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How easy is driving in Okinawa? 2016/2/21 21:17
I am going to two remote islands of Okinawa this year and I am considering renting a car. The hotels will be outside the centers and so will be the places I would like to visit. I have been born and grown up in a right hand traffic country so I worry a bit about getting used to left hand traffic.

How can I get used to left hand traffic? Is it enough to do some driving on the car park of the car rental and to do a "real" drive on a road near to the coast then?

Can I count on getting an automatic car? I do not even change gears manually in my own country.

As far as I know, Japanese cars have built in navigation systems. In my own car back in my country there is no navigation system so I use my smart phone for navigation. Is it okay to attach my smart phone to the screen of a rented car and to navigate with it? After all, I am used to it and I can set its language to my native language if necessary.

Are drivers in Okinawa mild tempered and calm or are they as aggressive as in western countries?

The time span I will be staying in Okinawa prefecture will include golden week. Will car parks of resort hotels such as ANA InterContinental Ishigaki or Miyako Excel Tokyu Resort be full during this period?
by okinawadolphin  

Re: How easy is driving in Okinawa? 2016/2/22 20:59
Don't worry about the driving. You can select automatic transmission and an english-language navigation system when booking a car at most rental companies.

Personally, I found getting used to left hand traffic pretty straight forward and quick. When in doubt, just slow down and follow someone - Japanese drivers are quite patient and forgiving. Just be cautious that you will not be used to the space between the driver's seat and the left front wheel right away - be careful not to drive to close to the curb/corner on the left side of the vehicle.

And make sure that your driving licence actually allows you to drive in Japan. To my knowledge, you can use an international licence for up to a year and after that you need to have a Japanese license.
by Georg (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: How easy is driving in Okinawa? 2016/2/22 22:11
And don't be afraid of a Japanese GPS. Get the hire place to show you how to input the phone number of your destination (a fantastic feature!), and how to turn off the voice prompts (quite annoying - especially if you can't understand them), and you're good to go.

Only you can judge how difficult it will be for you to drive on the "other" side of the road.

If you seriously think it will be really difficult, maybe the more responsible thing to do is not to do it...
by Winter Visitor (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: How easy is driving in Okinawa? 2016/2/22 23:49
The only real problem I have had on the transition is the use of the turn signals. They are on the right side of the steering column. The wipers are on the left side, so occasionally I'll turn on the wipers when making a turn. The floor pedals are the same in both left and right hand versions, even in a standard. The rest of the traffic will keep you in place so it quickly feels normal.
by Anaguma (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: How easy is driving in Okinawa? 2016/2/23 02:58
I rented a car and drove on the main Okinawa island, including in Naha city.

I found Okinawan drivers to be very calm, cautious and polite. The speeds on the roads are probably a little slower than what you are used to...the speed on the main toll highway was 80km/h and even slower on the smaller roads.

It was very quick and easy to get used to driving on the left side of the road. Just go slow, take your time and everything will be fine.
by [] (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: How easy is driving in Okinawa? 2016/2/23 04:20
Thank you for your answers. It seems to be easy and safe to drive in the remote islands of Okinawa. I still have to persuade my girl friend, but this is another story.

I have switched my own smart phone's language to Japanese, so I can understand "後200メートル左折します。この後すぐ右折します。後100メートルに目的に到着しました。"

by okinawadolphin rate this post as useful

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