Today, I'm sharing a story I wrote for the Adventure Travel Trade Association in 2024. It's about Yuimaru, the Okinawan spirit of cooperation that helped Okinawans move on from the tragedy of World War II.

Okinawa is a small subtropical island in the East China Sea, halfway between China and Japan. In 1945, it endured one of the worst battles of the war, known as the Battle of Okinawa, during which an estimated 200,000 people, most of them Okinawan civilians, lost their lives.

Last November, I celebrated my birthday in Okinawa. This year, I'm returning to the island on a very special Going Places women-only trip.

We'll be traveling in the footsteps of Amamikiyo, the goddess who created the world, according to Okinawan beliefs, and spend time with a yuta, a practicing female shaman, in the northern mountain villages.

Learn more about the trip here.

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Thanks to our Founding Member: RISE Travel Institute, a nonprofit with a mission to create a more just and equitable world through travel education.

• ATTA: In Okinawa, Returning to the Communal Roots of Adventure Travel
• Learn more about our upcoming trip to Okinawa in November here

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Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more.

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