The name '''Okinawa''' means "rope in the open sea", a fairly apt description of this long stretch of islands between mainland Japan and Taiwan. Consisting of 41 inhabited islands and 16 uninhabited islands, Okinawa has the only sub-tropical climate in Japan and as such is a major tourist destination for the Japanese, but not many foreign visitors make it to these shores.Once the independent kingdom of '''Ryukyu''' (??), the islands were annexed by Japan during the Meiji Restoration in 1879, who proceeded to impose punitive taxes and did their best to suppress indigenous culture, language and religion. Worse was to come during World War II, when heavy bombardment and suicidal Japanese tactics, including the use of civilians as human shields, decimated the islands. Post-war they remained under U.S. occupation until 1972, and the presence of several large American military bases on Okinawa Island remains a sore point between the local government and the Japanese national government. http://wikitravel.org/en/Okinawa