While Hawaii has long been one of the most popular go-to destinations for tourists from Japan, Okinawa has finally caught up to outshine the rival resort island chain.
For the first time, Okinawa overtook Hawaii in terms of tourist numbers last year, according to Okinawa Prefectural Government data released last month.
Tourists to Okinawa totaled 9,396,200 in 2017, up 9.1 percent from a year earlier, on the back of an increase in cruise trips making port calls from East Asia and new direct flights connecting Okinawa to other areas in Japan and abroad in recent years.
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