Naha Airport (OKA) is the main gateway to Okinawa, Japan's subtropical island chain, and a rental car is by far the best way to explore the main island beyond central Naha's dense urban core. The airport sits just south of downtown Naha, with international and local rental desks clustered nearby, and pickup is generally efficient given the steady but manageable flow of domestic leisure travelers through this popular island hub.
From Naha, the Okinawa Expressway runs north along the island's spine toward Nago and the resort-heavy Motobu Peninsula, a drive of roughly ninety minutes to two hours depending on traffic, and it operates as a tolled route with charges collected at interchange booths along the way. Local roads hugging the coastline offer a slower but scenic alternative, passing beaches, dive shops and small fishing villages, while routes south of Naha reach historic sites like Shuri Castle and the Okinawa Peace Memorial Park in well under an hour.
Driving in Japan, including Okinawa, is on the left, and this is one destination where documentation matters more than usual: most foreign visitors need a valid International Driving Permit issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention to drive legally, since Japan does not recognize IDPs issued under the alternative 1968 Vienna Convention format that some countries use, and rental desks will check this carefully at pickup. Arranging the correct IDP before travel, alongside your home license, is essential rather than optional here, and it is worth double-checking with your home motoring association well ahead of the trip.
Roads on Okinawa's main island are generally well paved and clearly signed, though central Naha and the Route 58 corridor can see heavy, slow-moving traffic, especially around resort check-in and check-out times. Typhoon season, roughly June through October, can bring sudden heavy rain and occasional road closures, so it's worth checking forecasts before longer island drives out of OKA.