I am planning on visiting Okinawa in late June for a week and have heard that the public transport is not great there and that taxis cost a lot.
How does renting a car work there? What do I need to bring? Where/who do I rent it from? Anything I need to watch out for?
by arcademissiles
9 comments
I’d like to help, but I need some more information first –
1. Where do you live?
2. Do you have a drivers license?
3. Have you ever driven in Japan before?
International Drivers Licence
Car manufacturers have their own rental agencies, I’m pretty sure.
I’ve heard that BC motors is pennies to whatever car rental place is. Just call ahead and see if they have anything. Maybe check around the car sell lots and see if they’re renting out
I just booked mine online. If you google Okinawa Car Rentals you’ll find alot of options and most of them are priced similarly. Price depends on what car you want / need. I booked a Jimny last November for around.. 60,000yen? There are cheaper options and it will probably be the most expensive part of the trip. Okinawa’ s car rental price is hiked higher than other parts of Japan because of how essential it is for moving around the island.
Once you arrive at the airport there are vans right across the exit that take you to their facility. There are vans every 10 minutes and the facilities are usually just 5~10 minutes away. Just find the appropriate station with the sign/logo of the service you booked from. They’ll handle the rest!
Okinawa is so much easier to get around if you have a rental. Also once you get out of Naha downtown, it’s really easy to drive even for foreigners.
Not renting a car would be a big mistake in Okinawa, as buses are terribly slow, infrequent and not the most comfortable either. A car will give you the freedom you need! Make sure to bring your International Driving Permit or License translation (required from specific countries only) with you!
My friend recently raved about Aqua Kyara Okinawa he just had good things to say, so now it’s my go to recommendation for car rental on the island!
You can also try the bigger ones such as Times and Orix…
Hope that helps 🙂
Just got back from Okinawa. I used OTS car rentals and they have the new Prius. Good experience.
Still allow LOTS of time to get around. Peak hour/ around 4pm-7pm was brutal so avoid that. Plus its the max speed you’ll be driving is like 60km/hr and mostly 40.