Ryukyu Province Ichinomiya
Naminoue Gu
波上宮
Naminoue Gu is the ichinomiya — the leading shrine — of the former Ryukyu Province, in present-day Okinawa. It has a car park (about 20 spaces), free. Opening hours end at 16:45 (charm counter). Without a car, the shrine's own website gives 2 routes from a station (on foot, by bus), one of them a walk of about 15 min; the station names are listed below. Its principal annual festival (reisai) falls on May 17 every year. The nearest other ichinomiya is Yaku Jinja, 547 km to the north-east in a straight line.
Getting there
沖縄県那覇市若狭 1-25-11
This shrine is on an island
It is on Okinawa and can only be reached by boat or plane. Ports, operators and crossing times →
The address is given in Japanese on purpose. Show it to a taxi driver, or copy it into a car navigation system — an English transliteration will not be recognised.
For a car navigation system
- Phone
- Japanese car navigation searches by phone number. This is the fastest way to enter a destination.
- Coordinates
- Derived from the address down to the street number, via Japan's national mapping agency. Not a survey of the hall itself
- Address
How to rent and drive a car in Japan →
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By train and bus
- From 旭橋駅モノレール
- On foot, about 15 min.
- From 那覇空港
- By bus, 3 min.
The source, word for word (bus stop names included):
・モノレール那覇空港駅から旭橋駅まで約10分 → 旭橋駅から徒歩約15分 ・那覇空港からタクシーで約10分（約1200円） ・バス[25][26][99]で県庁北口(モノレール県庁前駅)下車→パレットくもじ前バス停より[2][5][15][45]で西武門下車、徒歩3分
Taken from the shrine's own website (波上宮 公式サイト 交通案内（那覇空港からのアクセス）, checked 2026-10-08). Station and stop names stay in Japanese so you can match them to signs. Fares and timetables are not given — they change.
Parking
It has a car park (about 20 spaces), free.
This routes you to the car park, not to the hall. The location is taken from OpenStreetMap and has not been checked on the ground.
無料20台。混雑時は近隣の有料駐車場を利用するよう公式が案内
The note above is in Japanese; it usually records dates when the car park is closed, and the fee.
Shrine office hours
Opening hours end at 16:45 (charm counter).
The full note from the source, in Japanese:
授与所 9:00-16:45／御祈祷受付 10:00-15:30
History in brief
- Founding
- According to the shrine's legend, a village head of Sakiyama in Haebaru found a "talking stone" on the shore, which led to the shrine's founding.
- History
- The Ryūkyū royal government ranked it first among the Eight Shrines of Ryūkyū and revered it as the foremost shrine of the kingdom.
- Buildings
- Damaged in the Second World War, the main hall and office were rebuilt in Shōwa 28 and the worship hall in Shōwa 36.
- Buildings
- In Heisei 5, the main hall and other buildings were completed in a full reconstruction.
Summarised from the shrine's own website (由緒｜波上宮, checked 2026-10-08). Traditions are given as the shrine tells them, not as established history.
Enshrined deities
- Izanami-no-Mikoto 伊弉冉尊 4 ichinomiya enshrine this deity →
- Hayatamao-no-Mikoto 速玉男尊
- Kotosakao-no-Mikoto 事解男尊
The shrine's website lists, besides its three principal deities, a separately enshrined fire god (Hinukan), the local guardian deity, and Sukunahikona, a god of medicine.
Our English summary of the Japanese description. Spelling as given by the shrine's own website.
Festivals
- Principal annual festival
-
5月17日 例大祭
source
Other festivals and rituals
- なんみん祭
- 5月15日・16日・17日
- 宵宮祭（前夜祭）
- 5月15日
- 神幸祭(おみこし)
- 5月17日
- 神嘗祭奉祝祭・奉賛会秋大祭
- 10月17日
Nearest ichinomiya
The closest is Yaku Jinja, about 547 km to the north-east in a straight line, in Tane Province (listed here for reference). After that come Hirakiki Jinja (621 km north-east) and Nitta Jinja (674 km north).
Straight-line distances between the shrines, not road distances. Across mountains or water, the drive is much longer.
Why this shrine is called an ichinomiya
Listed by the pilgrimage association
It appears on the map published by the Ichinomiya Pilgrimage Association. We have not yet checked other primary sources.
- 全国一の宮巡拝会『全国一の宮神社所在地』（平成30年5月・改訂版 第4版） (checked 2026-09-09)
More on how the shrines of this province relate to one another is on the Ryukyu Province page.
Historical rank
- Province
- Ryukyu Province (Shin-Ichinomiya)
- Prefecture
- Okinawa
- Engishiki (927)
- Shōsha
- Former state rank (1871–1946)
- Kanpei Shōsha
Sources
- http://naminouegu.jp/map.html (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://naminouegu.jp/yuisyo.html (checked 2026-09-10)
How we handle spellings, festival selection, former ranks and map accuracy is set out once on the About page.