5 nights and 4 days itinerary in Okinawa, Japan

Okinawa background information

Okinawa, a Japanese prefecture, comprising more than 150 islands in the East China Sea between Taiwan and Japan’s mainland. It is known for its tropical climate, crystal clear blue seas,  centenarians, US military base, scuba diving sites and many more.

Okinawa weather

Okinawa has a sub-tropical climate with an average temperature of about 20 degrees. Even in the hot Summer season, the temperature will not go beyond 31 degrees. The best time to visit Okinawa is around March to early May and late September to December. It is best to avoid visiting Okinawa in late May to August because of rain and typhoon. Occasionally, typhoon season may extend until October.

Okinawa Language

はいさい　Hello

Okinawan has their own unique language known as “Uchinaguchi“, a local language spoken on the southern half of the main island of Okinawa. In 2009, UNESCO designated Uchinaguchi as one of the six endangered languages spoken on the Okinawan and neighboring Amami islands.

In fact, younger Okinawan speak Japanese rather than their local language. Only the elderly in Okinawa now speaks fluent Uchinaguchi. So, if you speak Japanese, you will have no communication problem there.

10 things to do in Okinawa Japan

1. Okinawa rent car

If you really want to enjoy Okinawa fully, you will need to rent a car. That is the only way to get around the whole island. For those that do not drive, there are monorails and buses in the island. Monorails are only available in the Naha area.

We chose to drive in Okinawa for our 5 days 4 nights trip here. We flew from Hong Kong via dragon air, budget air of Cathay Pacific. The whole flight took 2.5 hours. When we reached Naha airport, we headed to the OTS car rental counter.

We chose OTS car rental because it is highly recommended by bloggers. There are staffs who are able to communicate in Mandarin and English. Thus, this car rental company is very popular among visitors from Taiwan and other Chinese speaking countries. It is highly recommended that you book your car online rather than at the counter. This is especially so if you are travelling during the peak Summer holiday season. Okinawa is not only popular for tourists, it is also a very popular holiday destination for local Japanese as well.

When we approached the OTS counter at the airport, the lady at the counter asked for the name of the person who has booked the car. After confirmation, she told us to proceed outside to take a shuttle bus provided by the car rental company to their office. The journey from the airport to the car rental office is about 20 minutes.

As we reached Naha airport during their rush hour, there was a traffic jam and thus it took around 40 minutes to finally got to their office. When we reached the office, there was a long queue waiting to get the car. Just imagine if we were to be there during the peak holiday period. It will take even longer. All in all, it took us around 1.5hours to finally get the rented car.

Our car was a Mitsubishi Hybrid for 5 adults. The car was rather new and in good condition. After going through the normal procedure of checking the interior and exterior of the car, we signed off and headed to find dinner.

2. Eat local Okinawa Food

Okinawan food has much similarity to Chinese food. In Okinawa, their famous Okinawa pork belly Rafute resembles the Chinese food call 东坡肉. Agu pork is used for this dish for its rich flavour and collagen.

Another famous local cuisine is bitter gourd – Goya Chanpuru. This dish has healthy bitter gourd and tofu, but they also added spam. I wonder if it is because of the influence from the US military base situated there?? That being said, this dish is very tasty and you just got to try it. The bitter gourd is not as bitter as those I have tasted in South East  Asia countries.

If you are a noodle lover, you should try the Okinawa soba. The soba here is unlike those found in mainland Japan. It looks more a Udon rather than a soba. It is thinner than Udon and taste more like Chinese noodles. The broth is pork base and they serve with Agu pork slices or spare ribs. A different kind of experience. A good though.

Purple sweet potato is a must as you will only get it in Okinawa. The sweet potato has a creamy texture and sweet. You can eat it as tarts, ice cream, and steamed.

3. Okinawa beach hopping and Okinawa diving

Okinawa is surrounded by beautiful blue waters. If you are a sea lover, like me, you will definitely love the beaches and water sports there. The water is crystal clear and full of marine life.

When we were there, instead of scuba diving, we chose to do snorkelling over at the famous snorkelling destination – blue cave. Blue cave is situated in Maeda point and lots of diving companies organize blue cave snorkelling tours. We booked the blue cave snorkelling tour through this diving company situated near to our hotel, Marriott Okinawa.  Maeda Point is good for beginners but instructors remind divers that nobody should dive alone, the recommending visits there at least in groups of three or more divers.

On the day of the trip, we gathered at the shop where we booked the tour. The driver then drove us to the spot where we took a small boat out to the diving spot. The journey by coach was about 20 minutes. Then another 5 minutes or so to the blue cave. Before boarding the boat, we changed into our wetsuits provided by the company. Then, the diving instructor taught us how to use the snorkelling gears. We were really excited because it was our first snorkelling experience in the sea.

When the boat came and brought us to the blue cave, there were already many other people there. The place I feel is too commercialized. Although we could see lots of fishes, but the varieties were not that great. I was hoping to see “Nemo” or “Dori” but I found none. However, it was still fun and exciting. The instructor brought bread and we fed the fishes with it.

The snorkelling tour cost Yen3500 each. This includes 2 way transportation, wet suit and boat ride. The instructor will also take pictures while you are snorkelling. You can choose to buy the SD card if you are happy with the pictures he has taken.

4. Visit Okinawa Katsuren Castle ruins

Okinawa Katsuren castle sits on a steep hill close to the coastal area. The view from the top of the ruin is not to be missed. Though climbing is required, it is not as bad. If an old lady with a walking stick can do it, you surely can. The site is included as one of the UNESCO World Heritage designated Castles of the Ryukyu Kingdom.

5. Visit Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium

If you have never seen a whale shark, this aquarium is a must to go to. It is the main attraction in the Ocean Expo park. It is located in the Northern part of Okinawa, about 90km from Naha. Besides whale sharks, you can also see sea turtles, manta rays, puffer fishes and many more. Admission fee is 1850 Yen.

The Ocean Expo park is a very huge place to explore for free. There is a beach call “Emerald beach” towards the Northern end of the ocean park. A well maintained botanical garden, the Tropical Dream Center, with a wide range of tropical trees and plants in multiple greenhouses. The center also features a 36 meter tall observatory tower that resembles the Tower of Babel.

6. Visit Okinawa Makishi public market

Craving for sushi, we headed to the Makishi public market to nurse our stomach. This market is much smaller in size than the Tsukiji market in Tokyo. There are stalls selling fresh seafood, dry goods and side dishes. You can purchase live seafood from the stores and hand it to the restaurant to cook according to how you want it cooked. You will need to pay a fee for the food preparation though.

We did not buy seafood from the stores as we find it odd that we had to pay extra for having the food prepared. Moreover, the price is rather expensive as well. Instead of seafood, we searched for sushi because we wanted to eat sushi all along. We found only one available and took the risk. It was well worth it. The sushi was delicious and fresh. Price was reasonable as well.

7. Shopping at Okinawa outlet store

Okinawa Ashibinna outlet store is a shopping paradise for those who love shopping. Situated near the Naha airport, you can easily spend 2-3 hours shopping till you drop. Brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Polo, Banana Republic, Michael Khor, Coach and many more can be found here. Prices are considered attractive for tourists from the South East Asian region.

If you run out of Yen, don’t worry! There are foreign exchange machines available to meet your needs. You just need to insert your local currency into the machine, the machine will then convert it into Yen. Very clever indeed.

8. Enjoy local Okinawa music

We had dinner at a local Izakaya restaurant near our hotel without knowing that they provide live Okinawan music. Izakaya are Japanese bar/pub serving food and drinks. It was a great enjoyment to listen to live music and eat delicious Okinawan food. The performance is chargeable at 1,000 Yen per person. We recommend you to leave the place before the performance starts if you do not want to pay the cover charge.

The performers are a family, I suppose. The little boy in the band is the star of the show. He was hitting the drum and doing lots of stuns to entertain the guests. They are great singers and sang many popular Okinawa songs.

9. Drink Okinawa “Orion Beer” and enjoy Japanese BBQ

I am not a beer person, but really enjoyed “Orion Beer” after drinking it for the first time. It does not have a bitter taste like other beer. Cold draft beer is the way to drink.

While drinking beer, I recommend you to eat Okinawa Black cow Wagyu beef. Very tender and delicious. We had Wagyu twice for dinner. Wagyu in Okinawa is worth eating as the price is not as expensive as those in Kobe and Tokyo. Of course the grades are different, but they are just as tasty.

10. Visit Okinawa Yomitan Village

If you are into Japanese pottery, Yomitan village will surely excites you. There are many shops selling beautiful handcrafted Japanese bowls, vase, cups and many more. It is a village located in Nakagami District, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Yomitan is mainly an agricultural and crafts village with its economy supported by crops such as chrysanthemums (a symbol of Japan), sugar cane, and the beni imo (purple sweet potato).

Travel insurance

Before heading to Okinawa, do remember to buy proper travel insurance. It is better to be prepared than to be sorry. July to August is rain and typhoon month in Okinawa. Best to avoid if you are going there for vacation.

Our hotel in Okinawa

For the 5 nights and 4 days in Okinawa, we were staying at Okinawa Marriott Resort and Spa situated in Nago.  Although this hotel is 10.1km away from the centre, it is still a lovely place to stay. The rooms are huge unlike those hotels in mainland Japan. This Okinawa hotel has a lovely chapel facing the sea. A lovely chapel to have your wedding there.

The Kariyushi beach is only about 0.5km away from the hotel. Next to the beach is a convenient store where we bought our breakfast most of the time. They have very tasty Onigiri (Japanese triangular rice). You can ask the staffs there to heat it up for you.

Another Okinawa hotel you can also consider would be Renaissance Okinawa resort. This hotel has a private beach where you can enjoy without having to leave the resort. Besides that, they prepare activities for the whole family to enjoy while staying there.

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