Giza Banta is a cape in Yaese Town, on Okinawa’s main island.
It is a spectacular spot known for its sheer cliffs and a beautiful waterfall.
It rarely appears in guidebooks, but it is a hidden spot with wonderful scenery.
The cliff is about 40 meters high and the footing is poor, so you need to take real care if you go down to the bottom.
Giza Banta Ratings
※Ratings are the personal impressions of the Okinawa Bookmark editor, compared with other capes in Okinawa
Giza Banta Essentials
| Opening hours | No set hours |
| Parking | Yes (free) |
| Restrooms | None |
| Shop | None |
| Official website | None |
Highlights
The view from the cliff
The view from the top of the cliff can only be described as stunning.
There is no railing along the cliff edge, so please mind your safety while you take it in.
A beautiful waterfall
This is a rare place in Okinawa where you can enjoy a waterfall and the sea at the same time.
Surplus water from the nearby Giza Underground Dam spills over the cliff, which is what creates the waterfall.
Clear, beautiful water
The water at Giza Banta is remarkably clear and beautiful.
Giza Gaa
Giza Gaa is a cone-shaped old well, now an archaeological site, dug during the Ryukyu Kingdom era to reach an underground water source.
The well has long since dried up, but it survives as a valuable structure that shows the advanced stonework of the time, its history preserved alongside the sweeping natural scenery around it.
Just beside it, surplus water from the adjacent underground dam pours down into the Pacific as a dramatic waterfall, so you can take in both of these rare Okinawan sights at once.
Getting there and parking
| Access | About 40 minutes by car from Naha Airport |
| Address | Yaese Town, Shimajiri District, Okinawa Prefecture |
| Parking | Yes (free) |
| Restrooms | None |
There is a space at Giza Banta where you can park for free.
It is more of an open lot than a proper parking area, but you can park there without any trouble.
Please check the image and map below for parking.
Around Giza Banta
Activities in southern Okinawa
Southern Okinawa offers plenty of activities such as diving and snorkeling.
You can book through GetYourGuide or Viator, so do take a look at what is on offer.
Okinawa Peace Memorial Park
Okinawa Peace Memorial Park stands in Mabuni, in the city of Itoman in the south of Okinawa’s main island, where the Battle of Okinawa came to an end.
The park contains the Cornerstone of Peace, the Peace Hall, and the Peace Memorial Museum, and it is a sacred place visited by travelers from Japan and abroad as well as by memorial groups and school trips, making it one of the area’s most important sites.
※Reference: https://heiwa-irei-okinawa.jp/
The Southern Links Resort Hotel
The Southern Links Resort Hotel is a resort hotel where every room has an ocean view.
The hotel sits on the grounds of a golf course, so you can take in the green fairways and the blue sea of Okinawa at the same time.
It is a good choice if you want to relax and enjoy a resort atmosphere in Okinawa.
A rental car is the way to go in Okinawa
For sightseeing on Okinawa’s main island, a rental car is by far the best option.
Shuri Castle in Naha, the beautiful beaches up north, American Village in Chatan – the places worth seeing are scattered across the island, and having a car lets you explore at your own pace. Buses are infrequent and rarely run on time, so having a car makes a real difference to the trip.
Cars book up quickly in peak season, so reserve as soon as your dates are set.
Summary
This time we covered Giza Banta.
Giza Banta is a spectacular spot with sheer cliffs and a beautiful waterfall.
It is a hidden place that tourists rarely visit, but the scenery here is genuinely lovely.
When you are in Yaese Town, do make time to visit Giza Banta.
Thank you for reading to the end.
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