By Bruce Rutledge
NAP General Manager
As we say sayonara to a disappointing Seattle Mariners baseball season and contemplate a possible Major League Baseball players strike in early 2027, a poor baseball fan might wonder what to do?
The North American Post has the answer: Join our February 2027 tour to Okinawa, which will feature healthy doses of Nippon Professional Baseball Spring training games and refreshing Okinawan sunshine.
The North American Post tour enjoying some beach time together in Okinawa, Japan in fall 2025. Photo credit: Terry Watanabe.
Our readers may remember Maiya Gessling who was on the NAP staff more than 10 years ago. She has been residing in Naha, Okinawa ever since and will be one of our guides.
While Gessling is a diehard baseball fan, she is also deeply ensconced in Okinawan culture. In her day job, she helps a local artisan make and repair Okinawan musical instruments. She also plays the flute for a local musical group. Gessling can provide unique glimpses of Okinawan life that other tours cannot provide. (I will be the other tour guide.)
There are plans to go to three or four spring training games, punctuated by trips to the amazing Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, an indigo dye workshop, a live folk music performance, a kayak tour, a coffee roasting experience, lots of local shopping, dining, and much more. Even if you are not the biggest baseball fan, this trip will give you plenty to take in.
For example, a tour of the former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters is planned. It consists of a series of tunnels and bunkers where the navy prepared for the Battle of Okinawa in World War II. From April to June 1945, this was the site of some of the most intense fighting of the war.
On a totally different note, there will be a visit to the Okinawa Craft Industry Promotion Center, where we can watch local craftspeople at work and shop for unique local products.
Also, take a ferry to Iejima to experience one of Okinawa’s 160 islands for a day.
The trips are usually 10 days to two weeks long; this one is tentatively scheduled for February 11-23. The final schedule, complete itinerary, and pricing will be finalized in a few weeks.
The tour will be capped around 20 people to make sure it is intimate and manageable. If this sounds like something you want to be part of, please send an email to: japantour@napost.com with the subject line “Okinawa 2027.” Who knows? Maybe the next Ichiro or Shohei will be spotted and we can sell him on Seattle before those Los Angeles Dodgers scouts swoop in!
