Welcome to the first post of the series Pros and Cons of Living in Okinawa, Japan! I am lover of list making and I thought it would be fun to create a series where I break down some of the good and not-so-good things about Okinawa, from my perspective as an expat, with anyone soon-to-be moving to Okinawa.
Okinawa-Prefecture, also known as the Ryukyu Islands are the Southeast part of Japan and with their turquoise waters, no wonder they were nicknamed “Japan’s Hawaii” by the Japanese. No matter where you go on island eventually you will find yourself driving by a breathtaking beach. Most beaches are secluded and empty. An absolute paradise if you ask me. My favorite city, Nago, has the most beautiful beach I’ve ever been to (shown above).
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Every year from June 1st-Nov 30th is “hurricane season” back home, well here in Okinawa we have typhoons, basically the same thing the only difference is their location. If you’ve never gone though a hurricane trust me there’s nothing to worry about because the island is completely prepared for it. Buildings are made of concrete and the bases have a whole system down to help you get prepared.
During our six years here only our first year was rough with constant super typhoons happening, but every year since then has been slower. Living on base we only lost power once in six years and only for a couple of hours. It’s basically a day to binge watch Netflix with your family… but sadly they mostly happen on the weekends. Although it’s not updated anymore check out out the Okinawa Typhoon Pics & Info page on Facebook for some great information under the ‘notes’ tab. By the way, Okinawa is that small green pin on the map.
Okinawans are all about celebrating the beauty of nature with festivals!! There’s the Azalea Festival, the Lily Festival, multiple Cherry Blossom Festivals, the International Orchid Show, the Bougainvillea Fair and the Okinawa World Flower Festival. These festivals are always filled with food stands, music, ice cream and of course beautiful flowers.
There are also several flower fields that bloom all over Okinawa and get tons of visitors, like the cosmos field in Kin Town, the cosmos field in Nago, the iris field in Kijoka, the sunflower field in Kitanakagusuku and a private Hydrangea Garden that’s open to the public. I plan on visiting them all before we leave!
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It is obvious that the Japanese language isn’t easy to learn, mostly because it involves characters instead of letters and they have 3 writing systems which make everything even more confusing. You rely on symbols to understand most signs, like the one pictured above. When I first got here I found it so weird to drive around and not be able to read most of the signs, but you get used to little things like these.
I can’t say you won’t understand anything, because they have added english translations to street signs which makes driving super easy. You’ll also have to focus on learning their numbers, since we can’t understand the names. Most restaurants have English menus available, but those that don’t have pictures in order to make ordering easier for us Americans, which is pretty thoughtful and useful.
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Okinawans are pretty serious farmers and in Uruma (the city we live in) you will see small crops fitted wherever there is dirt. It may be in between houses, right by the main roads, or in their backyards. Farmers markets have all sorts of fruits and veggies, as well as meats and fresh rice. All grown right here in Okinawa and you can’t beat the prices! Join the Farmer’s Market’s of Okinawa Facebook group to learn more!
Yes, sometimes it’s easier to buy the imported produce at the Commisary but trust me when I say that doing 2 or 3 trips when grocery shopping is worth it when you can get the freshest produce! You can also try local grocery stores like the Aeon, San A (the one with the yellow sign and 3 red A’s), Max Valu or Union; I’d stay away from Kanehide because their produce comes from China.
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While most Okinawans greet us with big smiles and hellos, of course there are some that are not happy with our presence here. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma has been the controversial base responsible for most of these protests, because they had a crash-test program here where they crash their MV-22 Ospreys in order to practice their orientation crashing. I definitely don’t blame them for protesting against planes crashing in their precious island. Most recently the move of Futenma from Ginowan up north is the cause of most protests. Other bases that get a lot of protesters are Camp Shwab and Camp Gonsalves. In 2012 there were a lot of protests against Osprey deployments and military bases in general. Read more, here, here.
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How about a more quirky pro? This liquid sugar is simply the best thing ever created. Whenever you get iced tea or iced coffee instead of having to pour lots of packs of granulated sugar on your drink you pour this small container full of clear liquid and you have a perfectly sweetened drink. This is probably one of the things I’m going to miss when we leave Japan.
The Yen is Japan’s currency. They have￥10,000,￥5,000 and￥1,000 bills. But most of the currency is in coins, there are ￥500, ￥100, ￥50, ￥10, ￥5, ￥1. It takes a while to get used to the fact that two these coins equal $5 and $1, and that they’re actual money, not just pocket change like US coins. It also takes time to get used to having so many coins. I suggest buying yourself a nice coin purse because most of the time you’ll have more coin currency than bills.
*Please keep in mind that all of these pros and cons are formed simply from my experiences and perspective as an American living abroad*
Do you currently live in Okinawa? Did you live in Okinawa at some point in your life? If so, are there any pros and cons you would add to the list? Let me know in the comments below! Interested in more Pros and Cons of Living in Okinawa? Read the rest of the series!