Souvenir Shops in Naha, Okinawa: Japan's San-A Mall and Kokusai Street

When going overseas, one of the top to-do list is to find souvenir shops offering items at cheap cost. And with that, I would like to tour you around the shops in Naha, Okinawa where tourists are mostly found buying souvenirs.

San-A Mall / Naha Main Place's entrance door facing the T-Galleria mall

First of on that list is the San-A (Three-A in English) mall or popularly known as Naha Main Place. This mall is located at Japan, 900-0006 Okinawa Prefecture, Naha, Omoromachi 4-4-9. Naha Main Place is the largest shopping mall in Naha, Okinawa which has a variety of shops inside such as apparel shops, supermarket, electric appliance store, food stalls and restaurant. On the second floor, you can find Naha's biggest cinema and nearby is a small food court.

This is the T-Galleria DFS, just a few blocks away is the San-A / Naha Main Place mall

HOW TO GET THERE?  If you are taking the Okinawa monorail, you should drop-off the Omoromachi station and walk towards the front of T-Galleria mall and look for the stairs going straight to the Naha Main Place mall. You should able to see the map below showing that Naha main place is just 300m away from that location. The mall is also near the Okinawa Prefectural Museum. 

This is the map in front of the T-Galleria DFS mall showing how many meters away are some of the other places that you can visit

Before we head on to our topic, I would like to introduce to you some basic counting terms that you might encounter when asking for the price of a certain item.

HOW TO COUNT IN JAPANESE

1 = ichi

2 = ni

3 = san

4 = shi / yon

5 = go

6 = roku

7 = shichi / nana

8 = hachi

9 = kyuu

10 = juu

11 = juuichi (juu + ichi)

20 = nijuu (ni + juu)

21 = nijuuichi (ni + juu + ichi)

100 = hyaku ( pronounced as H-ya-ku )

1000 = issen

Inside San-A mall / Naha Main Place, you will find a lot of stores that offers different kind of affordable stuffs. On its first floor located are the apparel shops, where you can buy fashion clothing in affordable price. When I went there last July, I was able to catch their SALE season which mostly offer 70% discounts. Along with these stores are the accessories shops where you can buy fancy and elegant jewelries such as necklace, earrings, rings, watches, fashion hats, umbrellas and many more. Also, in the first floor located is the electronics shops and supermarket. In the supermarket are tons of affordable sweet treats that you can buy. Their TAX-FREE offer is something that you wouldn't want to escape! Please take note though that to be able to avail of the TAX-FREE offer, you need to purchase at least 5,000 Japanese Yen worth of goodies.

Going to the second floor, you can find more shops such as Shoes Stores, more apparel shops and the food court. Inside this Naha Main Place mall, you can also find ABC mart where lots of branded affordable shoes are offered. After shopping galore, in the second floor is their mini food court where you can find Japanese food stalls, International fast-food chains' Mcdonalds and KFC.

Big Shisa found in the Kokusai-dori

We now proceed to the second tourist spot for souvenir hunting, the Kokusai-dori / Kokusai Street / International Road.

Kokusai Street or popularly known as Kokusai-dori is the main attraction in Naha. There are a lot of souvenir shops, Japanese restaurants, clubs and bars from both sides of the street. Kokusai Street offers different kinds of atmosphere to tourists: Heiwadori, Kousetsu Ichiba (marketplace type), Tsuboya Yachimun Street (pottery shops and galleries), Ukishima and Sakurazaka streets (popular for young crowd).

Kousetsu Ichiba in Kokusai Street

HOW TO GET THERE? 

Kokusaidori Street is located right in central Naha. One of the easiest way in going to this place is by taking the Okinawa Monorail and dropping off at the Makishi Station. You may also drop off at Kencho-mae and Miebashi Stations, these three stations is just a few walks away from Kokusai-dori. Kokusaidori is a long busy street so I advise you to see the location by foot.

Kokusai-dori's night life is full of busy clubs, bars and restaurants that are open until the wee hours of morning. You may find it a bit harder to find restaurants offering affordable meals though in this place based from what I experienced during my trip there. Furthermore, I suggest you to not bring your car when going there as you may find it a bit difficult in looking for parking space. 

Me taking a selfie with the Big Shisa in the Kokusai Street

By the way, you can find the Big Shisa statue on the other side of the street. I wonder where the other Shisa is located? This is the only one that I saw there. 

In the background is the Makishi Station and the Tsunami water level indication

This is one Okinawan restaurant that I found in Kokusai Street

If you love Silver accessories, then this store offers a variety of silver jewelries. It's a bit pricey though. You can also take some picture with this porsche located in this store.

Silver Store in Kokusai Street Okinawa, Japan

Going through the souvenir shops, you will find different types of Shisa souvenirs which you can buy starting from 500 Japanese Yen (Smallest) to 5000 Japanese Yen or higher (Large figurines). They said that buying these should be in pair and you should place it in front of the door or at your business establishment to drive away bad luck and keeping the good ones.

These are some Shisa souvenirs that I found inside the stores of Kokusai Street

Shisa Souvenirs in Kokusai Dori

Another Shisa Souvenir shop in Kokusai Street

Aside from other shops in the Kokusai Street, you can also find the Hapinaha mall where most anime enthusiasts are found. Inside the mall are a variety of anime shops starting from Pokemon and other anime character.

Hapinaha Mall in the Kokusai Street

Kokusai street waiting shed near the Hapinaha mall

Okinawan Ice Cream Stall in Kokusai Street

Inside the busy street of Kokusai Dori, you can also find the 100 Japanese Yen shop where most items are offered for 100 Japanese Yen. However, there's a twist in that marketing tactic, you have to buy at least 5000 Japanese Yen worth of items in order to avail that promo. It is worth a deal though because some of the items that you will find in another supermarket is a bit pricey.

100 Japanese Yen Shop

Pokemon Go enthusiasts may also find this Pokemon store inside the Hapinaha mall. Inside the mall, you can find a lot of anime shops starting from One Piece, Sailormoon and other popular anime character originated in Japan.

Pokemon store in Hapinaha Kokusai Street, Okinawa

Kokusai Street is a very long street and the above mentioned shops are just some of the shops that you can find there. A day will not be enough to wander around the street of Kokusai-Dori. With the variety of shops that you can find there, you will not have difficulty in finding the souvenirs that you will buy for your friends and relatives. Enjoy shopping!