This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/yusoffb01 on 2024-10-02 03:41:26+00:00.
Im sharing my experience so those who don't drive can consider this too. All tour buses have free wifi on board
Day 1 - Kokusaidori street, Fukushien garden, Almont Hotel Omoromachi, Shuri Castle Park
Arrived in the morning, bought the monorail tickets from the airport station. Alighted at prefectural office stop, and just wandered around kokusaidori. Then walked to fukushien garden. in hindsight, i should also walked to naminoue beach which is very near fukushien garden. Checked in at Almont Hotel omoromachi which is like $50 a night with public bath, 3 stops away from kokusaidori, beside a mall with a supermarket and many food options. Also beside TGalleria which has 4 rental car companies, and teamlab. After that went to Shuri Castle Park
Day 2 - Cape Chinen Park, Okinawa World, Gyokusendo Cave, Okinawa Outlet Mall Ashibinaa, Umikaji Terrace
Followed South Okinawa day tour booked on klook. The tourists were mainly chinese, but the tour guide can speak English if you have any questions. There is a performance at okinawa world but recording was not allowed. Tour was quite affordable ($50) and Gyokusendo cave is a must visit. Tour ended at 5.40pm
Day 3 - Okinawa Churaumi aquarium, Emerald beach, okashigoten onna village, cape manzamo, Ryuku mura, Banta cafe kanai beach
Followed a Churaumi aquarium bus tour by cerulean blue also bought from klook. Aquarium tickets, ryuku mura tickets were included, and also has free drink at Banta Cafe. Don't miss the show at ryuku mura, recording is allowed. Really worth the $50 price. Tour ended at 7pm
Day 4 - Kouri island, Nago pineapple park, kouri island, dolphin show, native okinawa village, tropical dream center, tamatebako
Followed hiphop bus by jumbo tours bought from klook. Only the pineapple park entrance ticket was included. Bus then went to kouri island for a short while. didnt have time to go to the observation point and heart shaped rock here. After that stopped at marine park for 2.5h, since i already went to aquarium day before, i went to the mockup of okinawa village, watched a free dolphin show, and went to see the botanic gardens. Last stop was okashigoten but wasnt as interesting as the onna branch one from day before. Tour ended early at 3pm+. As Naha has many vegan options, i tried okinawa soba at tamatebako
Day 5 - Japanese navy underground hq, Rakuen cafe, american village
In the morning, I went to the japanese navy underground hq to learn about the okinawa war. you can come here by bus, or walk 30min from the nearest monorail station. Had lunch at rakuen cafe on the second floor of RYUBO department store. It has many vegan options. After that I went for open top bus tour by cerulean blue at 12:20pm slot to american village for $15. You could take public transport for the same price, but open top is a nice experience since driver will take a coastal route. We had 1h to spend at american village which is sufficient to just walk around and take pictures. On the way back, the driver drove past kokusaidori street and it was a nice experience too. Tour ended at 3.30pm. after that I went to San-A naha shopping center near my hotel and bought stuff from supermarket and daiso. in the evening, I also booked ticket to zamami island and a rental car.
Day 6 - Zamami Island day trip
Went to the harbour and took queen zamami to go zamami island. If you want to snorkel, there are a few shops you can rent from at the island. or you can buy from donki at kokusaidori before coming. I drove around the island to visit all the recommended viewing spots. If you dont drive, you can rent a bicycle or electric scooter.
Day 7 - okinawa zoo, pokemon center, nyansore cat cafe
The last day before going back. Using google maps, I took a public bus from omoromachi station near my hotel to go to the zoo. topup 2000 yen to your okica pass. Taking the public bus was not as bad as I thought. There are multiple buses going the same route, so despite the long waiting time for each bus, you can take whichever that comes first. I waited less than 15min. After the zoo, I walked to aeon mall okinawa rycom less than 2km away which has pokemon center. Check the bus timing to go back, and you can plan to have lunch here. There was also an electronic display at the bus stop which indicates upcoming buses, estimated time or arrival and how many minutes late. With nothing much left to do, I visited Nyansore cat cafe, Don Quijote and bookoff.
Day 8 - going back
Going back wasn't bad. the ride from omoromachi to airport just takes 20min and costs 300 yen. Another advantage of not staying near kokusai street is that you will definitely have space to board.
If I were to change my itinerary, I would have tried staying at onna village area for 2 days to try glass bottom boat, parasailing or marine walk.