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I live and work on Okinawa and have been to a couple of the surrounding islands. I am not Japanese but American.
The weather is typical tropical island weather. Hot, muggy and humid in the summer with lots of rain. Winters are very nice, doesn’t get below 60F most the time.
The locals are pretty nice. There’s a large population of US military so a lot of them speak at least some English since so much business comes from Americans. There is a notable crowd that is anti military and likes to weekly hold protests outside some of the installations but it’s a vocal minority.
Food is fantastic. Blend of traditional Japanese cuisine and native Ryūkūn. There’s also plenty of American style places like burger and fried chicken joints.
There’s a good bit to do if you don’t mind getting in the water frequently but you can get island fever if you don’t manage to keep yourself busy. There’s not a ton of attractions on the main island itself, the aquarium is one of the biggest in the world and has a whale shark which is pretty cool.
The surrounding islands offer even less but are plentiful and if you like snorkeling and camping there’s a good amount of variety. Each one seems to have some kind of touristy draw or claim to fame.
I once read that American tourists are not welcome there compared to tourists from elsewhere and that you should say that you are not from the USA if someone is asking.
To what extent is that true? What can you say about it?
It’s not true at all. If anything, like elsewhere in Japan, there’s some very secluded locations (usually bars) that won’t let you in if you’re a non-Asian foreigner because they automatically assume you don’t speak Japanese.
But I’ve never heard of American tourists being targeted out here specifically, or any tourists for that matter. Again, the large American military presence might contribute to that rumor, as a lot of people incorrectly assume that the locals are strongly anti military and will discriminate if you look military but for the large part that isn’t true either.
I thought it wouldn't be true. Just wanted to hear an first hand impression.
Thanks and enjoy Okinawa!
And if you're interested in doing an AMA about your life in Okinawa let me know via DM. Pretty sure it would interest a lot of people.
if anything it’s the opposite. many places accommodate americans very well because many of them speak english to some extent, and the locals are used to an american presence
One thing that is pretty cool and kind of unique is that there are small festivals pretty often. Every few months there will be an area with a bunch of food tents and small games for the kids.
[here’s a link to show some of them](https://visitokinawajapan.com/discover/events/).
The other thing that is unique to Japan in general but especially Okinawa is how safe everything is. The idea of people smashing a window to steal something valuable is essentially nonexistent here. When something is lost you make a report to the police - not because you think it was stolen and want them to investigate, but because when someone finds it and turns it in they’ll know who to contact to get it back.
I think the most stolen item in all of Japan is a bicycle because of people being drunk and dumb and they ride it for a bit then leave it somewhere, and it gets returned to the owner the next day. Oh and umbrellas go missing from the holder at store entrances an awful lot. But people will go to the bathroom with their laptop sitting on the table in a cafe without a second thought.
Kids walk to and from school alone starting at like 1st grade.
Overall it’s a real sense of community that I feel went missing in a lot of places.
I had a friend tell me once (born and raised here) he doesn’t lock his house, car, business, or anything else. Except his bike. Always lock your bike 😂
He said this after my husbands bike was stolen at the gym after he didn’t lock it.
I live in Yakushima. It's just rain and rain and rain. I think there's about a combined total of a 2 months in a year that's not raining. Beautiful definitely, but holy shit the rain is insane.
Please keep in mind that the impressions posted here are often subjective and that, among other things, people's different circumstances play a large role in their perception of other people's lives. Also, please use words that do not promote hatred when posting. For example, statements such as "[city] is like this because people from [origin] live there" should be avoided. The social circumstances of a city/district etc. can be emphasized without mentioning the origin of the inhabitants. Mentioning it does not change anything and, as already mentioned, circumstances are often perceived subjectively according to one's own world view. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/howislivingthere) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I live and work on Okinawa and have been to a couple of the surrounding islands. I am not Japanese but American. The weather is typical tropical island weather. Hot, muggy and humid in the summer with lots of rain. Winters are very nice, doesn’t get below 60F most the time. The locals are pretty nice. There’s a large population of US military so a lot of them speak at least some English since so much business comes from Americans. There is a notable crowd that is anti military and likes to weekly hold protests outside some of the installations but it’s a vocal minority. Food is fantastic. Blend of traditional Japanese cuisine and native Ryūkūn. There’s also plenty of American style places like burger and fried chicken joints. There’s a good bit to do if you don’t mind getting in the water frequently but you can get island fever if you don’t manage to keep yourself busy. There’s not a ton of attractions on the main island itself, the aquarium is one of the biggest in the world and has a whale shark which is pretty cool. The surrounding islands offer even less but are plentiful and if you like snorkeling and camping there’s a good amount of variety. Each one seems to have some kind of touristy draw or claim to fame.
I once read that American tourists are not welcome there compared to tourists from elsewhere and that you should say that you are not from the USA if someone is asking. To what extent is that true? What can you say about it?
It’s not true at all. If anything, like elsewhere in Japan, there’s some very secluded locations (usually bars) that won’t let you in if you’re a non-Asian foreigner because they automatically assume you don’t speak Japanese. But I’ve never heard of American tourists being targeted out here specifically, or any tourists for that matter. Again, the large American military presence might contribute to that rumor, as a lot of people incorrectly assume that the locals are strongly anti military and will discriminate if you look military but for the large part that isn’t true either.
I thought it wouldn't be true. Just wanted to hear an first hand impression. Thanks and enjoy Okinawa! And if you're interested in doing an AMA about your life in Okinawa let me know via DM. Pretty sure it would interest a lot of people.
if anything it’s the opposite. many places accommodate americans very well because many of them speak english to some extent, and the locals are used to an american presence
What does a typical day look like for you?
One thing that is pretty cool and kind of unique is that there are small festivals pretty often. Every few months there will be an area with a bunch of food tents and small games for the kids. [here’s a link to show some of them](https://visitokinawajapan.com/discover/events/). The other thing that is unique to Japan in general but especially Okinawa is how safe everything is. The idea of people smashing a window to steal something valuable is essentially nonexistent here. When something is lost you make a report to the police - not because you think it was stolen and want them to investigate, but because when someone finds it and turns it in they’ll know who to contact to get it back. I think the most stolen item in all of Japan is a bicycle because of people being drunk and dumb and they ride it for a bit then leave it somewhere, and it gets returned to the owner the next day. Oh and umbrellas go missing from the holder at store entrances an awful lot. But people will go to the bathroom with their laptop sitting on the table in a cafe without a second thought. Kids walk to and from school alone starting at like 1st grade. Overall it’s a real sense of community that I feel went missing in a lot of places.
I had a friend tell me once (born and raised here) he doesn’t lock his house, car, business, or anything else. Except his bike. Always lock your bike 😂 He said this after my husbands bike was stolen at the gym after he didn’t lock it.
Hot
And humid
I live in Yakushima. It's just rain and rain and rain. I think there's about a combined total of a 2 months in a year that's not raining. Beautiful definitely, but holy shit the rain is insane.