I (25F) have planned to visit Okinawa on my own mid-may as I’m already in Japan (Osaka) beforehand and wanted to kind of experience something different and possibly have a little beach time!
After researching about the trip it says everywhere it is recommended to rent a car, but I have terrible driving anxiety (also no scooters because of that) and basically feel only safe driving routes I know and I definitely don’t trust myself driving on the left side, especially coming from Germany.
Then researching again, people mentioned that it IS doable by public transport and I have now booked a hotel (can cancel it) that is close to the ferry port in Naha.
My concern is that I will just have a wildly different and not as good experience as I’d have with renting a car, and I’d maybe just go somewhere else in Japan (only been to Tokyo before) instead of Okinawa and either work on my anxiety or return with someone who could split driving with me.
I also looked up beach front resorts but i don’t know if I’d feel kind of „stuck“ that way and it would end up being even worse getting around. And some did not allow tattoos on their beaches.
I think all my research has made me a little unsure if I’d be able to really enjoy Okinawa, or would it be worthwhile enough to stay in Naha and hopefully be able to make it to the other islands by ferry?
Sorry if this topic comes up like every day, but I’m kind of overthinking about this now LOL.
by geistersuppe
8 comments
Taxis are everywhere on the island but yes, having a car is nice to have. Honestly the public transportation in oki isn’t the greatest, and if you want to get to some of the more difficult to get to areas you’re probably going to need a car. If you intend on only staying near Naha you can get by with just walking or taxis, but anything much north of that and you’re gonna want to rent a car
If you’re not staying too long, no car is fine. Some things are just less accessible, but the main tourist spots and decent beaches have transit.
Most beaches are fine with tattoos here, private ones and hotel pools will likely require you to put on a rasheguard or shirt to cover them.
If you’re trying to see more of nature and remote areas then it’ll be better to have a car or if it’s a one off, get a taxi, but may need to specify return time depending on the cell reception in the area
Driving in Okinawa is not as stressful compared to the rest of Japan less traffic but do not recommend if you have driving anxiety and not used to the left side. Okinawa is definitely more enjoyable with a car but you can also have get around with train and bus and I also used uber occasionally while there and there’s lots of taxis so you won’t really be stuck anywhere
Taxis are way cheaper than mainland in Okinawa and they are plentiful. Would driving be nice there? Sure, but you’d be fine without one.
Public transport in Naha is plentiful. As you go north it gets slim.
Driving here is extremely simple and you can ask the rental company for a beginner mark so the people around you will be a little more cautious.
That beginner mark scares local drivers because insurance companies don’t hold real first year drivers to as high of a standard, so in case of an accident they will give the experienced driver more of the fault.
I also don’t drive and I would suggest you take the ferry to an island like Zamami and spend your Okinawa time there instead! Sparsely populated but lots of bike rentals and incredible snorkeling! I swam right next to a turtle when I was there, simply by walking into the ocean and swimming a few meters!
Definitely go to Okinawa and do yourself a favour and go to Zamami for a few nights. It’s a boat ride away from Naha. Probably my favourite place ever. You’ll be fine. Everything you’ve ever wanted is waiting for you outside of your comfort zone. Enjoy the adventure!
When we were first in Okinawa last year we were using only public transport/on foot with one Klook tour to the aquarium and one day at Tokashiki which left us with 3 days in Naha and it was doable with slow peace – going to shuri castle, museums, shopping etc. it was fun.
On the other hand I can clearly see the advantages of renting a car – especially when you want to see as much as possible – where for us it’s more of an being there is cool enough and we don’t want to rush through stuff and just enjoy our time on holidays.
This year we’re going back to Okinawa and also we’ll be in Mijyako and Ishigaki where we’ll be renting a car for a few days (as we still want to ride some bicycles and use ferries) – and also for my wife as she’s the driver it’ll be challenging, but she had already a chance driving in UK (this will be actually first time we’ll be renting car ever!) – and yes she’s a little scared as well 😛
Also we’ll be more likely renting car on Okinawa as well – if you want to go somewhere further from Yuri Rail, the time saving is incredible looking at Google Maps (maybe some places like Okinawa World are bus okeish) – and you can see places that are usually very hard to visit by public transport.
What I’m doing when I’m planning any holidays anywhere – I’m marking every interesting spot on google maps. This creates me sort of “heath map” based on which I can see which parts of place are the once where there is the most cool stuff for me and then I plan my itinerary around them. Of course there will be places with higher ranking, like aquarium, tokashiki, zamami etc. – What I’m trying to say – look at Google maps what you find interesting and then you’ll know if you need a car or not 😛
Also check out if some places can be visited with organized tour – like aquarium.