You can sit in the shade and watch the sea
There are nine pavilions in all, and temporary ones are added in summer, bringing the total to around twenty. So there is always somewhere to settle down.
BeachCentral Okinawa (Onna)
Nabee Beach
A beach to take it easy in the shade
The beach itself is not large, but there are nine shelters, so you can take it easy in the shade without hiring a parasol. One of them juts out over the water — well worth seeking out.
Clarity
3/5
Colour
2/5
Views
2/5
Shade
5/5
Facilities
4/5
Unspoilt
2/5
Highlights
The pavilion over the water is the best seat in the house
On the left of the beach there is one pavilion, and one only, that juts out over the sea.
The view from the pavilion over the water
A pleasant breeze blows through.
There is playground equipment children enjoy
It is a few hundred metres from the beach, but the park has playground equipment children enjoy. It is free to use, and open 08:30–18:00 from April to August and 08:30–17:30 from September to March.
You can play beach volleyball and beach football
The photograph shows it in winter (December). Unusually for a beach in the prefecture, the beach volleyball net and the beach football goals are up all year round. Nothing is said about them on the official website or on any sign, so I take it they are free to use. That said, I cannot say how things stand at the height of summer when visitors are especially numerous, or just after a typhoon.
Good to Know
Water clarity and gradation
On a clear day the clarity and the gradation look just as they do in this photograph. The clarity is about average compared with other beaches; as for the gradation, I would have liked a little more emerald green.
Toilets, foot rinse, showers and washing area
There are separate men's and women's toilets, foot rinses and paid showers. They are reasonably clean.
The shower rooms
They take ¥100 coins.
Restaurant and café
In summer a restaurant also opens upstairs in the management building. There are outdoor seats, so you can eat looking out at the sea. The menu runs to set meals, Okinawa soba, single dishes and desserts — Okinawa soba and the children's lunch at ¥600, the nakami-jiru set meal at ¥900, the seafood bowl at ¥1,600 and zenzai at ¥300. The drinks vending machines are there all year round.
Barbecues
You can barbecue in the pavilions all year round. Hiring the equipment is compulsory and costs ¥5,000 for the full set. You may bring your own food. You can also order food together with the equipment at ¥1,500 per person, but that feels a little steep for 200 g of meat. If you know the area around the beach, bringing your own may be the better choice.
Equipment hire
The notice on the left of the photograph lists the hire items and their prices. Hire is available in summer only.
Marine activities
There is a good range of marine activities. In summer you can sign up at the counter beside the beach as well as booking online or by telephone. In winter it is online and telephone booking only.
Swimming and snorkelling
In summer a jellyfish net is put out and lifeguards keep watch. Swimming starts at 10 a.m. For safety, a life jacket must be worn to snorkel inside the swimming area (within the jellyfish net) — I saw a boy being told off for not wearing one. Life jackets can be hired.
Beach yoga
You can practise yoga on the beach at Nabee all year round. The scent of the sea breeze, the sound of the waves, the warmth of the sun, the gradations of the sea, the changing sky — yoga is a way of taking in the nature of Okinawa with your whole body. Book beach yoga here.
Note
The grounds, with the park and so on, are large, but the beach itself is on the small side. The photograph at the top of the page shows the left-hand side as you face the sea, and the one with the beach volleyball net the right-hand side — and that is the whole of it.
Information
View on Google Maps →
Last checked: September 2016
In Japanese (for maps, taxis and car navigation): ナビービーチ 沖縄県国頭郡恩納村恩納419-4
Morning and evening yoga
at Nabee Beach
We run beach yoga here too. Check availability and book in a few steps.