Okinawa Hai!

CONTRIBUTED BY KELLY MULDER When we arrived on the island my husband was beyond eager to purchase a car. I was 34 weeks pregnant and we both wanted to nest as soon as possible. The first car my husband tried to look at was purchased right in front of him. The guy who raced my [...]

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Follow Sarah’s OCONUS to OCONUS journey here:  1, 2, 3, 5, 6 CONTRIBUTED BY SARAH FORTE We started our time in Okinawa with twin cars: two silver Funcargos. Sadly, they came to different fates by the time we needed to leave Okinawa. One car was the protagonist of this post about selling a car. The other Funcargo [...]

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Follow Sarah’s OCONUS to OCONUS journey here:  1, 2, 4, 5, 6 CONTRIBUTED BY SARAH FORTE Olympic PCS e1340020468834 There are several milestones when planning a PCS to Okinawa: sending off your shipments, the long oceanic flight, finding a house, and getting a car. When you leave, these same events have to be reversed: you [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY QUENTIN RICHARDSON The first time I rode through Nago on a trip with some co-workers, it seemed like forever. It was the middle of the summer and we seemed to catch every red light on the way up north. Every trip that required travel through Nago after that had the same results, especially [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY AMY MADDOCKS Oki Motor Fest Street Jam Any motor-heads out there? Enjoy watching car or motorcycle racing? Or perhaps you want something a little different to do on a weekend? If so, the Okinawa Motor Festival is a fantastic event for you! Since moving to the island last summer, I have greatly missed [...]

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If you find yourself without a car on Okinawa, you may find the following link to the Okinawan bus lines helpful. Our reader, Erika, submitted the following: When I was on okinawa last month this website would have been useful for me. Even though I read Japanese, the times on the bus stops arent 100% [...]

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Car Wash Shell CONTRIBUTED BY MONETTE EAMES When we first moved to Okinawa, our neighbors told us about a great car wash place right outside our gate at Camp McTureous. It’s at the Shell Station. The day after Typhoon Songda, we noticed that all the Japanese people were lined up all around gas stations on [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY KATHERINE MOORE Although I just arrived here on the island in January this year, it's already time for me to renew my JCI.  I have heard so many horror stories about JCI renewal, and was not sure exactly what the best thing to do.  I read Shannan’s very helpful and detailed post “The [...]

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Editor’s Note, from a comment below: “Sky Parking has changed their name to Honest Naha Airport Parking Service. Same great people running it. Their number is still 098-891-8670, new website is being created; in the meantime go to their Facebook page. That page has all the details you need payment info, etc.” CONTRIBUTED BY MARY [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY JEANINE CZUBIK When a friend recently asked where she should take her car for repair, I didn’t have an answer.  What I do know, however, is where to buy new parts for my handy husband to repair our cars. If you’re like us, you’ve purchased relatively cheap and old vehicles on the hope [...]

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