It is no secret that Singaporeans love visiting Japan. And we are not the only ones. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, the country welcomed more than 36.8 million tourists in 2024, up from about 32 million in 2019.
No doubt, popular spots included Tokyo, Kyoto, Niseko and increasingly, Fukuoka.
But if you want to escape the crowds, head to Okinawa, the country’s southernmost prefecture, a five-hour direct flight from Singapore, and less than three hours by plane from Tokyo. You do overhear the occasional Singlish being spoken, and will cross paths with tourists mostly from Korea and Taiwan, but safe to say, you don’t have to deal with massive crowds.
Okinawa Prefecture consists of hundreds of islands in a chain stretching over 1,000 kilometers from Kyushu to Taiwan. It encompasses three major island groups: the Okinawa Islands, Miyako Islands, and Yaeyama Islands. Okinawa’s main island is the largest and most populated island in the prefecture.
