Okinawa Prefecture Office Building & Naha City Office Building

At the start of Kokusai-dori are two major government buildings. The Okinawa Kencho, or in English the Okinawa Prefecture Office Building, as well as the Naha City Office Building are located next to each other and they are landmarks to the area. While most government buildings are nothing special, Japan loves to create beautiful architectural delights with their government offices and these two are no different.

Okinawa Prefecture Office Building

Shisa at the Okinawa Prefecture Office Building

The Okinawa Prefecture Office Building is not as beautiful as the newer Naha City Office Building but it is still nice to see. It was designed by Kisho Kurokawa who has also designed the famous Nakagin Capsule Tower, a dice like tower that has cube rooms that can be removed. He also designed the new National Art Center, Tokyo and several other museums. While the Prefecture Office Building is more functional than artistic, I thought it was nice overall.

Naha City Office

Naha City Office

The Naha City Office was officially opened in 2013 and it is a beautiful building. It is very interesting and pleasing to the eye but I couldn’t find a lot of information on it. I really enjoyed it but it isn’t something that I would consider a sightseeing spot. Most people don’t really do architectural sightseeing but if you enjoy seeing buildings like I do then you’ll enjoy this one for sure.

Naha City Office

Naha City Office

Both buildings are fun to see and it doesn’t take a lot of time. You are almost certain to be visiting the area during your trip to Naha so why not take a few minutes to take a quick look at the buildings. It doesn’t take long to see it from outside and I’m sure you’ll enjoy the work that went into designing these two buildings.