Kokusai Dori is the name of a 2 km stretch of shops, hotels, bars and restaurants which cuts through the heart of downtown Naha, the largest city in Okinawa. The street's name in English is International Road, supposedly named after the Ernie Pyle's now-closed International Theater, which was a popular movie theater for U.S. troops during the occupation of Okinawa following World War II. Before the war Kokusai Dori was just a dirt path through swampy fields, but during the postwar reconstruction, it became of symbol of Okinawa's quick revival, earning it another name — Miracle Mile.
Regardless of what you call it, a visit to the street is virtually essential for tourists in Okinawa.
On any given day, one of the largest tourist demographics on the street are Japanese students visiting Okinawa on school trips. They keep hotel rooms full and souvenir shops crowded, but the street is no less appealing to the more mature and independent tourist. It provides a multitude of places to drink, dine, enjoy Okinawan music and buy souvenir's — everything from cheap bead bracelets sold by street vendors to exquisite and expensive coral statuary in high-end jewelry shops, to traditional glassware and pit vipers pickled in alcohol.
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