The palm trees of Okinawa, from Episode 21 of the Azumanga Daioh anime.
Okinawa (沖縄, Japanese: Okinawa, Okinawan: Uchinaa) is the main island in the group of islands that are known as the Ryukyu Islands and together make up the Okinawa Prefecture in Southern Japan, which has appeared in Kiyohiko Azuma's works. Okinawa is known for its hot, tropical weather, reminiscent of Hawaii's. Because of this and its unique culture and language, the island is a popular tourist destination. The islands include Iriomote Island, most of which is covered in jungle, and home to the very rare, endangered species known as the Iriomote Cat (also known as Yamapikarya or Yamamaya among inhabitants).
Appearances[]
Azumanga Daioh[]
The girls' arrival at Okinawa.
In Azumanga Daioh, Okinawa is the destination of the seniors' school trip during the main cast's third year of high school. Chiyo-chan is very excited about going there since she has never been on a field trip before in her life, and Yomi is too, though she only shows it through buying a guidebook just for the occasion. When they get there, the girls look at shisas, eat chanpuru and saataa andagii, participate in scuba diving, buy souvenirs and bathe in the ocean. For the island visits, Class 3 go to Iriomote Island, where Sakaki meets the first feline to ever let her pet it and which eventually becomes her pet – the Iriomote Cat to be known as Maya. The girls leave the island feeling at ease, very satisfied with their trip and hoping to return there someday.
Yotsuba&![]
Fuuka playing along with the Okinawan music, to the disapproval of her family.
In Yotsuba&!, Asagi returns from her trip to Okinawa in Chapter 14. She has brought souvenirs for everyone – Ena gets a miniature shisa, Fuuka gets a Goya T-shirt (which she seems happy with, even though everyone else blames her for her fashion sense), Mrs. Ayase gets saataa andagii, and Mr. Ayase gets CDs with Okinawan sanshin music. Ena says she thinks that the shisa looks like Jumbo, and when asked what there is at Okinawa, Asagi replies "nothing". When they play the CD, Fuuka tries playing along on an ukulele, but the others hate the sound of it. Asagi then gives some of her saataa andagii to Yotsuba as a souvenir and Yotsuba likes them a lot, but when she tries giving one to her dad, he doesn't understand what it is and questions whether it is even edible.