Have an internal flight free.

Hi. Arrive September and will travel 4 2 weeks. We can fly somewhere free for a few days. Where to fly that's different? Don't want lengthy hikes just a great place to hang out for a few days. Any suggestions?

A return flight Tokyo - Naha for Okinawa Islands will probably give you best possible value for your free ticket.

Thanks Peter,will check that out -only, from Osaka (space for message is so brief!)

how d'you get your free flight?

Okinawa is a great choice.

When I said free - it's frequent flier points to use up, or lose.
The real Tom

..is exactly what we are after, though O. sounds good, any other suggestions please?
Tom

I ve got a free ticket last year, too (flying from zurich to tokyo with JAL, gives that chance!) and i choose Okinawa. It s a good idea, quite different from rest o Japan, but be aware that transportation is quite difficult there. The best option is to rent to car. If it s not your option then i suggest to plan what you would like to do and arrange your hotel according to that. For ex, if you want just beaches, then book a hotel in the northern part and plan to stay there. Or if you are more for cities: remain near Naha but notice that going by bus to the north can take one and a half hour or more.

.....if the strong U.S. base presence in Okinawa has an influence on the atmosphere there, in terms of "Americanisation" of the place,as usually happens?

Of course in the big cities there are establishments maybe catered towards service people, but I wouldn't say Okinawa is "americanized" whatever that word may mean. Some people consider having a starbucks or mcdonalds in a city "americanization".

http://www.japan-guide.com/list/e1247.html

Okinawa is a nice place, certainly has a unique history of its own.

...I've just read a book by an English lady cyclist who rode through most of Japan and was appalled by the brash
U.S.presence there,the drunkeness,noisy yelling and blatant sexuality she experienced there...such effects are not unknown where U.S. servicemen abound.

I agreee with John. No "americanisation". There s just an area, called okinawa city (in the centre of the island between Naha and the north beaches) where you may feel that (where most americans live, work,US bases ... and where you may find behaviers as the ciclist lady described). But there s nothing interesting there for a tourist so you don t need to go there. Naha, north part and the rest of the island are really "japanized".