For Visitors to Okinawa

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Okinawa's annual events can affect your trip. Will the shops be open that day? Is it an event you may watch? Here is what to know.

• Okinawa Event Dates

  When is Obon? When are the dragon boat races? Lunar dates for this year, updated daily.

• Visiting Okinawa During Obon

  Restaurants close and roads jam for three days. What to expect, day by day.

• Watching Okinawa's Events — What's OK and What Isn't

  Some Okinawan events welcome onlookers; some places are not for visitors to enter. Here is where the line falls, and how to decide when you are unsure.

• When and Where Can You See Eisā?

  Planning to see eisā on your Okinawa trip? A guide to the three ways to watch it — Obon street dances, the big festivals, and year-round shows — and why the timing shifts every year.

• Traveling in Okinawa During Shīmī

  In early to mid-April, Okinawa's tomb areas grow crowded for Shīmī, the tomb-visiting rite. Here is how it affects a trip, and what makes this a fine season to visit.

• Before You Go to See an Island Festival

  The Tarama Bon Dance, Taketomi's Tanadui and other island festivals shift dates every year, and boats and lodging are limited. Here is the order in which to plan, and what to watch for.

• Traveling in Okinawa for the Lunar New Year

  How Okinawa keeps the Lunar New Year varies sharply by area. The effect on a trip is slight, but there are sights unique to the day, like the fishing-boat flags at Itoman.