Sangui passage
Between two rocks.
そらみみ — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Unknown — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Tomaž Vajngerl — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert — CC BY 4.0 · そらみみ (Soramimi) — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert — CC BY 4.0 · そらみみ (Soramimi) — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert — CC BY 4.0
A sacred site of the native Ryukyuan religion on the Chinen Peninsula in southeast Okinawa, overlooking Kudaka Island. Sēfa-utaki means «the greatest sacred place», and Ryukyuan legend holds that Amamikyu landed on Okinawa here. It is part of the Ryukyu Kingdom World Heritage Site and has been a National Historic Site since 2018. There are no buildings, only caves and overhanging ledges among towering limestone formations on a promontory over the sea, wrapped in dense forest. Its places of worship bore the same names as rooms in Shuri Castle, and the kingdom's high priestess led rites here. Its best-known spot is Sangui, a triangular passage between two huge rocks leaning against each other, from which worship was offered toward Kudaka Island, the most sacred island in Ryukyuan belief. In the stone passage two old jars once caught rainwater dripping from the rocks. Tickets are about 300 yen, rising to about 600 yen from 1 October 2026, bought at the nearby Midori no Yakata Sefa centre; the site closes a few days a year for rites, per visitor guides. It is a sacred place to Okinawans, so keep quiet and stay behind the barriers.
Between two rocks.
Around the rocks.
On the horizon.
Chinen Peninsula, Nanjō city
About 300 yen, rising to about 600 yen from 1 October 2026, bought at the nearby Midori no Yakata Sefa centre, per visitor guides.