Did you know that Okinawa is the birthplace of Karate?

Okinawa is contains the largest concentration of centenarians in the entire Japan Okinawans are also known for their longevity, which is perhaps unrivaled in the world.

Okinawa is home to 75% of Japan’s military bases despite being less than 1% of Japan’s total land area.

The Okinawan language is unintelligible to Japanese speakers and preserves many elements of ancient Japanese that’s no longer found in modern Japanese.

Over 33% of Okinawans live outside of Okinawa.

Okinawa was home to the Ryukyu Kingdom which lasted 450 years.

The capital city of Okinawa, Naha, is closer to Taipei, Hong Kong, and Manila than it is to Tokyo.

The “Minatogawa Man” found in southern Okinawa Island, is believed to be the oldest fossil found in East Asia.

Very few kingdoms were able to defeat the Mongol Empire, however Okinawa was one of them. Eiso, the king of a city-state in central Okinawa Island not only repulsed an invading Mongol army, but did it twice during a time when Okinawa had yet to be united!

Many famous Japanese celebrities are of Okinawan heritage for example: Kurara Chibana (Miss Japan and runner up in Miss Universe 2006), Yukie Nakama (Actress and spokes model for AU mobile phones), SPEED (popular girl band), Namie Amuro (popular singer), Gackt (popular actor and singer), Orange Range (rock band), etc.