Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Clean, modern and efficient, Naha Airport is the central transportation hub of flights throughout the Ry-
ukyu Islands.
The population of Okinawa Main Island is approximately 1,250,000, of whom about
315,000 live in the capital city, Naha (
那覇市
; Naha-shi). The million plus population of Ok-
inawa includes more than 100,000 Americans of whom about 35,000 are active-duty milit-
ary personnel. The rest are mostly spouses and dependents, contractors affiliated with the US
forces and their spouses and dependents, and retirees and their family members. There's a
fairly substantial community of former military members who have intermarried with Ok-
inawan women, raised families and made Okinawa their home.
There are several versions of the meaning of the word “Okinawa” (
沖縄
), but the most
common and literal translation is “offshore rope.” It's usually more figuratively translated as
“rope over” or “rope across” the sea. It was reputedly named by its early inhabitants who be-
lieved this long and narrow island, when seen from afar, resembled a piece of rope floating in
the ocean.
Okinawa's capital, Naha, is located approximately 400 miles (650 kilometers) southwest
of Kagoshima city on mainland Japan's southernmost Kyushu Island. Japan's capital, Tokyo,
is located 960 miles (1,540 kilometers) to the northeast. Okinawa's nearest foreign neighbors
are the Peoples' Republic of China (Mainland China) and the Republic of China (Taiwan),
about 435 and 390 miles (700 and 625 kilometers) to the west and southwest, respectively.
Flying time from Naha Airport (
那覇空港
; Naha-kūkō) to Tokyo or Seoul, Korea, is about
two and a half hours. Taipei and Shanghai are close; flights there take about two hours. Hong
Kong and Manila are a little further and can be reached by air in about three hours.
There are more than a dozen Japanese domestic destinations that may be reached on dir-
ect flights to and from Naha. To Tokyo, there are more than 20 flights a day. Similarly, cit-
ies such as Osaka, Kagoshima and Fukuoka, may be reached at least several times a day. A
number of the Ryukyu Islands, such as Ishigaki, Yonaguni, Miyako, Yorontō, Okinoerabu,
Amami Ōshima, the Keramas and the Daitōs, may also be reached daily. There are daily
flights to Taipei and Hong Kong as well, and flights several times a week to Shanghai, Seoul
and Manila. Domestic flights use the relatively new (10-year-old) large passenger terminal,
which is connected to the Naha monorail service. For the moment, international flights (be-
cause of customs and immigration) use what used to be the old and only airline terminal. A
brand new international terminal is scheduled to open, which should considerably alleviate
the pressure on the old terminal, which will then be demolished.
