Tour de Okinawa

The Tour de Okinawa is one of Japan’s most established road cycling events, held annually around Nago and the mountainous northern region of Okinawa Island. First organised in 1989, the race combines international professional competition with a major amateur cycling festival, attracting riders to a subtropical island where steep forested hills, winding coastal roads and unpredictable weather create a demanding test of endurance. Its challenging routes through the Yanbaru region have given the event a distinctive identity within Japanese cycling.

Around the Peloton explores the Tour de Okinawa through the remarkable history and natural environment of Japan’s southernmost prefecture. Once part of the independent Ryukyu Kingdom, Okinawa developed a culture shaped by maritime trade, Chinese and Japanese influences, and later the devastating Battle of Okinawa during the Second World War. From the subtropical forests of Yanbaru and the villages of the northern coast to the island’s traditional communities and complex modern history, the race reveals an Okinawa far removed from the familiar image of mainland Japan.