Tsuboya Pottery Street

One of the best parts of Naha is this neighborhood, a center of ceramic production from 1682, when Ryūkyū kilns were consolidated here by royal decree. Most shops along this old-timey street sell all the popular Okinawan ceramics, including shiisā (lion-dog roof guardians) and containers for serving awamori (Okinawan liquor distilled from rice), the local firewater. The lanes off the main street here contain some classic crumbling old Okinawan houses. To get here from Kokusai-dōri, walk south through the entirety of Heiwa-dōri arcade (about 350m).