CONTRIBUTED BY KANDY
One of the challenges and subsequent joys of living in Okinawa are finding those solutions for simple living dilemmas – like finding the perfect rice cooker or how to put up Japanese-style curtains.
Kadena’s Concession Mall (near the car care center off Douglas Ave.) makes copies of keys at the engraving store for $5.00. However, sometimes the store doesn’t have particular types of keys in stock.
So what to do then?
Jusco and the Makeman hardware store also makes copies of keys. I was at the Makeman today and saw that the place to make keys is at the information counter across from the 100Y area. (Sorry, I became too distracted by the cute puppies to remember to get the price.)
There is also a small hardware store just off hwy 23. I don’t believe the man behind the counter speaks any English. But he told me that a copy is only Y350! The way to say key is “ka-ghee.” He was nice enough to let me take a couple of pictures of the store.
Directions:
If you are coming from Kadena’s gate 2, turn right onto hwy 23, and continue down until you see a restaurant called “South Island Kitchen” on the left. (The building with the “Curves” gym should be on your right.) Turn left on that road until you see the pictures above. The business will be to your left.
If you see a Union Grocery store on the left, you are just a couple of buildings too far.
So I pose this question to you: Where have you gone to get copies of your keys made?
The Makeman ( symbol: monkey with a hammer), next to American Village and about 6 minutes from Kadena gate 1 makes key copies for 361yen.
Sunsea outside Kadena gate 3 will copy a key for Y315. I waited just a few minutes and it worked perfectly. They were very polite and helpful even through the language barrier!
Makeman costs Y350 per key. They are very fast and friendly and it took less than 10 minutes to make me 5 copies.
Another Jusco girl here. Plus you can choose pretty key blanks :).
yep – I did Jusco too, for spare keys for our cars. I guess I wasn’t surprised that the base key place didn’t have Japanese car key fobs, but base housing? Dang.
The Jusco key counter is downstairs by a side door right across from the bakery near the grocery section. You can walk around for 10 minutes while he makes the key!
Most of my spare keys were made at Camp Foster (in the concession mall next to the PX – the same place that does plaques). Not one person I asked on Kadena said there was a place on KAB to make keys, so I’ve always headed over to Foster. They have the same problem of not always having the correct key blanks though (3x for me so far… one they said they never carry, yet it was for a base house- ridiculous!!)
I’ve also had a key made at Jusco 2 weeks ago (the base house key). It cost Y300. They were nicer too, and fingers and nods were all that were really necessary (handy, since my limited Japanese doesn’t cover key-making… go figure). I think I’ll stick with Jusco over the base(s) unless they happen to be out of the blank I need.