I am planning on going to okinawa in July (I know terrible time but its just the way my schedule allows me). I probably want to be able to see quite abit of the Island. Including Charaumi Aquarium, Sefa Utaki, Okinawa World, Maybe the Pineaple Park if I feel like it, maybe the Yanbaru Park, so basically all over the Island.
I know that i will have to take the Car because public transport seems to be not as great as on the main Island. So what I mainly was contemplating is if I set up at a Beach Resort as "Base" and then go everywhere with the Car on like day trips. If that was doable? or if i rather should take local accomodations close by where I plan on going.
Whats the actual driving distances on the island and how doable does that sound?
どうぞよろしくお願いします。
by Meistermagier
6 comments
If you have the money, setting up one location as your “base” and doing day trips is definitely doable. Okinawa is small enough like that, just try to plan your itinerary so you’re not driving all over the place in one day.
Having a rental car is the best way to see the island no matter if you stay at a beach resort or not. There are so many different accommodations to choose from, it’s mainly up to your budget. I would recommend central location for convenience of not driving so long. Somewhere like Chatan, Yomitan or Onna puts you kind of in the middle of a lot of places no matter if you go north or south. You are looking at 1hr to 1.5hr drive to the aquarium, Nago and Motobu stuff, and about the same stuff in Itoman, Nanjo and Naha type stuff. Good recommendation, use google maps for directions from point to point, time estimates and place reviews. Remember time of day, and day of week affect times greatly do to traffic congestion.
If you don’t have a Japanese driver’s license or a SOFA one (US Military), make sure you have an International Driving Permit the paper book one from the 1949 convention agreement. If not, you won’t be able to rental from any rental company.
Depending on how used to driving you are I would move base a couple of times. I drive between 2 and 4 hours every day in Japan, it’s not that fun on the way back, especially if you’re on vacation. Naha for south, onna for middle of oki and motobu for north.
Doable.
In my opinion you most likely will only be able to see the big tourist attractions if you drive everywhere from one place. You may be too tired to explore ‘off the beaten path’ if you choose this option.
If you find different small hotels/rental houses then you may find more niche things to do/see since you can walk or drive shorter distances around each area that you pick.
I think you will enjoy either way. Good luck!
Just came back a few days ago from Okinawa. Spent 11 days on the island. Rented a kei car for the entire trip. We had a hotel in Naha for stuff in the city. Then we also had a hotel in Nago we used as well. Since it is not far drives to attractions but the speeds are slow. Like driving there feels so casual and laid back after driving in Canada. The speed limits are likewise very low compared to what I accustomed to but I found it very rewarding. Stopping at anything that caught our eye was the best part.
From Nago we went to all the attractions like Kouri island, aquarium, pineapple park, Neo park. It made the trips very short drives. Nago also has a main strip that has a dozen or so big chains in a row. Our hotel was close to some smaller izakaya that we went to at night.
I wouldn’t want to try to use public transport at all to see Okinawa but that’s just my opinion. We used the monorail in Naha mainly to go to places to drink at night. Otherwise everything was driving.
Gas is expensive but kei car was so good on fuel it didn’t matter. Filling up at Eneos was quite a hilarious experience with no English option on the pump. Just be careful where you park in the city, prices can vary so much it’s actually impressive to see the wild varieties.