In a bit of a tough spot for an upcoming Okinawa trip, hoping to get some local perspective for weighing up our options.
My partner and I have booked an Airbnb in Central Okinawa, near Yaka Beach. We'd planned to book a rental car and travel the island that way after reading up on the best ways to experience the island.
However, at some point along our trip – I've foolishly lost my international drivers permit which is required for me to rent a car in Japan. We're in mainland Japan currently with no option to acquire another (we get to Okinawa in 3 days).
Was hoping I could get some insight on the following qs:
- Just how bad are the buses around central Okinawa? (Getting there from Naha/back again, navigating around Onna ect)
- If we were to take the accom cost hit and try pivot to Ishigaki or another smaller island, would that be easier to navigate without a vehicle?
TLDR: Dumb tourist lost his IDP and is trying to figure out if he has completely, or only paritally ruined his upcoming Okinawa trip.
by PixelHonkie
8 comments
It’s painful but doable with buses. Minimum 1 hours bus rides (sometimes goes up to 2,5) to go around places far away like Naha-Onna
Edit: however just going around Naha itself is easy with monorail
Uber, Didi, or Go are going to be your friends for getting a Taxi (no rideshare in Japan, but the app will call a taxi the same). I don’t live in Onna so I’m not sure about availability, but I’m sure it’s not horrible. There is a bus that can get you to Onna from Naha as well but I wouldn’t count on the busses for regular transportation. Normal taxis wait outside the airport that you can grab as well, and you can usually call a taxi from wherever you’re at through their dispatch if the apps don’t work.
I hear Japan allows some countries to get a driving permit at city hall pretty quickly, they’ll translate your driver’s license you pay a fee and that’s it. The US is not one of those countries so you’re SOL if you’re from the US.
I’d say go ahead and go for it. You should be fine if you’re resourceful and patient. Message me if you’re hard-up and I’ll see if me and my mini cooper can help.
Call AAA and see if they can issue a virtual one. That’s where I got mine before my trip.
Hello! Outer island person here. I’m on Miyako, so I can’t speak for Ishigaki but I think it’s less likely that there would be public transportation on the outer islands, as there is very little on Miyakojima
I think taxis should be able to get you where you want to go on main island if you’re willing to pay for them. If you are stuck somewhere you can ask staff at a restaurant/hotel to call one for you and they likely will
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Just landed in Naha for the first time yesterday from Vancouver, Canada and “Go / taxi app for japan” works well, but surprisingly so does Uber app. We got a quote from each at different locations and Uber usually was 100-300 less and both are just getting taxis as there isn’t actually Uber here. I was surprised it worked but saved us a few coins yesterday.
Your post made me scramble through my bag to make sure my paperwork is still there.. decided to book a car a few weeks in so that by them I’m better acclimated.
The buses work fine, but you really have to find the correct schedule and be a few minutes early as the buses run in island time and are sometimes a little early or late. They’re usually only crowded from the airport to the middle of Naha.
In Naha, just use the monorail or walk. You can see a lot of things by walking in the city.
Use Uber to call a taxi when the bus isn’t working for you.
It’s really not that bad. You just won’t be able to do as much as you could have with a car because your schedule is reliant on others now.
I live in the center part of the island and have a car but I take the bus occasionally. It’s cheap and it goes to major places like the mall & aquarium.
Why not ask the embassy in Japan, they can maybe offer an official translation for you, Swiss embassy offers this service.