour of the wild jungle that since ancient times been known as "Uwaga". The tour convenes at Okinawa World, where you can put on some long boots (wellies will do) and lights and board a Jeep to the entrance of the jungle. 

The path follows the fenceless cliffs, so you'll need to rely on lights to guide you through the darkness. Heading down the steep limestone road, you'll cross the bridge over a small river and go through a valley into a secret cave in the depths of the forest. You'll also follow the trails of fruit bats and huge leaf-covered tunnels through valleys surrounded by rocky cliffs and caves. Finally, look up at the banyan tree towering from the precipice as you head towards your goal. Advance reservation is required if you want to participate in the tour.

Located to the west of the main island of Okinawa, the Kerama Islands are one of the best diving spots in Okinawa, known for the beauty of their coral, the transparency of the sea, and the unique deep "Kerama Blue" tones. The largest island in the chain is Tokashiki Island. One of the most intriguing ways to approach this island is to explore the sea at night, when it takes on an appearance that's completely different from the daytime image of the Kerama Islands. At night you can observe nocturnal creatures such as crabs and shrimp that are asleep during the day, and take a close-up look at sleeping fish. The "sea sparkle" plankton form what looks like a starry sky shining in the sea. Also, the coral spawning in June is a precious moment that can only be seen at night. This snow-like scene is also called "summer snow". Tokashiki Island is about an hour by diving boat from Tomari Port on the main island.