Chatan Town is located in the central portion of Okinawa, bordered by Kadena Town to the north, Ginowan City to the south, and Okinawa City, Kitanakagusuku Village, and Futenma to the east. Chatan is particularly well known to Americans on the island, as the presence of three bases (Kadena Air Base, Camp Lester, and Camp Foster) within the town’s borders gives it a very western feel.

The kanji for Chatan translates to mean “northern valley,” and humans are thought to have lived in the area for more than 5,000 years. Remains of a small castle (gusuku) built on a hill not far from Camp Foster’s Spot Gate are still discernable, and excavations throughout the town have yielded artifacts from this and previous millennia.

Chatan can be broken down into four main parts, the northernmost of which is Sunabe. Located on the East China Sea, Sunabe includes the small communities of Minato, Hamagawa, and Miyagi. Running along the coast is a large seawall known to many simply as Sunabe Seawall. Since many of the homes and businesses in Sunabe were constructed on reclaimed land, the wall was built to protect them from dangerous ocean swells caused by typhoons. A large number of Americans live in Sunabe due to its close proximity to the bases. Thus, there have been numerous restaurants, cafes, and izakayas opened in the area.