CONTRIBUTED BY JILL STAGGS

29sept09 051

I recently needed a new pair of eye glasses.  I had heard about this store from a friend, but it sounded too good to be true.  I went to the concessionaire mall first, so I could compare prices.  With my prescription, the cheapest pair of frames and lenses at the optical shop on Camp Foster would have been $225 (most were closer to $275).

Optic Eye has a good selection of glasses that range from Y3,980 to Y6,980.  There are also a handful in the Y10,000 range.  The best part is that the price includes the cost of the frames and the lenses.  There are lens upgrades available and because my prescription is somewhat strong, I paid Y4,000 extra to have thinner lenses for my wire frames, but my total cost was still just Y7,980.  My purchase included a cleaning cloth and a case.

I spoke with three different employees and they all seemed to speak English fairly well.  There was also selection of contact lenses available.

Optic Eye

Hours: 1100 – 2000

Phone: 098-932-2038

Address: 〒904-0031 Okinawa-ken, Okinawa-shi, Uechi, 2 Chome−1−7

GPS Coordinates: 26.3319544, 127.79738680000003

Directions: From Kadena Gate 2: go straight out of the gate to Hwy 330 and turn right.  Drive through two lights. The store is at the third light on the right side of the street.  No U-Turns are allowed at this intersection, so you will have to turn right and follow the side street until you find a place you can turn around.  You can park at the curb just outside the store or there is a sign that shows a small parking lot just down the street (after you have turned around).  The Optic Eye sign is not very visible, but there is a large sign that says “3,980.”

 

18 COMMENTS

  2. Great store. Needed new lenses/prescription for my daughter. Had our optometry appt at Lester Optometry. Then took the handwritten prescription to Optic Eye. They put the new lenses in her glasses in 45 minutes. None of the salesgirls spoke very much English if at all but we muddled through. It cost me a total of 2500 yen. Fantastic!

    Parking: I used the lot off a sidestreet. Turn left on the street with Optic Eye on the corner. The lot is on your right, under a bldg, and is fenced. Not well marked.

  4. I love this site! We just came from the states, 3rd time here, you would have thought I would have learned my lesson the first 2 times and bought a few of back me up pair of glasses for my daughter… Nope, I figured since they were still under warrenty from the states, she probably won’t break them until after that expires anyways. I was wrong, anyhow, THANK you so much for this post, we are awaiting her replacement pair, but I am considering going and getting an extra pair since school is going to be starting in a couple of weeks. With sports and all, it won’t hurt. I was not wanting to pay over $300 at Foster, due to her Rx and plus the cost of frames!

  7. I believe if you want to get a prescription for contacts and go to the BX, you will have to pay for the contact lens part of the exam. I’m not 100% sure, but last time I checked, Tricare did not cover prescriptions for contacts.

    However, I also just go to the Kadena clinic and bring my lens boxes in with me.

  10. Actually if you have Tri-Care you make an appointment at the optometrist at the BX and it costs you NOTHING!!! I took my son in a few months ago because he was getting really bad headaches and we didn’t pay a penny!

  11. Hi Calyn,

    I made my appointment w/ the optometrist at the Naval Hospital on Camp Lester – their office is right next to the Pharmacy on the 2nd floor. They did my eye glasses exam, contact fitting and gave my RX for both so I could go out in town (I went here to Optic Eye) and bought my glasses and ordered contacts.

  13. I bought my son a pair of glasses at the optical shop on Camp Foster and paid $225. I saw this post and went to this store last month. I paid $55….what a difference!!! My son has a strong prescription and I was afraid they would be “coke bottle thick” but they were not. I also recieved a cleaning cloth and case. The man spoke very little English. They have many to chose from and for that price it is so worth it!!!

  14. Thank you SO MUCH for posting this! I bought a pair of glasses on base for $140! Later that day, I went here and got some for $80! Should’ve gone there first! Oh well, gotta contribute a little to AAFES, right? 😉
    The only thing I have to say is when I went in, there was only one man and he spoke very little English. It wasn’t an issue until I asked for his opinion on which frame to choose. Other than that, you just pick the frame and show your prescription, and you’re good to go!

  17. OOOOOHHWHEEEE! wow! I am so happy that you posted this, I have been wanting contact lenses and new glasses since I got here in June. Thank you so much! I know my husband will love the prices that sound almost too good to be true. I will be checking this place out, also very kind of you to post directions for us ‘newbies’