Nakijin Castle 今帰仁城跡
Japan's first cherry trees bloom here, in January, and they are deep pink.
It was the capital of the kingdom of Hokuzan, one of the three into which Okinawa was divided before unification, and it fell in 1416 when the king of Chuzan conquered it. It stands on a headland in the north of the island, far from the other gusuku (the stone castles of the kingdom), and that very distance from the centre of power explains why it was there: it watched over trade with the continent. It remains one of the places of prayer for the descendants, and the areas of worship within the walls are still in use.
Okinawa
今帰仁城跡
