💰 This page covers the street-level details of spending money in Naha and around Okinawa: where US dollars are accepted and what that costs, the cash you need for the Kerama islands, hiring a car and paying the expressway tolls, and the monorail's card gates. For Japan-wide ATM tips, DCC warnings, tipping norms, and exchange rate advice:
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Order JPY → CEI Currency ExchangeDo You Need Cash in Okinawa?
In Naha, not much; on the small islands, a lot. Okinawa's capital is as card-friendly as any Japanese city of its size, and the monorail now takes a tap of a credit card. The further you get from Naha, the more the island runs on notes: beach shacks, soba shops in the villages, the ferries to the Kerama islands and nearly everything once you land there. Carry ¥10,000 to ¥20,000 before any island day, and the Japan money guide covers which machines take foreign cards.
Where You Will Need Cash
Okinawa soba shops outside Naha, many with cash-only ticket machines. Beach parking, showers and parasol rental. Small island ferries, guesthouses and snorkel hire on Zamami, Tokashiki and Aka. Stalls in the public markets. Village shops and izakayas with live Okinawan music.
Where Cards Work Fine
Hotels and resorts. Kokusai-dori's larger shops and restaurants. Car rental desks. The Yui Rail monorail. Churaumi Aquarium and other big attractions. Shopping malls such as the one at Naha's new city centre and the outlets near the airport. Convenience stores.
US Dollars in Okinawa: Accepted Near the Bases, at a Price
Okinawa hosts the largest concentration of US military bases in Japan, and that has a curious effect on money. Around the bases, in Chatan's American Village, parts of Okinawa City and a few shops on Kokusai-dori, you will see signs saying dollars accepted, and some restaurants print prices in both currencies.
It works, but the rate is the shop's. A business that takes dollars sets its own exchange rate, often a round number posted by the till, and it is almost always less generous than the rate your card would get. Change usually comes back in yen. For a visiting traveller, paying in dollars is a convenience with a small, hidden cost, and it only works in a handful of places.
Everywhere else, only yen. Beyond the base areas, including all of the small islands, dollars are no use at all. Bring or withdraw yen, and pay by card in yen where you can. The general question of paying in a second currency is covered in our guide to shops that take two currencies.
Island Ferries and the Kerama Islands
The Kerama islands, a short boat ride west of Naha, have some of the clearest water in Japan, and they are where cash stops being optional.
The boats. Ferries and faster high-speed boats leave Naha's Tomari port for Zamami, Aka and Tokashiki. In peak season reserve ahead by phone or online, then collect and pay at the port counter, where cash is the dependable option. The fast boats cost roughly twice the slow ferry. Sailings are cancelled in rough seas and typhoons, so leave slack in your plans and keep enough money for an unexpected extra night.
On the islands. Minshuku guesthouses, the small restaurants, bicycle and snorkel rental, and beach facilities often take cash only. Each island has a post office with a Japan Post machine, but with office hours, not at night and often not at weekends. There is no 7-Eleven. Take the cash you need from Naha.
Further afield. Ishigaki and Miyako, reached by air, are larger, with convenience-store ATMs and more card acceptance, but their outer islands, such as Taketomi, work much like the Keramas.
Hiring a Car and Paying the Expressway Tolls
Most visitors drive. Beyond Naha, public transport is thin, and the beaches, the aquarium and the northern forests are much easier by hired car. Rental desks, in a cluster of offices reached by shuttle from the airport, take cards and do not normally hold a large deposit. You will need an International Driving Permit valid for Japan.
The expressway. The Okinawa Expressway runs from Naha towards Nago in the north and is tolled. You can pay in cash at the booths, or rent an ETC card with the car for a few hundred yen, which lets you drive through the electronic lanes and settles the tolls on your rental bill. ETC is easier if you plan several trips north.
Fuel and parking. Petrol stations are attended and take cards; some self-service pumps want cash or a Japanese card. Beach car parks in summer and some attraction car parks charge a flat fee, often in cash to an attendant.
Paying by Card Around Naha and the Island
Visa, Mastercard and JCB are widely accepted in Naha and at the resorts. Okinawa's convenience-store landscape has one peculiarity: 7-Eleven only opened here in 2019, decades after the rest of Japan, so in villages the nearest store may be a FamilyMart, a Lawson or a local chain rather than a 7-Eleven.
Kokusai-dori
Naha's main street of souvenir shops, restaurants and bars. Most larger shops take cards, and a few accept dollars at their own rate. The side streets hold smaller, cash-leaning bars.
Makishi Public Market
Naha's food market, rebuilt in recent years. You can buy fish downstairs and have it cooked upstairs for a per-person fee. Stalls are mixed; the upstairs restaurants are more likely to take cards.
Shuri
The castle hill east of the centre. Shuri Castle's grounds are partly free, with a ticket for the main area, and the reconstruction after the 2019 fire is visible as it nears completion. Tickets take cards.
Chatan & American Village
Shopping, restaurants and a sunset beach near the bases. Card-friendly, and the most common place to see prices in dollars and yen side by side.
Motobu & Churaumi
The north-west peninsula with the Churaumi Aquarium, which takes cards. Soba shops and beach stalls along the way are cash first.
Villages and the north
Yanbaru forest and small coastal villages. Few machines, small shops and soba restaurants that take cash only. Fill the tank and withdraw before heading up.
The Yui Rail Monorail
Naha's monorail runs from the airport through the centre to Shuri and beyond, and it is the easiest way into town. It accepts paper tickets, its own OKICA card, and since 2020 the nationwide IC cards such as Suica and ICOCA, although those cannot be bought or topped up at monorail stations. Since March 2025, every station also accepts touch payment with a contactless credit card at the gates, so a foreign Visa or Mastercard can pay the fare directly. Day passes are sold for heavier use.
ATMs in Okinawa
The Japan guide explains why most Japanese bank machines reject foreign cards. On the main island, foreign-card machines are easy to find in the south and thin out in the north. On the small islands they barely exist.
Look for these logos. All three are used by visitors with foreign cards.
Seven Bank (7-Eleven)
Japan Post Bank
AEON BankATM Locations
Naha Airport has machines that accept foreign cards in the domestic and international terminals. 7-Eleven stores are now common in Naha and the central towns. Japan Post machines are in post offices across the island and on the Kerama islands, with office hours. AEON malls have AEON Bank machines. Withdraw in Naha before driving north or boarding a ferry. Japan has no Bank of America Global ATM Alliance partner.
⚠ Choose Yen at the Machine
If a machine offers to charge the withdrawal in your home currency, decline and choose yen. The DCC explainer shows what the offer costs.
Tipping in Okinawa
Do not tip. Japanese norms apply in Okinawa, including at the resorts. Bars and restaurants near the bases that cater to American customers sometimes have a tip jar, and a few add a line for it, but it is optional. Dive and snorkel guides do not expect tips either, although a thank-you is always welcome.
Prices in Okinawa
Food and transport in Okinawa are a little cheaper than on the mainland; beach resorts in summer are not.
| Item | Price (JPY) | Price (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Bowl of Okinawa soba | ¥700–1,000 | $4.70–6.70 |
| Taco rice | ¥600–900 | $4–6 |
| Orion beer in an izakaya | ¥500–700 | $3.30–4.70 |
| Monorail, airport to Kokusai-dori | around ¥300 | around $2 |
| Churaumi Aquarium | around ¥2,000 | around $14.50 |
| Shuri Castle main area | around ¥400 | around $2.70 |
| Fast boat, Naha to Zamami, one way | around ¥3,000–3,500 | $20–23 |
| Rental car, compact, per day | ¥5,000–10,000 | $33–67 |
| ETC card rental for the expressway | a few hundred yen | about $2–3 |
| Beach parking, per day in summer | ¥500–1,000 | $3.30–6.70 |
| Mid-range resort night in summer | ¥20,000–40,000 | $133–267 |
USD estimates use approximately $1 = ¥150. Rates fluctuate. Ferry and attraction prices are adult fares and change from time to time.
Day Trips from Naha
The Kerama islands (about 50 minutes by fast boat)
Covered in detail above. Take cash, book the boat in summer, and treat the post office machine as a back-up, not a plan.
Churaumi and the Motobu peninsula (about 2 hours by car)
The aquarium is the big ticket and takes cards. Kouri island's bridge and beaches are free to reach; parking and showers are not. Expressway tolls apply for most of the drive.
The southern war memorials (about 40 minutes)
The Peace Memorial Park and museum at Itoman, and the Himeyuri memorial nearby, charge modest entry fees. Village soba shops on the way are the cash stops of the day.
Okinawa Quick Reference
| Destination | Cards? | Cash Needed? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Naha shops, hotels, resorts | ✅ Yes | Not needed | Card-friendly capital |
| Yui Rail monorail | ✅ Credit card tap | Around ¥300 to the centre | Suica works, cannot be topped up |
| US dollars | Near bases only | Shop's own rate | Change comes back in yen |
| Kerama island ferries | ❌ Cash is safest | ¥6,000–7,000 return | Cancelled in rough seas |
| Small islands | ❌ Mostly cash | Bring what you need | Post office ATMs only |
| Expressway tolls | ✅ ETC card | Or cash at the booth | Rent ETC with the car |
| ATMs | 7-Eleven, Japan Post, AEON | Withdraw in Naha | 7-Eleven arrived in 2019 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use US dollars in Okinawa?
Only in a few places, mostly around the US military bases, such as Chatan's American Village and parts of Okinawa City and Kokusai-dori. Those shops set their own exchange rate, usually worse than your card's, and give change in yen. Everywhere else, including all the small islands, you need yen.
Can I pay for the Okinawa monorail with a credit card?
Yes. Since March 2025 every Yui Rail station accepts touch payment with a contactless credit card at the gates. The monorail also takes paper tickets, its own OKICA card, and Suica or other nationwide IC cards, which cannot be bought or topped up at monorail stations.
Do I need cash on the Kerama islands?
Yes. Ferries from Tomari port are safest paid in cash, and on Zamami, Aka and Tokashiki many guesthouses, restaurants and rental shops take cash only. Each island has a post office machine with limited hours and there is no 7-Eleven, so withdraw what you need in Naha.
How do I pay tolls on the Okinawa Expressway?
In cash at the toll booths, or with an ETC card rented with your car for a few hundred yen. The ETC card lets you use the electronic lanes, and the tolls are added to your rental bill. It is worth it if you are driving north more than once.
Where can I withdraw cash in Okinawa?
At Naha Airport, 7-Eleven stores, which have spread across the island since the chain arrived in 2019, Japan Post machines in post offices and AEON Bank machines in AEON malls. Machines thin out in the north and on the small islands.
Is there a 7-Eleven in Okinawa?
Yes, but only since July 2019. Okinawa was the last Japanese prefecture without the chain. Stores are now common in Naha and the central towns, but in the north and in villages the nearest shop may still be a FamilyMart, Lawson or local chain.
Pay Smart in Okinawa
The Wise card converts at the real mid-market rate with no markup, pays the monorail at the gate, and works at 7-Eleven ATMs, resorts and rental desks. Pay in yen rather than dollars, and keep cash for the islands.
Get the Wise Card →Okinawa money toolkit
Country-specific deep dives for Okinawa: which card to bring, where the no-fee ATMs are at the airport, and how to dodge the local DCC traps.
Hero photo: Kokusai-dori, Naha, by 663highland, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.