Driving in Okinawa
Some things to remember for safe travel around the island.
Driving Tips
Have you ever driven on the right side of the road, which is actually the wrong side in Japan, when making a right turn? In Okinawa, as in the rest of the country, drivers must keep to the left. It might be confusing at first to drive on the left side, but try to get used to it as soon as possible because driving on the wrong side is very dangerous. Be sure to obey the light at intersections; it is against the law to turn against the light even if there is no oncoming traffic. Incidentally, there are no four-way-stop signs in Okinawa; the car on the main road has the right of way at intersections without stoplights.
Parking
When driving in Okinawa, you will often encounter cars that are parked in “No Parking” and “No Stopping” zones, despite the fact that it is against the law. If the police catch you illegally parked, you are subject to a fine and points against your license. The penalty for parking in a no parking zone is a fine of ¥10,000 and one point; for parking in a no parking and no stopping zone, the fine is ¥12,000 and two points. The fine must be paid within seven days after the issuance of the ticket at the police station where the offense was committed. Sometimes, cars are booted or towed for illegal parking. If this happens to you, contact the area’s police station; if you break the lock by yourself, you may be charged with property damage. If your car is towed, contact the local police station; you must ask them where your car is and go pick it up. Incidentally, in the case of towing, you must pay towing and storage fees in addition to the fine.
If you live on base and your car is towed in an off-base area, call (892-5111) and first speak to the Provost Marshall’s Office (645-7441). If your car is towed on a Marine base, call 637-6037, and if on Kadena, call 634-2475.
Most parking lots in Chatan are free, such as the municipal lot in front of Jusco; however, other parts of the island have paid parking. Be sure to park in paid lots or at parking meters to avoid the unexpected expense of a parking ticket. The average parking fee is approximately ¥200 per hour in Naha and ¥150 per hour in central Okinawa. Be sure keep the ticket you receive from the parking lot attendant because it is needed when you pay upon leaving. Parking on the street costs an average of ¥200 for the first hour, with an additional charge every 30 minutes thereafter. Incidentally, you can use only ¥100 coins to park on the street, so come prepared.
Speeding
Be sure to pay attention to the speed limit posted on roads around Okinawa. Some signs indicate the speed limit in orange. If you are caught by the police for speeding, you are subject to a fine and points against your license. On public highways such as routes 58, 329 and 330, the speed limit is between 50 and 60 kilometers per hour on average. On curves and within specified areas, the speed limit is 40 kph. The fines and points for speeding violations on public highways depend on the circumstances.
Fines and Points for Speeding Violations
On Public Highways
| km/h Over the Speed Limit
| Fine
| Points Taken*
| | 15-20 km/h | ¥12,000 | 1 Point
| | 20-25 km/h | ¥15,000 | 2 Points
| | 25-30 km/h | ¥18,000 | 3 Points
| | 30-50 km/h | More than ¥50,000 | 6 Points and a Suspended License
|
On the Expressway (80 km/h Speed Limit)
| km/h Over the Speed Limit
| Fine
| Points Taken*
| | 30-35 km/h | ¥25,000 | 3 Points
| | 35-40 km/h | ¥35,000 | 3 Points
| | More than 40 km/h | More than ¥50,000 | 6 Points and a Suspended License
|
* A license is assigned a certain amount of points, when all the points are taken away, your license is suspended for a given term.
Expressway
The Okinawa expressway is toll road that runs for 57.3 kilometers between Nago in the north and Naha in the south. While it takes about two hours to travel from Naha to Nago on Highway 58 by car, it takes approximately one hour using the expressway. There are 10 interchanges on the Okinawa expressway. When you use the expressway, be careful not to take the wrong exit because you cannot get back on the expressway after exiting without paying again. The speed limit on the expressway is 80 kph. You cannot park a car anywhere on the expressway; however, if your car breaks down, go to a call box, which will connect you directly to the highway administration. Pick up the phone, ask if there is an English speaker available and then explain the situation to the person on the other end.
Although motorcycles are permitted on the expressway, only one rider per bike is permitted. You are not allowed to use the expressway if carrying passengers. At the rest stops on the expressway, restaurants and souvenir shops are open from around 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. The gas stations are located at the Igei service area.
There are several ways to pay the toll. One method is to take a ticket from the dispenser at the tollgate upon entering the expressway; give the ticket to the tollbooth attendant upon exiting and pay the fee that is shown on the screen to the right of your car. You can also pay by coupons that can be purchased at the administrative office at each exit. Coupons offer a 20 percent discount from the usual toll. The ETC (Electronic Toll Collection System) is a new payment system using radio communication. Although this system makes paying the toll quick and easy, you must buy ETC equipment at an auto shop and install it on your car. Despite its obvious convenience, the ETC system has not yet become popular with expressway users. Be aware that only Japanese yen can be used to pay the tolls, although credit cards are accepted. Also remember that at some tollbooths, there is an exclusive ETC lane that will not permit non-ETC holders to pass, so it is advisable to stay in the general toll lanes and avoid the ones marked “ETC.”
Expressway Interchanges and Environs
Naha IC -- Naha City, Shuri and Naha Airport
Nishihara IC -- Camp Kinser
Kitanakagusuku IC -- Camp Foster
Okinawa-kita IC -- Camp Courtney
Okinawa-minami IC --Okinawa City and Kadena Gate 2
Ishikawa and Yaka IC -- access to the coast at Onna Village
Kin IC -- Camp Hansen
Ginoza IC -- Camp Schwab
Kyoda IC -- Nago City and Ocean Expo Park
Revised Road Traffic Act on Drunk Driving
Drunk driving is a serious social issue in Okinawa. In order to strengthen penalties for drunk driving, the Road Traffic Act was amended last June.
If the volume of alcohol concentration in one liter of exhaled breath is between 0.15 mg and 0.25 mg:
A maximum of three months’ imprisonment or a fine of not more than ¥50,000 (before revision);
A maximum of one year’s imprisonment or a fine of not more than ¥300,000 (after revision)
If the volume of alcohol concentration in one liter of exhaled breath exceeds 0.25 mg:
A maximum of two years’ imprisonment or a fine of not more than ¥100,000 (before revision);
A maximum of three years’ imprisonment or a fine of not more than ¥500,000 (after revision)
In addition, when driving with a hangover, you may be charged with drunk driving if it can be determined through a breath test that the alcohol remaining in your system exceeds normal levels. This is because hangovers have been shown to cause traffic accidents in the past. Incidentally, passengers in a car with a drunk driver are also fined.
Government of Japan Inspection and Insurance Systems
There are two types of auto insurance in Japan: Japanese Compulsory Insurance (JCI) and a voluntary insurance plan. JCI was established for the purpose of compensating victims of auto accidents (similar to liability insurance in the United States). It is compulsory and is intended to avoid a situation in which the victim is not compensated because of the guilty party’s inability to pay. Therefore, a car without JCI is not allowed to be driven. The maximum insurance coverage per injured party is ¥30,000,000 for long-lasting injury (¥40,000,000 if full-time care is needed) and ¥1,200,000 for injury.
Procedure for Application for and Continuation of JCI
The procedure for application and renewal of JCI must be completed when you buy a new car or when a car passes the official government inspection (shaken). Car dealers and repair shops handle JCI; the car’s owner pays the insurance premium, good until the next inspection, at the same time payment is made for the inspection. The premium for JCI depends on the period of coverage. If you buy a new car, it automatically comes with a three-year insurance policy, which costs ¥30,000 or more. The car must pass inspection three years after purchase and every two years thereafter, and the renewal premium runs approximately ¥30,000. The inspection and insurance periods are displayed on a sticker placed on the windshield. The color of the sticker indicates the year: Blue is 2003, and red is 2004. If you drive a car with expired JCI, the penalty is six months’ imprisonment or a fine of not more than ¥50,000 and six points against your license, which means that your license will be suspended.
Taxes on the Purchase of a Car
When you buy a car, you must pay the automobile acquisition tax (from 3 to 5 percent of the purchase price) and sales tax (5 percent); however, if the purchase price is less than ¥500,000, you do not have to pay the automobile acquisition tax. Automobile ownership taxes include the automobile weight tax and the automobile or light automobile tax. The automobile weight tax is based on the car’s weight; you must pay this at the time of inspection. The automobile tax depends on the displacement and type of car. You will be notified of this tax by mail around the end of April or the beginning of May, and you must pay the tax by the end of May. Information is available from the beginning of April on military bases regarding the specific tax amount (ranging from $50 to $200) and the payment due date. If you are late in paying the automobile tax, you will be liable for a late charge as well.
Basic Information About Traffic in Okinawa
The road system in Okinawa is not complex. It is easier to drive around the island if you keep in mind the main roads, such as routes 58, 330 and 329, which run from north to south. In rainy weather, the roads tend to be very slippery due to the coral component in the asphalt. Fastened seatbelts are required by law; speeding violations and drunk driving result in the accumulation of points on one’s driver’s license as well as fines. From last year, if you are cited for drunk driving (i.e., the volume of alcohol concentration in one liter of exhaled breath measures 0.15 percent), you must pay a fine of approximately ¥30,000; passengers are also required to pay the same fine.
Although the monorail will begin to operate in August of this year, you will still have to take a bus or a taxi if you do not have a car. The Naha bus terminal is the starting point for all public transportation on the island. Buses provide a very convenient transportation system that runs north on routes 58, 330 and 329 as well as on most major roads. Although the bus system may seem complicated at first, it is actually a very simple and useful mode of transportation once you know how to use it. Taxis in Okinawa are also convenient and more reasonably priced than those in mainland Japan.
Okinawa is an automobile society. During morning and evening rush hour, you will encounter heavy traffic jams on major roads, in particular routes 58, 330 and 329. Since special bus lanes were established on these roads, traffic has been getting worse as the lanes are limited to buses, motorcycles and taxis with passengers. On Route 329 and Route 330 in the Naha area, the bus lane is in force from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. On Kokusai Street running south in the direction of the prefectural offices, the bus lane operates from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., but traveling north on the same street the special bus lane is enforced from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. On Highway 58, the island’s major artery, the bus lane is in effect from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. in the direction of Naha, and from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. heading north. None of the bus lanes are operative on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays or during the New Year’s season, Jan. 1, 2 and 3. Bus lanes are painted blue, distinguishing them from the normal traffic lanes on the roads. Sometimes policemen lie in wait to catch unsuspecting motorists using the bus lanes illegally. When you want to turn left during bus-lane hours, you can get in the bus lane about 120 meters (0.075 mile) before the traffic intersection. If you are caught driving in the bus lane for any reason other than making left turn, a fine of more than ¥10,000 will be assessed. |
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