Karate Museum — Attraction in Nishihara

I have practiced karate for tens of years so when there is a chance to visit Okinawa, the birthplace of karate, this place is a must for me. Besides the museum upstairs, it is also Hokama sensei's house and an active dojo with weekly evening train sessions. If you want to visit the museum then you will have to contact sensei's assistant to arrange a time, you can't just drop in anytime. I came not for the museum but to visit/train at a weekly training session with regular students (there were other visiting karatekas with the same idea as mine). The dojo is rather small by Western standards, but its size is actually very common in Okinawa where the dojo is the teacher's house/backyard. The size was not an issue for me, but the most disappointing thing is the overcommercialization here. First, the drop in training fee was not cheap, ¥5000, more than the ¥3000 fee at many other dojos with red belts sensei (I visited other less famous dojos in Okinawa but still very good senseis, 7-8 dans; and they let me join their training without charging anything). Second, the price would not be an issue if the value is worth it, but it wasn't the case here. The training was roughly 1.5 hours; taught mostly by sensei's senior students; mainly about conditioning/impact training (hojo undo), some joint lock techniques (kansetsu waza). About the last 15-20 minutes Hokama sensei came down to give some pointers but mostly he was talking about karate history and his research. At the end of the training I and other visiting karatekas received a certificate of participation, but I came away none the wiser. Hokama sensei was friendly, he speaks good English (a rare thing in Japan) and makes funny jokes, but with all due respect, I don't think they were what most visiting karatekas that day, me included, came for. If what you want is chatting and photo op with sensei then I think a museum only visit is the better (and...

The Karate Museum, owned by Tetsuhiro Hokama Sensei, is an almost direct link to the golden age of Karate. Hokama Sensei has spent over 40 years compiling artefacts, documents, photographs, paintings, and lineage documenting the history of Okinawan Karate. Hokama Sensei himself was a student of Higa Sensei who trained with Chojun Miyagi. This is as close as the 21st century can get to the founder of Goju Ryu Karate, who is linked with the founder of Naha-Te, Kanryo Higashionna Sensei. He also learned his Kobudo directly from Matayoshi Sensei. Additionally he is a scholar of the martial arts and a celebrated calligrapher. This is a special place for training and history that is unique...

Humble but incredible little museum run personally by an incredible karate master, Tetsuhiro Hokama, of Goju Ryu. It is on the second floor of his dojo. He asks for a small donation which is highly worth it. He will answer just about any question you have and show you around personally. The real honor is meeting him. He's only four teaching generations removed from Chojun Miyagi himself. He let us train with him for a few minutes with him in his dojo because it was a slow day. It sounded like it is only open every other day because he teaches on the off days. He also speaks a fair bit of English...