So first off I want to apologize if this question rubs anyone the wrong way because I know it's a controversial topic, but it's something I'm genuinely curious about. I've never been to Okinawa but it's a place I've been very fascinated by since I first learned about. The entire history of the Ryukyu islands and its' people's distinct culture and language, as well as the islands' tropical setting just made it sound like a very mysterious and alluring destination.
For the longest time it was one of my top bucketlist destination, but the more I learned about American involvement on the island, the more my interest began to wane. Everything I read about the post-war American occupation just made it sound like a paradise lost. The complete rebuilding of the infrastructure to an American model, which caused the islands to be completely car dependent with very little public transport, huge roads everywhere, few pedestrian areas, no bicycle lanes etc. sounds like an absolute pain to deal with as someone with no drivers license and no intend to get one. One of the main reasons I love visiting mainland Japan so much is because of how easy it is to get around.
I'm also a strong opponent of US foreign military involvement in general, so the stories of young conscripts going into town to party and get wasted are very off-putting to me as well. Maybe those stories get overblown, but I wouldn't feel very comfortable in a place that's teeming with young drunk soldiers from a foreign army.
Right now I'm in between jobs and backpacking around Asia again, and I'm considering going back to Japan. Okinawa has come back to my attention as well since I've already visited large parts of the mainland multiple times, but I'm just genuinely concerned that it'll just feel like an American colony. When I travel I want to visit places where the local culture is still very much alive and visible in the places where people live and work, not just confined to museums and historical landmarks.
So how alive is the Ryukyuan way of life as of 2025? Is traveling around the main island without a car doable? How noticeable is the presence of a foreign army in a city like Naha? In short: is it a place dominated by Ryukyuan/Japanese ways of life, or by the American way of life?
by meliax