Okinawa, foreign even to Japan, attracts hipster tourists

Tropical island prefecture draws mainlanders looking for a gentler life

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Sunny vibes at Good Day Coffee in the Okinawan city of Chatan.

Words by JUNICHI TOYOFUKU, Photography by TARO TERASAWA

“Okinawa is an island of shorts and bi-san (beach sandals) all year-round; I sometimes wonder how our business has survived for 30 years here,” says Akio Nashiro. Along with his wife and daughter, the 55-year-old runs Walker, a fashion boutique in Okinawa, Japan’s southerly subtropical island prefecture.

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