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Okinawa is Japan's southernmost prefecture, consisting of a few dozen, small islands in the southern half of the Nansei Shoto, the island chain which stretches over about one thousand kilometers from Kyushu to Taiwan.
Okinawa Prefecture can be divided into three major island groups, the Okinawa Islands (Okinawa Shoto) around Okinawa Island (Okinawa Honto), the Miyako Islands (Miyako Retto) around Miyako Island and the Yaeyama Islands (Yaeyama Retto) around Ishigaki Island.
Okinawa's climate is subtropical, with temperatures barely falling below 15 degrees in winter. The seas surrounding Okinawa's islands are considered among the world's most beautiful with coral reefs and abundant marine wildlife. Consequently, snorkeling and scuba diving are among Okinawa's top attractions.
The islands making up Okinawa Prefecture, are also known as the Ryukyu Islands, named after the native culture, which is distinctly different from that of the rest of Japan in terms of language, cuisine, arts, etc.
An independent kingdom and tributary state to China for several centuries, the Ryukyu Islands came under control of the Satsuma feudal fief (today's Kagoshima Prefecture) in the 17th century, and were made a Japanese prefecture in 1879, accompanied by efforts to assimilate the native population. But despite these past efforts, the Ryukyuan culture survived and is now Okinawa's other main attraction.
Towards the end of World War Two, Okinawa became the stage of one of the war's bloodiest battles, when American troops invaded the islands. Okinawa remained under US administration until 1972, while several thousands of US military members remain stationed on the spacious and controversial US military bases on Okinawa Main Island today.
How to get here :
How to get to Okinawa Island
Okinawa Island can be accessed by air or ferry. The major transportation hub is Naha, the prefectural capital.
By Airplane
Naha Airport (also known as Okinawa Airport), just outside of Naha, is the prefecture's major airport. There are direct flights from Naha into most parts of Japan, to various other islands within the prefecture and a few international destinations such as Shanghai, Seoul, Taipei and Manila.
Among the domestic airports served from Naha are Tokyo's Haneda Airport, Osaka's Itami and Kansai Airport, Sapporo's New Chitose Airport, Nagoya Airport, Fukuoka Airport and several others. Flights are operated by the JAL Group, ANA Group and Skymark Airlines.
The regular one way fare from Tokyo to Naha is around 37,000 Yen in case of JAL and ANA and around 24,000 Yen in case of Skymark, but if you book in advance or make use of other discount offers, such as a Japan Air Pass, the one way fare can be as low as 10,000 Yen.
By Ferry
Ferries connect Naha with various ports on Kyushu and Honshu, including Tokyo, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Kobe, Osaka and Kagoshima.
The one way trip from Tokyo to Naha takes about 44 hours and costs 22,000 Yen in the cheapest class. There is only one ferry per week.
From Kagoshima on the southern tip of Kyushu, ferries depart for Naha every day, taking about 25 hours and costing around 13,000 Yen for the one way journey in the cheapest class.
Visit our ferry page for more information about Japanese ferries.
Orientation and how to get around Okinawa Island
Besides the Okinawa Monorail (Yui Rail), which connects central Naha with Naha Airport, public transportation on Okinawa Island is limited to buses. Okinawa's bus network is quite dense, but finding the right connections can be complicated. Furthermore, service can be rather infrequent on some lines.
Unless you visit only the city of Naha, we highly recommend a rental car for getting around Okinawa Island. Okinawa drivers tend to be considerate, signs in Japanese and English, road conditions good, and rental cars equipped with a car navigation system.
Daily rates, including tax and insurance, start around 4000 Yen for the smallest car category, if you book through a discount travel service like ToCoo. They tend to be considerably higher if you directly book through a rental car company.
Note that traffic can be very heavy in Naha and central Okinawa, especially during the morning and evening rush hours on weekdays. To get from Naha to northern Okinawa, you can save much time by taking the Okinawa Expressway. Driving it all the way from Naha to Nago costs 1000 Yen per passenger car. All other roads on Okinawa are toll free.
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