This is the first part of a one-day trip to Nanjo City, Okinwa, broken into two stories. Those interested in how a real seaside Okinawan village is depicted in modern pop culture can start here. If you’re just here for the ancient ruins, sacred places and snakes, then grab your fedora and head on back Monday after next. Part II will take a little longer to write, which is why I’m just putting out this one now. Addresses/Google Maps locations for places visited will be at the end.

Due to the current state of emergency many normal indoor tourism spots and even cafes have closed so outdoor sightseeing, despite the heat, is a good option for getting out of the house and staying active. And what better way to stay active while also performing a public service for all those who can’t get to Okinawa right now, due to the current unpleasantness, than to do some anime sightseeing for one of the most colorful shows on TV?

The Aquatope on White Sand (Shiroi Suna no Aquatopu) is about two girls, Kukuru and Fuuka, and their attempt to keep open a failing aquarium. Kukuru is the granddaughter of the aquarium’s owner and believes its special so will do anything to keep it open. Fuuka is a failed idol from Tokyo who after losing her job flew to Okinawa on a whim and now works at the aquarium as she tries to figure out what to do with her life. It has some magical elements but is overall grounded in reality and makes use of a well-rounded cast reminiscent of PA Work’s previous rural slice of life series, Sakura Quest.

The show’s locale is Nanjo City’s seaside Chinen-son (Chinen Village) on Okinawa’s southeastern corner opposite Naha. It’s easy to see why PA Works chose this village for their story, they’re known for vibrant colors and beautifully rendered scenery that even makes rust look good and that’s what Chinen looks like without artificially cranking the saturation up for television. I’ve picked out a few standout locations I think other fans of the series would look to see and tried to include some of the surrounding points of interest while I was at it.

When coming from the north the best location to start with is the parking lot of Azama Sun Sun (Sun²) Beach parking lot, the real world location of Gama Gama Aquarium. It’s on Shining Sun Road, which leads up a small hill to the Chinen Marine Leisure Center Bus Stop and on to the intersection with the Kame Diner and Chinen Tourism Information Center locations. Heading further down that road takes us to the spot Fuuka trudged past in the first episode as she wandered aimlessly before Karin picks her up. Even though the geography is never spelled out in the show it’s nice they made every fictional location reside in a logical real world space.

Overall this makes for some easy sightseeing and as an added bonus, nearly every step of the way boasts a different magnificent panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean and the vivid multi-hued beaches below. As good looking as it is on screen, the fictional Chinen cannot outshine the beauty of the real thing!

Azama Sun Sun Beach

Azama Sun Sun (Sun²) Beach and its parking were closed due to the state of emergency but I could still walk the grounds, as evidenced by the elderly walkers and skateboarded with shredded abs wandering about. I parked at the adjacent marina grass lot and walked through it to the far end, “Gama Gama” is at the roundabout that says “Azama.” They’ve fiddled a bit with the local geography to accommodate the aquarium but kept all the elements. The Google Maps also refers to it as a ‘resort hotel,’ but it’s just a public beach.

The gazebo cutaway from the first episode is just on the other side of the men’s restroom near the roundabout. I can imagine some production assistant stopping off to fax his liquid, as it were, then stepping out to this scene.

The water sports and beach activities have been stopped for now, but I imagine it will become quite lively again in time. For those coming just to snap shots of their favorite anime locations now is a good time if you live here.

The Chinen Marine Leisure Center bus stop is at the top of this hill, it’s the bus stop where Fuuka waits before running off in episode five.

Not the same position, but similar angle for reference.

Chinen Marine Leisure Center Bus Stop

Heading back up the Shining Sun Rd. toward Chinen Misaki there was now a man lying on his back in the middle of road with a dazed expression. His friends insisted he was ‘daijobu’ but that is not what daijobu looks like, so I gave them my bottle of water and headed to the tourism center. It was closed due to the state of emergency but the staff spoke English, so I was able to report what I saw and showed them his location on Google Maps. They called an ambulance to check the situation out. This was only at around 9 a.m. and the people I saw looked to be partaking in outdoor activities, so please keep hydrated when visiting Okinawa. The sun’s warm embrace can become a stranglehold if you’re not paying attention. Then you’ll succumb to what my wife so eloquently calls “heat attack” (heat exhaustion), which is an apt term for it.

Nanjo Sightseeing Information Center

In the background is Karin’s workplace, the Nanjo Sightseeing Information Center (incorrectly identified as ‘Minamishiroichi Sightseeing Information Center’ on Google Maps). I’m standing parallel to the fictional Kame Diner location. The tourism center has Aquatope posters and character standups for Karin and Udon-chan.

I asked if they had been involved with or advised on the location scouting and was told they weren’t but were knowledgeable about the locations used. They pointed out where Fuuka was walking down the road for me and suggested the fictional ice cream café was possibly based on a local café which was sadly closed due to the state of emergency.

I recommend stopping by when it opens to pickup brochures for local points of interest, you may find something obscure that interests you near somewhere you already planned to see.

Before leaving this area I detoured a minute down the road to Chinen Misaki (Chinen Point) Park, which sports an unspoiled view of the coastline from a higher vantage point. It’s also in the background of the road where Kukuru’s family lives, its’ the green point with a pointed roof building, the gymnasium, on top.

Chinen Point Park View

Route 331

This road leads to the tourism information center where Karin works, so it makes sense she would be driving the center’s car down this road back toward it.

The impressive view briefly seen in episode five is from the Nirai Kanai Bridge Overlook which has the weirdest parking situation. The overlook is on top of a tunnel and has a road on both sides that lead to it. Exit the tunnel (if coming from the tourism center) and get ready to loop around almost immediately to the side road, barriers won’t let you get too far though. People just park right there, next to the other vehicles already lined up on the narrow road, and walk to the overlook. Everyone I’ve talked to says this is normal.

This wouldn’t be too weird except both sides of the overlook are flanked by the barb-wire topped fences of a Japan Ground Self-Defense Force facility. Doing this by the fence line of an American military facility and then leaving your vehicle unattended would result in a swift visit from the base’s security forces.

I tried to find what road Kukuru’s grandparents home would be on but nothing seemed to fit the bill and as a bonus I got lost in the warren of narrow residential and farm roads leading around and up the hillside. This is Little Forest Café and looks to kind of match the geography but everything about it is different.

This runaround took me all morning, leaving the afternoon free to see some of Okinawa’s other castles on the Gusuku Road. Gusuku is Okinawan dialect for “castle” and uses the same kanji for “castle” as the Japanese “-shiro” or “-jo.” This can sometimes lead to translation confusion as the Okinawan and standard Japanese suffixes are used fluidly when switched to English. Thanks to the Chinen tourism center staff for their help in finding Aquatope locations and helpful pamphlets with other local sightseeing opportunities to fill out my day.

While the day I visited looked like every day on the anime so far- the weather was sunny with a 100% chance of perfect, that’s not really the norm during midsummer in Okinawa. Realistically by episode six there should have been one or five episodes drowned out by a torrential downpour, typhoon, back-to-back typhoons, or those days of intermittent thundering rain barrages followed by the sun cranked up to 11 as it beckons the sizzling moisture forth from the ground back to the heavens with you caught in between. Then it does it again. And again. And again.

But otherwise yeah, we do have perfect days like this. Cherish them!

La 21

I had lunch at La 21, about half a kilometer down the road past the overlook, which has its own views of the peninsula that can be enjoyed while eating. It also has outdoor dining which is important for those whose employer’s current Coronavirus restrictions only allow them to eat outdoors. The staff speaks English and La 21’s lunch meal was delicious- salad, Japanese pickled vegetables, and baked donut sandwiches. They have four sandwich options, I chose a raw salmon, avocado and cream cheese sandwich as well as a grilled chicken breast. The lightly sweet donut worked well with the toppings.  Their current seasonal dessert is vegan ice cream.

This intersection ‘shot’ was basically ‘taken’ on La 21’s door step, though I wasn’t willing to step out into the road to duplicate it. It’s also surrounded by military facilities on two sides. (Episode Five)

I’ll be back eventually, likely when the series ends or Sefa Utaki reopens, whichever comes first. This was a solo trip south for me, but I’ll have to bring my wife next time. Whether you’re an anime tourist or a regular one, this area is worth taking the time to explore. Nanjo as a whole has a wealth of activities for every outdoor inclination or historical interest. Chinen typically has water sports and even with the state of emergency paragliders still took to the air while I was there. There are even more castles, historic ruins and sacred places to visit including the limestone cave used as a hospital during World War II, Abuchiragama, which I wrote about during last year’s Himeyuri series, and Sefa Utaki, which I hope to see once it reopens. Valley of Gangala’s primordial jungle cave stands out even among Okinawa’s jungle-scapes and Okinawa World is a one-stop shop for Okinawan tradition, natural splendor and has live venomous habu snake shows in its miniature zoo of Okinawan creatures.

Speaking of Okinawa World, it has a traditional Okinawan home similar to Kukuru’s except in a more old-fashioned configuration. It’s a reproduction of a deputy landlord’s house (jitudehnuyah) built around 1754.

If you never come to Okinawa, I hope articles like this give you a chance to experience the island to an extent, and if you do, I hope it gives you a starting point to improve upon and make your own amazing trip!

If you’re in the US and want to see Aquatope it can be legally streamed on Crunchyroll. If you’re on Okinawa its being broadcast by RBC.

ADDRESSES

Azama Sun Sun Beach
Azama-1141-3 Chinen, Nanjo, Okinawa 901-1502
81989483521

Chinen Marine Leisure Center Mae (Bus Stop)
5RFH+FH Nanjo, Okinawa

Nanjo Sightseeing Information Center
Kudeken-541 Chinen, Nanjo, Okinawa 901-1511
81989484611
https://www.kankou-nanjo.okinawa/

Cape Chinen Park
5R8H+WH Nanjo, Okinawa

Beach between Azama and Chinen Point
5RCJ+F2, Nanjo, Okinawa 901-1511

Fuuka’s Walk on Route 331
26.165535, 127.818472

Nirai Kanai Bridge Overlook
5R97+2X Nanjo, Okinawa

La 21
Chinen-1241-8 Chinen, Nanjo, Okinawa 901-1513
81989435299
https://www.lanila.co.jp/

Okinawa World
Maekawa-1336 Tamagusuku, Nanjo, Okinawa 901-0616
81989497421
http://www.gyokusendo.co.jp/okinawaworld/

Nanjo City Sightseeing Website
https://www.kankou-nanjo.okinawa/