OOkinawa

A peaceful trip to celebrate beating cancer!

  • July 16, 2025

Hi everyone! I (26F) am planning a solo trip to Tokyo + Okinawa in October to celebrate finally finishing cancer treatment.

I’m dreaming about a peaceful tropical holiday spent reading by the water and swimming. I’d love any recommendations for places to stay that aren’t big hotels, places to eat, beaches to visit, anything you think might be a good way to spend about 5 days.

I’ll be by myself and I can’t drive, so places might be hard to get to. I am very adventurous and love a hike/challenging spot to get to and am keen to try finding some quiet spots without many people around. I know it’s difficult without a car, but maybe I can cycle? I also don’t mind long bus trips.

Also, are there any dangerous things in the water? As an Australian I’m used to having deadly jellyfish and sharks and poisonous fish – is there anything like that in Okinawa I have to worry about?

by lavender-x

8 comments

  1. First…CONGRATULATIONS on finishing treatments. I wish you a healthy life!

    Just returned with this exact itinerary. We flew to Okinawa, the flew to Tokyo first a few days, then back to the island. We stayed in an ABB near American Village. It was quiet and peaceful and had enough room to fit our family of 5. I’m not sure about smaller boutique hotels and if they do have them, they may be off the beaten path. We didn’t rent a car but walked to dinner nightly. We also walked to Starbucks every morning around 7am which gave me tons of peace being that eateries were still closed at that time. I saw plenty people cycling around the area. I can’t speak on the water as we didn’t get to go to the beach, however American Village has quite a few restaurants on the water that may give you that fill. I hear the beaches in Nago are pretty wonderful, we just didn’t have enough time to visit. I’m sure this was no help but I do hope you have a wonderful time.

  3. I would recommend Zamami and Aka islands in the Kerama group. Hour and a half ferry trip from Naha city. No big hotels. Nothing to do except swim and read a book and snorkeling and sit on a white sandy beach. Rent a bike to get around. Go midweek and enjoy less tourists. I’m an Aussie too and no worries about sea life. No irukandji here. Stone fish and larger box jellies and anemones are the things to look out for: just wear a rash guard and you’ll be fine.

  4. Look into be welcome. It might fit your needs. Okinawa is not a great place to visit if you’re not driving. Yes people do it but it gets expensive and inconvenient.

  5. Congratulations!! I didn’t drive (I have license) but still enjoy a lot when I solo travel a few times in Oki because I went scuba diving!!

  6. Congratulations!!!!! There are dangerous things in the water, if you do anything in the water with a group/guide – they will have swim gear for you. (:

    Okinawa is very car dependent, but you can usually find Taxi’s through DiDi, GOtaxi, and uber! There are also drivers you can pay for by the day on Klook!

  8. You can check my comment history for snorkel spots and other things. Just type “Okinawa.”

    My go to recommendation is a half day solo snorkel at Sunabe Seawall and then have lunch at Sandbox Burgers.

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