Okinawa was the first identified Blue Zone, an area where people live extraordinarily long and healthy lives. Early explorations found that the average person might live up to 20 years longer, despite minimal modern technology, and that the rate of centenarians–people living over 100–was over fifty times higher than in other regions of the globe.
Since these heady days of supernaturally long lives in the mid-20th century, Okinawa’s claim to fame has declined. More residents of the country now adopt a less healthy Western-style diet of meat and processed foods.
However, the location’s history is driving interest in the area, as well as the continued belief that people living on the island continue to live substantially longer and healthier lives than the average resident of the US or UK.
“Thanks to authors like Dan Buettner, people know more than ever about Okinawa,” says a company that operates scuba diving in Okinawa. “There’s now a more widespread knowledge that the region is highly supportive of living longer and that it is a top destination for those interested in health and wellbeing. Its culture of eating sweet potatoes and vegetables is something that lingers in some quarters to this day, as does its principle of only eating until people are 80% full.”
Researchers believe that Okinawa’s laid-back lifestyle and community spirit are part of its longevity-enhancing effects, something that fits into a left-wing, egalitarian worldview. Scientists believe that taking care of people supports good health, alongside a healthy diet and lifestyle. Now, tourists want to experience the difference for themselves on the ground and want to see what Okinawa is really about.
“You have a lot of tour companies cashing in on this trend,” says the diving company. “Plenty of Japanese organizations now guide people around the island, showing them what they believe is the reason for the extraordinary longevity of its residents, especially fifty years ago when these trends were at their peak.”
Wellness tours are becoming more popular as more people wake up to the fact that they live in an unhealthy food and lifestyle environment. Many people want to experience these events to see for themselves what they are like and what it means to live a longevity-focused lifestyle.
Wellness tours are also a chance for many people to simply step outside their busy Western lives and experience a little-known aspect of ancient Japanese culture, based on happy relationships, slow living, and the highest quality whole plant food available anywhere on Earth.
Many of these tours involve multi-day experiences at wellness retreats set close to longevity villages on the island. These facilities attempt to recreate the experience for guests, introducing them to some of the activities that islanders once performed, such as their cooking methods, and steeping them in the environment.
There’s often also a learning component where guides and coaches help people transition to healthier lifestyles and away from their conventional food choices, which could increase the risk of chronic disease.
“The degree of separation between the average person and their natural habitat is tremendous,” says the diving brand. “People don’t often appreciate just how much their modern lifestyles separate them from the natural world, and what it means when they return to it. For many, it is an almost spiritual experience.”
Tours of Okinawa shouldn’t be viewed as boot camps. While eating well and relaxing are part of the experience, it is up to individual travelers to decide how deep they want to go. Primarily, many of them simply want to visit tourist locations and see the region up close. Living longer also means enjoying life more, which is why so many tour companies take their patrons to the island’s most breathtaking areas.
“We take dozens of travelers to little-known spots around Okinawa where they can explore underwater ecosystems and see life thriving in ways that simply aren’t possible in most parts of the world,” the diving brand says. “It’s all about broadening horizons and showing a new side of nature that people haven’t seen before, under the waves.”
Many people want to know what lies beneath Okinawa’s azure and turquoise waters and are surprised to find throngs of fish and dense corals, some of the most biologically important in the world. Trips go to places like the Blue Cave at Maeda Point in Onna and the Kerama Islands.
These destinations, far from human habitation, provide opportunities to witness shoals of fish moving in their natural environment and taking in everything it has to offer. There are also diving destinations around Mermaid’s Grotto and the Koh Tao, where you can see shipwrecks and other sites that have facilitated the growth of great coral reefs and seeded the area.
Overall, therefore, Okinawa has undergone a rebranding that means it has lost some of its innocence. It is now much more aware of its illustrious past and is using this to cash in by inviting more people to the island. It’s building a global tourist base that will keep it funded for decades to come, especially as people become more interested in living longer and healthier lives through natural means.
This drive toward a modern tourist economy could damage the features that made it such a special place in the first place. However, what ultimately happens depends on the actions of the government and the people living in the area. It’s they who will decide the island’s fate and whether it chooses to continue its many traditions.
Having fun in Okinawa and combining it with a healthy, sweet potato and bean diet is one of the best ways to have a relaxing and restorative vacation. It’s the sort of place that a lot of people go when they want to fundamentally rejuvenate themselves.
Naturally, this branding will likely drive Okinawa’s tourist sector in the future. The island will likely become famous as a place offering restorative treatments, experiences, and therapies that help to undo some of the ills of the modern world. If it can remain relaxed and slow-paced, it’s likely to win in tomorrow’s economy.
