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Glimpse daily village life and local culture, and discover the secret to longevity!

Ogimi Village, Okinawa Prefecture

Local stories

Blessed with a rich natural environment, the village of Ogimi is a place where you can still catch glimpses of traditional Okinawan life.The cheerful and energetic villagers live up to Ogimi’s reputation as a top “village of longevity” in Japan, a country already renowned for its long-lived population.Ogimi proudly promotes activities related to its tourism, local products, and industries centered around four key themes, including bashofu, a world-class traditional textile made with banana fibers; shikuwasa, a nutrient-rich citrus fruit nicknamed the “green jewel”; and bunagaya, resident folkloric sprites that love nature and peace.

On July 26, 2021, Okinawa’s Yambaru area, encompassing the villages of Ogimi, Higashi, and Kunigami, became Japan’s fifth site to be inscribed on UNESCO’s Natural World Heritage list. This region is a treasure trove of endemic species, where human activities thrive alongside life-sustaining nature.In addition, Okinawa itself is one of five “blue zones,” places home to some of the world’s longest-lived populations. In 2016, Spanish blogger Héctor García, focusing on the Japanese concept of “ikigai” (a reason for living), traveled to Ogimi to investigate the village’s secrets to ikigai and longevity. His book IKIGAI: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life quickly spread around the world and became a bestseller with over five million copies sold. This program was born from public interest, particularly in uncovering the secret to longevity through Okinawan experiences and interactions with local elders, and focuses on farm stays and longevity-related exchanges. Immerse yourself in Ogimi’s food, culture, history, and spirit with the local community as a member of the village family.

Local culinary delights

Okinawa enjoys a warm climate year-round. In Ogimi, you can taste local cuisine made with vegetables and fruits grown in this favorable environment, enjoy a BBQ with local ingredients, and try Okinawa’s famous bukubuku-cha, a foamy tea. Try your hand at making sata, or Okinawan sweets, such as deep-fried andagi donut holes and muchi rice cakes, with local grandmothers. Socializing with the community makes mealtimes even more fun.

Recommended model course

Yonna! Take it easy and enjoy agriculture and adventure in Okinawa’s Ogimi

Example itinerary

Embark on a journey to discover the secret to ikigai in one of the world’s five blue zones, places home to some of the longest-lived populations on Earth. Experience agriculture and adventure through food, culture, and performing arts while immersed in the lush greenery and biodiversity of a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site. Stay and mingle with local elders in Ogimi and feel energized by their vitality.

Schedule

Day One

From 10:00 a.m. | Tour the Yambaru Forest Visitor Center

This visitor center opened in 2020 as a gateway to the Natural World Heritage Site of Yambaru. The local products center sells gifts, souvenirs, and fresh local vegetables. In the adjoining restaurant, you can try dishes featuring locally sourced ingredients, made with an emphasis on local production for local consumption. Yambaru’s attractions are introduced on a dome-shaped screen.

Harvest produce, walk around, and make sata andagi and muchi, two kinds of Okinawan sweets, at Iyashi-no-Sato Natural Farm in OgimiEat lunch at Igiminuchidu ChojuzenExperience aspects of the local culture such as bukubuku-cha, Eisa dance performances, sanshin music, Ryukyuan dance, and Ryukyuan costume dressing and observe the Kourin no Kai’s performances of traditional Okinawan arts like Ryukyuan dance and sanshin music at Iyashi-no-Sato Natural Farm in Ogimi

Kourin no Kai is a performing arts troupe that promotes Ryukyuan dance—a traditional performing art of Okinawa—both within and beyond the prefecture as an artistic and cultural activity that elevates our character and nurtures our sensibilities while having fun. Amid the many problems and stresses of contemporary life, engaging with the local arts can have a healing effect and enhance our appreciation of beauty.

Visit Isshin Fukushikai Social Welfare Corporation’s Yanbaru-no-Ie

Yanbaru-no-Ie is an intensive care home for the elderly located in Ogimi. It provides services that support residents’ independence in an environment surrounded by abundant nature. In recent years, the facility has been hosting exchanges with travelers that showcase the residents’ zest for life and ikigai. In the hall, visitors can interact and mingle with local elders through activities such as sanshin music, dances, and songs.

Trek to the Tataki FallsArrive at your private lodging facility4:30 p.m. | Eat dinner and enjoy social activities

Day Two

From 9:00 a.m. | Eat breakfast at your private lodging facilityGo on a jungle-trekking expedition in Ogimi

Explore the forests of Yambaru in the northern part of Okinawa Island, designated a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site in 2021. Observe rare plants and animals found nowhere else while trekking with a nature guide. If you’re lucky, you may even encounter the Okinawa rail, a species of native bird. Enjoy a BBQ featuring local ingredients for lunch, then participate in a workshop to make a wooden keyholder.

5:00 p.m. | Arrive at your private lodging facility

Day Three

8:00 a.m. | Depart from your private lodging facility after breakfast9:30 a.m. | Experience sailing a sabani boat in Shioya BayNoon | Part ways at the Yambaru Forest Visitor Center

Access

From Naha Airport to Nago Bus Terminal on the Yanbaru Express Bus or other express buses (1 hour and 40 minutes to 2 hours)
From Nago Bus Terminal on the Hentona Line (operated jointly by Ryukyu Bus Kotsu and Okinawa Bus) to the Roadside Station Ogimi Visitor Center bus stop (38 minutes) or to Oganeku bus stop (40 minutes)

Contact

NPO Ogimi Marugoto Tourism Association

Recommended Accommodation

Igimi Farmhouse Stay

Farmhouse stays allow visitors to become immersed in the Okinawan countryside and to interact with the local people, making them feel as if they were in their own hometown. Try a variety of sustainable experiences that make the most of the natural environment and the local life and culture, such as cooking, farming, manufacturing, and touring the village. There are approximately thirty private homes that can be used as accommodation.

  • Address :

    Varies by facility

  • Telephone Number :

    +81 (0)980-44-1960 (NPO Ogimi Marugoto Tourism Association)

  • Telephone Languages :

    Japanese

  • Access :

    Varies by facility

  • Check-in :

    Negotiable

  • Check-out :

    Negotiable

  • Rates :

    ¥15,400 per night with 2 meals; ¥16,500 per night with 3 meals

  • Accepted Credit Cards :

    VISA/Mastercard/AMEX/JCB

  • Bedroom :

    Varies by facility—please inquire when making reservation

  • Bathroom :

    Varies by facility—please inquire about bathtub availability when making reservation

  • Toilet :

    Western style

  • Meals :

    Dinner, breakfast, and lunch

  • Wi-Fi :

    Varies by facility—please inquire when making reservation

Recommended Restaurant

Emi-no-Mise

Dedicated to a cuisine that promotes longevity, this restaurant uses vegetables grown on the island specifically for local consumption. The kinds of ingredients in its traditional dishes are those found in recipes that have been passed down through generations since ancient times. Enjoy a cuisine vibrating with the rhythms of local life, bursting with the essence of earth and sea, and filled with innate natural wisdom. In addition to set meals made with healthy ingredients, the restaurant offers à la carte dishes perfect for sampling seasonal vegetables.

  • Address :

    61 Oganeku, Ogimi-mura, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa Prefecture

  • Telephone Number :

    +81 (0)980-44-1960 (NPO Ogimi Marugoto Tourism Association)

  • Telephone Languages :

    Japanese

  • Access :

    10-minute walk from Oganeku bus stop

  • Opening Hours :

    9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. [Meals served 11:30 a.m.–3:00 p.m. (last order)] *Reservations required at least one day in advance

  • Closed :

    Tuesday–Thursday

  • Cuisine Category :

    Okinawan cuisine and health food

  • Foreign Language Menu :

    Available

  • Accepted Credit Cards :

    VISA/Mastercard/AMEX/JCB

Recommended Experience

Trekking & Exploring at Ta-taki Waterfall

Embark on a nature tour through the forests of northern Okinawa. Trek with a local guide to the ten-meter-high Ta-taki Waterfall in the Yanbaru forest. Wade leisurely through the natural river to the waterfall basin, where the power of nature will rejuvenate your body and soul.

  • Meeting Place :

    Yanbaru Forest Visitor Center, Roadside Station Ogimi, 95 Tsuha, Ogimi-mura, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa Prefecture

  • Telephone Number :

    +81 (0)980-44-1960 (NPO Ogimi Marugoto Tourism Association)

  • Telephone Languages :

    Japanese

  • Access :

    3-minute walk from Roadside Station Ogimi Visitor Center bus stop

  • Duration :

    2 hours

  • Fee :

    ¥7,550

  • Languages Supported :

    Japanese and English

  • Accepted Credit Cards :

    VISA/Mastercard/AMEX/JCB

Recommended Experience

Sabani Canoeing

A sabani is a traditional Okinawan wooden canoe. In ancient times, the Ryukyu people used the sabani to cross the straits for fishing and trading. In this experience, participants will paddle out on the beautiful Okinawan sea in an authentic sabani. Work as a team as you try to steer this traditional boat!

  • Meeting Place :

    Yanbaru Forest Visitor Center, Roadside Station Ogimi, 95 Tsuha, Ogimi-mura, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa Prefecture

  • Telephone Number :

    +81 (0)980-44-1960 (NPO Ogimi Marugoto Tourism Association)

  • Telephone Languages :

    Japanese

  • Access :

    3-minute walk from Roadside Station Ogimi Visitor Center bus stop

  • Duration :

    2 hours

  • Fee :

    ¥8,500

  • Languages Supported :

    Japanese and English

  • Accepted Credit Cards :

    VISA/Mastercard/AMEX/JCB

Recommended Experience

Marine Experience Set Program 1 (snorkeling + banana boat + free swim)

An ideal program for those who wish to explore the oceans around Yanbaru to the fullest. Start with beginner-friendly snorkeling off a white-sand beach, then hop on a banana boat for an exciting ride across the clear blue ocean. Feel the strong ocean breeze, and hold on tight!

  • Meeting Place :

    Yanbaru Forest Visitor Center, Roadside Station Ogimi, 95 Tsuha, Ogimi-mura, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa Prefecture

  • Telephone Number :

    +81 (0)980-44-1960 (NPO Ogimi Marugoto Tourism Association)

  • Telephone Languages :

    Japanese

  • Access :

    3-minute walk from Roadside Station Ogimi Visitor Center bus stop

  • Duration :

    2 hours

  • Fee :

    ¥9,800

  • Languages Supported :

    Japanese and English

  • Accepted Credit Cards :

    VISA/Mastercard/AMEX/JCB

Recommended Experience

Yanbaru Distillery (Awamori) Tour and Blending Experience

This is a hands-on program at the Yanbaru Distillery, a natural-water distillery located in the northern part of Okinawa’s main island. Visitors can experience Okinawa’s famous traditional awamori beverage using all five senses, especially when it comes to tasting the awamori or buying some as a souvenir to take home. You can also make your own aroma-spray souvenir using a blend of natural herbs from Yanbaru and awamori.

  • Meeting Place :

    Yanbaru Forest Visitor Center, Roadside Station Ogimi, 95 Tsuha, Ogimi-mura, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa Prefecture

  • Telephone Number :

    +81 (0)980-44-1960 (NPO Ogimi Marugoto Tourism Association)

  • Telephone Languages :

    Japanese

  • Access :

    3-minute walk from Roadside Station Ogimi Visitor Center bus stop

  • Duration :

    90 minutes

  • Fee :

    ¥6,800

  • Languages Supported :

    Japanese and English

  • Accepted Credit Cards :

    VISA/Mastercard/AMEX/JCB

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