Constructing Okinawa as Japan's Hawai`i: From Honeymoon Boom to Resort Paradise

• Published in: Japanese studies Vol. 35; no. 3; pp. 287 - 302
• Main Author: Tada, Osamu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Routledge 02.09.2015
• ISSN: 1037-1397; 1469-9338
• DOI: 10.1080/10371397.2015.1124745

In this article, I analyze changing preferences for either Okinawa or Hawai`i as tourist paradise by tracing the history of the Japanese 'honeymoon boom' that developed starting in the 1960s. Taking a honeymoon trip only became customary in Japan when postwar baby-boomers reached marriageable age. These young couples generally followed the recommendations of travel agents in planning their honeymoons, so tourist destinations became crowded with newlyweds. The more honeymooners traveled somewhere, the more those places became favored by other Japanese tourists, including retirees, unmarried travelers, and parents with children. The first honeymooning paradise in Japan was Miyazaki, a prefecture in southern Kyushu that, like Hawai`i and Okinawa, has a pleasant tropical climate. After the ideal of honeymooning on a tropical paradise was established in Miyazaki, newlyweds began traveling further south, seeking paradise in Hawai`i, Guam, and Okinawa. In this article, I investigate how Okinawa became constructed as 'Japan's Hawai`i' after inheriting the honeymoon boom from Miyazaki.