AEON MALL Okinawa Rycom, which was built on the site of the former U.S. Marine Corps’ Awase Meadows Golf Course in Kitanakagusuku village, opened on April 25, 2015. Business people and municipal officials expressed that the mall is a good example of how to redevelop land returned to the local community by the U.S. military. They also expect it will bring benefits to the entire Okinawa Prefecture as well as to the central area of the island. The mall aims to attract tourists from other prefectures and abroad.

On the morning of the grand opening, about 11,000 people queued to enter the mall. The large turnout caused long traffic jams in both directions on national highway 330 from the Rycom/Raikamu intersection.

The mall is 175,000 square meters in size and its store area measures 78,000 square meters. It is the largest commercial facility in Okinawa and consists of 228 specialty shops.

The Okinawa Rycom is described as a “resort mall” and is the first such venture by the AEON group. The mall will be promoted to attract tourists from the rest of Japan and abroad. It has set a goal of attracting 12 million people yearly.

According to management, 210,000 people visited the mall for the soft-opening which took place April 22-24 for neighborhood residents.