Driving in Okinawa

So as all of you know in Okinawa you drive on the opposite side if the road (vs. in the states). Whenever we were coming here, I have to admit, I was slightly terrified about the driving situation. Whenever we got here and our sponsor Victor picked us up at the airport the car was the initial shock. It was pouring the rain and we were trying to load all of our luggage in this little car. I jumped in the car while the boys continued to load and WHOAH, the steering wheel is on the other side. I was so excited that I completely forgot. The drive from Kadena to Foster will always be an amazing memory to me. I had a grin from ear to ear, my face actually hurt because I was smiling so much. After we settled in for a bit we had our newcomers orientation, where I got my drivers license. Mind you I had still never driven on the other side of the road. You merely take a written test and your licensed, for SOFA personnel only, I’ve heard it’s more difficult if you are Okinawan. Several days pass and finally I get a car. I drove for my first time with Josh, the woman we bought the car from and her child, so to say I was nervous would definitely be an understatement. I drove, and of course I was scared but it definitely wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, at least not then. Later that night on the way back to our house we, of course, took a wrong turn. Ended up on some really curvy road with cars parked along it everywhere. Somehow we made it and since then I haven’t minded driving in Okinawa. I also had to be okay with it because I had to drive Josh to and from work everyday for a month+. Every trip out is wonderful though, you see something that maybe you didn’t notice before, get to look at the beautiful landscapes, and of course observe the people.

With all of this being said there is some more information I’ll share with you about driving in Okinawa. You don’t need to be a defensive driver in Okinawa! Most times people will let you over if you put on your turn signal. The culture here is definitely more polite and that shows in their driving also. Let someone over, who seemed to be having a hard time? They may flash their hazards at you once you let them over, just to say Thanks! I must say, I love getting a flashing thank you from someone! Busses and taxis have the right away. If a bus is pulled over to pick up passenger and they turn their turn signal on to get back into traffic,you STOP or change lanes.  All speed limits are in kilometers per hour and they never exceed the equivalent of about 55 mph on the island, and that is on the expressway. While it may seem slow, this isn’t that large of an island, there is a lot of traffic and a lot of stop light(pretty much everywhere except the expressway).

On a lot of cars you will see two different magnets. One is for new driver, and one is for older people. They are there just to let you know to be patient!  The one on the left represents new drivers and the one on the right is representative of an old driver.

 

This video was taken on an icky day on a ride from Camp Foster back to our house. My phone was dying and I didn’t start it automatically, so it’s not the full drive but you get the point. About 30 seconds in you see a red place called Eneos, that is one of the popular gas stations. There are attendants to pump your gas, clean your windshield, and I’m sure they offer many other services. At about 2:25 you’ll see a Lawson’s, those are convenience stores. They offer a little of everything and you even pay your bills at them. At about 3:15 you see a Family Mart, which is essentially the same thing as Lawson’s! The light that the video ends at is where you take a left to get to our house. There aren’t really businesses and everything like there are on the street I was filming on. Hopefully I can get a better video, and maybe remember to hold the camera more steady, and control my heinous accent! But as you can see, the vegetation is beautiful and green here, thanks in part to all of the rain. Hope you enjoyed the ride!