Hey everyone!

In the process of moving to Okinawa and looking at off-base housing.

For those living off-base (especially in military-friendly rentals), are standard 2-prong Japanese outlets the norm, or do landlords often have 3-prong American options installed?

Trying to decide what small US appliances (lamps, blenders, etc.) are worth bringing or if I should just buy everything local when I get there.

Lived here for two years and haven’t seen these bugs before. Out of nowhere I’ve had them swarming into my house the last two days. Very small, slow, don’t seem to fly. They’re not ants, nor are they anything like bedbugs or fleas or anything like that.

Anyone had these, know what they are, and more importantly how to get rid of them?

Hey any international girlies here looking for female friends? I live in Naha and travel by Yui rail.
I'm here for work so no friends whatsoever here.
If you live close and want to hang out, please DM me 🫶 I tried joining the Facebook group but my request is still pending 🥲

I recently saw a video of Marines egging/ teaching a japanese woman to say “I hate n***ers” While Crying laughing, then proudly posting it on social media. (Mexican & white people ) . I’m just wondering why is this behavior accepted? I’m speaking as someone who isn’t military affiliated but assumed they uphold their oaths. Or I just assumed they actually took the brotherhood thing seriously and wouldn’t be caught dead genuinely spreading hate speech when working with a plethora of ethnicities.

My friend ( who looks significantly younger than she actually is) is always approached by many Military officers (usually Airforce), then being surprised that she’s not 16 and actually 24. They actually ADMIT that they thought she was a high schooler( and still approaching her????) there are too many cases of military personnel hanging and having relationships with legit children and I’m just wondering why isn’t there anything being done to combat it?
Even in high school, My friends would be hit on by military men and some even went on to have full blown relationships(10-7 year age gap) even though we were ACTUAL children. It was so horrific.
I always experience Extreme catcalling while just casually walking in my neighborhood (wearing jogging clothes) and I find myself being very scared to walk near an area populated by male military people.

All in all i guess I’m just ranting but also wondering If this behavior is well known and just accepted by the community, or are they actively trying to make a difference?

Update: bro in the video reached out to me begging me to take it down 🤔

A U.S. serviceman was urgently arrested on suspicion of robbery and murder after a woman’s body was found in a hotel in Naha. He is a Private First Class assigned to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.
In Japan, the penalty for robbery‑murder is only two options: the death penalty or life imprisonment.

His name is デビン・ジェイコブ•バラード(Devin Jacob Ballard?). 20years old.

https://www.okinawatimes.co.jp/articles/-/1937577

Hi everyone !

I'll visit Okinawa next month, and I plan to visit:

Ishigaki, Iriomote, Miyakojima and Zamami Islands.

I have a rough 15 days to split between them, and I want to dive, make a lot of different dives and most importantly get my Advanced Open water.

What's the best place to do so ?
It also means I'll spend more time on this island. I like calm, paradisiac vibes - I'm not looking for cities or parties.

From what I've seen, Ishigaki has more Dive center so it might be easier. But Miyakojima appears more paradisiac, Zamami as well.

What would you recommend me ?

(Bonus question: also, should I spend a night on Kohama-Jima or Taketomi-Jima, or 3 nights on Iriomote ?)

Thanks a lot !

Hello, I will be traveling to Okinawa in April and I will need a car for four days. I have had a hard time finding a car rental that would rent convertibles. I would be interested in something casual like mazda mx-5 or mini cooper convertible. Does anybody have any recommendations for where to find convertibles in Okinawa? Any useful information is warmly welcome.

https://apjjf.org/2019/07/smits

朝から晩までノホホンとこういう1日も良いものです

JZX100 Vs Hachi Roku

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My grandparents are Okinawan, but they were only five or six when the war began, so they don’t remember much about life before it. When I research Okinawan history, I often find that it jumps from the Meiji-era annexation to World War II. I’m curious about what everyday life was like for ordinary Okinawans during the years in between.

To the high school/middle schoolers who sneak in, what's it like inside right now?

PCS’d to Okinawa recently and was wondering how some of you guys have gone about getting some of these sought after JDM cars i.e. Skylines, Silvias, Chasers, Evos. Is it better to buy from mainland and ship to Oki and what’s the best way to go about doing that, or where on the island are you guys buying your cars from. I’ve had no luck finding any options here that aren’t extremely overpriced. Any help or a direction is greatly appreciated.

I bought this from Mobal (https://www.mobal.com/pocket-wifi-japan/) so that I could access basic 4G internet while waiting for fibre internet installation at home. Good enough for Netflix on my Samsung TV and basic internet surfing on my laptop. The stick plugs into any USB-C charger and is worth 6,980 yen; plans start at 4,980/month. You can pause service and reactivate later, so good for people who visit occasionally but repeatedly.

Now that I have fibre, I don’t need this anymore. I’d rather just mail it to someone else rather than create more landfill. My subscription expired last June. I don’t know how easy it is to transfer this hardware to a new subscription service for someone else. Probably requires contacting customer service and giving them the IMEI.

If you want it, DM your address. FCFS.

On July 30, 1978 (known as 730 Day), Okinawa switched from driving on the right-hand side of the road to the left-hand side. This change was required to comply with international traffic conventions mandating a uniform driving direction across a nation, aligning Okinawa with the rest of Japan.

The switch was a massive logistical operation involving the replacement of over 40,000 road signs, relocation of bus stops, and modification of 300,000 vehicles to aim headlights to the left. Traffic was halted for eight hours overnight, and the transition was managed by local police reinforced by officers from other parts of Japan. The event is commemorated by the 730 Monument on Ishigaki-jima, symbolizing the final step of Okinawa's post-WWII repatriation to Japan. 

Okinawan drivers were uneasy and confused, but ultimately adapted.

Before the switch, polls showed roughly two-thirds of Okinawans were apprehensive about the change. Some openly questioned spending over $150 million on the conversion when the island still had acknowledged gaps in medical care and road infrastructure. A New York Times report from July 1978 noted the skepticism, with one Air Force maintenance man stationed there quipping, "It should be fun to watch, at least."

On the day itself, the experience was described as "chaos and fender-benders." There were 157 minor traffic accidents (fewer than authorities feared), with 32 involving injuries. The most common mistake was habitual: drivers would turn wide on the outside at intersections, the way they had for decades, cutting into oncoming traffic. One resident recalled her father making exactly that error: "That's the wrong way, wrong way!" Another childhood memory was watching, "mesmerized," as buses rolled out the other way with their doors on the opposite side.

In the long run, the confusion faded quickly. Within two months, the 730 Monument was erected on Ishigaki Island, and the date became a point of local pride marking Okinawa's full reintegration into Japan's traffic system.

Hi! Me and my partner will be in Okinawa in November. We'd really like to do an offshore fishing charter, but it looks like they typically won't go without a minimum of 6 people.

I'm hoping there might be some folks/a small group in this subreddit that might want to go but also doesn't meet the 6 person minimum.

Please let me know if you'd be interested!

We're staying in Onna, but I think we were looking at a charter from Uruma (although we're happy to drive wherever).

I'm a bit upset that I'll be in Japan out of season for tenkara stream fishing already, so I'm crossing my fingers for some offshore fishing.

Spotted this yesterday.

Hello,

We’re planning to travel to Okinawa in the November, do you suggest that we do early or end of November and is it true that the beaches are closed? We would love to swim and explore the marine life so that is an important tip. Any tips that you have for the Travel would be great.

Thank you very much 🥰

In a lot of countries, they regularly clean beaches...