Another question. Wondering where was the best district or area to stay in at Osaka that could provide us with easy access should we decide to walk around or something at night without being restricted by the trains closing. Will be staying near Shibuya station in Tokyo so I can have easy walking access to the night sceneries but no real idea in Osaka. Don't really have any idea in specific on what to see in Osaka honestly, will be spending Saturday to Tuesday there and probably would spend Saturday to Sunday looking around town, the neon lights Dotonbori and the likes. Monday will be Universal Studios day so wondering where would be convenient to stay in Osaka so I can have easy access for walking during the night scenery.

I read that public transport isn't very reliable and quite expensive in Okinawa. Is it convenient and easy to rent a car and drive around there? Any experiences?

Any recommendations for the must-sees in Okinawa? I think I only have about 2 full days in Okinawa. Planning to go to the aquarium. Half a day at aquarium enough?

1. ya public transport is not reliable, unless u wan to visit naha city only
2. not convenient to rent a car, language barrier...
3. u can book online or rent it when u touch down, they will fetch u from airport to their shop
4. can spent 2days oni ah?? waste money and time...
5. must see? not much, unless u really like sun and beach and u hv to fly to other island
6. MUST?? OK u asked for it >> blue cave and whale shark... i dive there
7. Aquarium half day? Ask u the same question, can u finish Ocean Park in half day??
u will miss a lot of show, and okinawa aquarium is really far... u will waste petrol and tol $$$ too

other
1. Okinawa have 1 premium factory outlet near airport... best for ladies
2. Naha market oso very big, bigger than petaling street... ladies can spent whole day there
3. Salt factory oso not bad, can buy sea salt and salt ice cream, the sea view is oso and it is near okinawa Aborigine castle, forget the name

Okinawa got alot thing to discover. Only you need to discover it. Transport are bus. If you do homework on bus route no problem to go any where in Okinawa island.

How did you get around when you were in Okinawa? By local tours?

I'm trying to fit in 3 full days but because we are doing Taiwan-Okinawa-Nagasaki-Osaka, a bit hard to allocate more days there. The other islands and diving I'll set it aside for another trip when I go with divers. This trip it will be in winter and with family so I don't think I will go diving anyway for my future trip, which dive center did you go with and how much was the damage?

We are not so much of the shopping type, more of the sightseeing type. Salt factory sounds interesting.

Are the buses convenient? I read it was quite expensive wor. True?

This post has been edited by munkeyflo: Jul 3 2014, 09:38 AM

ya bus can go anywhere, unlike hokkaido... some place cannot be access without car
fyi most of the website/forum recommend rent car for hokkaido/okinawa,
oni here are @LYN(RC) like to recommend bus and train
---
free and easy... mostly driving
in naha city i took train and taxi

warn u... i lost 1day in okinawa bcoz of typhoon
drive all the way to aquarium and they say typhoon hv close for the day

diving? around rm800 for blue cave and whale shark...
the dive center name is in japanese メールアドレス murunu-shi.com (i not mistaken dive guide called Ayumi)
warn u again, extremely hard to find dive shop offering blue cave + whale shark + english guide
i oso suffer coz i didnt do advance booking (guessed im too free n ez lol)

oh almost forget to say... okinawa is extreme famous for it church!!!
many HK, Korea and Japan romantic movie and travel documentary highlight the wedding hall
i went in the evening, the sunset+horizon sea behind the church is damn pretty
damn romantic, no wonder many ppl wan to get married there

How far is it from Naha city to say, the Aquarium? Did you rent your car from the airport? How much was it? Came with english GPS?

When did you go? Winter no typhoons kua. Weather really no choice la. Last year my Tokyo trip also lost one day to snow storm.

I found one dive center Piranha Divers that caters for foreign tourist and is based in Onna, where if not mistaken, the blue cave is somewhere nearby. For whale shark, was it guaranteed sighting? Not so interested in whale shark since can spot that elsewhere, no need go until Japan for that

Churches. Noted. Our group would be interested in that. Manage to allocate 3 full days in Okinawa now.

1. According to google maps 1h 35mins, but i spent more than tat... after all, the advantage of car rental... we can stop at all the seaside and restaurance kekekek
2. I use email online booking... last minutes booking... something like i book @KLIA, confirm the services at Kansai, when i reach Naha, the staff already waiting for me there.... the service and respond is FIRST GRADE!!! and if u rent a car in okinawa, they have chinese speaker staff (many taiwanese, no joke )
Company: OTS Rent A Car Okinawa (after that i use the same company in Hokkaido)
i select normal car, they gv me better one at same price... hybrid in okinawa and awd in hokkaido
3. Price, u better check urself, lazy to spoonfeed
4. Yes the car come with english gps, but i have to warn u... the gps *result is in JAPANESE
5. I go during 1st week of Oct, coz my target is Hokkaido Autumn Foliage... and it is actually middle of autumn but the summer is extending, i change my ori plan and swap hokkaido with okinawa
6. Onna hv a lot of dive center and famous, tat y alwayz full... and as i told u... i wan blue cave + whale shark + eng guide... this three combination is suck for last minutes guyz like me
7. guarantee ws?? u better ask them, but i will say 90% yes
8. the church i spotted it accidentally, coz i didnt do a lot of research... we saw the backdrop scenery is really stunning and take alot of photo... after we come back oni we know it is very famous another car rental advantage... the fat lady singing to us
---
forget to add... typhoon in okinawa... another reason why most of the dive center closed for the day

This post has been edited by lucaswjk: Jul 3 2014, 02:54 PM

1. Ok. 1.5 hours isn't that far away.
2. Ok thanks. I'll most likely need to get a van as there will be at least 6 ppl confirmed already. Chinese speaker then should be alright.

7. Some places in Philippines guarantee whale shark. They feed them. Which is not something I would want to go for. Not natural.

Thanks for your input.

okinawa whale shark worst... they trapped it
u can search youtube~

ohh the chinese speaker is in naha city itself, the shop near airport hv oni japanese
u better email all the details b4 u go
or ask them to call other branch if u need other helps

ohh another thing u wan to know, they will fetch u to hotel/airport after u return the car

another place u might wan to go diving... Yonaguni, Okinawa so called ancient ruins

Yea, I saw photos of the huge aquarium where they trap it. Sad but what to do.

I see. Will do. Still in very early stages of planning, that one after confirm number of pax only email them.

That sounds good, to have airport/hotel transfer.

Yea, I've read about Yonaguni. Seems interesting. Wait when I strike lottery only go. Hahaha.

aquarium have 1 whale shark...
the one can dive one is open sea, they hv 3/4 ws under the gigantic net

they trap it coz fisherman accidentally catch it...
it will release it during the next ws migration season
or if still baby will put it into aquarium

Question on using credit card to buy shinkansen ticket at JR ticket counter:

What is the possibility that the credit card terminal is down and we are forced to use cash?
Do we need to key in PIN code?

200-230Yen until last station which is more than 2 hour journey. Bus is japan most cheapest public transport. Waiting bus frequency will be wasting some time. 10 - 30 minute waiting depends.

But if you only spent 2 days at Okinawa plus want see alot of things. Rent a Car will be best option.

This post has been edited by RegentCid: Jul 3 2014, 08:31 PM

Those rich people and super star wedding will be at Yonaguni Island. Been there twice. Club Med Yonaguni are always those people choice

This post has been edited by RegentCid: Jul 3 2014, 08:34 PM

Price wise sounds good. But for group of 6-8 maybe renting a car would be more practical also. I'll see how.

Thanks

u so bloated meh?

but as far as i know, the prefer destination for SUPER STAR WEDDING is at
1) Maldive
2) Bali
3) Cebu
4) and mayb Palau
yonaguni first time hear... learned something new today

Haha, those too common already. A placed like Yonaguni baru full privatcy. Haha, if i dunno Yonaguni macam mana jadi sifu in here. LoL.

If you check Yonaguni club med, it just beside Airport and having special private jet parking bay.

RegentCid boss dont ignore me