White One car rental pickup: Finding your way from airport to return

Finding the rental car pickup point at Naha Airport, past the Shuri Castle picture

Haisai! I’m CULT.
Today, I’ve put together a complete guide to renting a car in Okinawa, from costs and choosing a company to collecting and returning your car.

This guide follows the pickup process for White One car rental. Pickup locations and procedures vary by company, so if you’ve booked with another company, follow their instructions.

To start with the car rental scene in Okinawa, there are large and midsize companies that come up when you search on Naver. These companies have nice offices that make things convenient, but their prices are relatively high. Small companies lease open lots near the airport to keep their cars, so their prices are much lower.
If convenience matters more than price, I’d recommend a midsize or large company. If you’re traveling on a budget, go with a small company.
I’ll be introducing different companies and cars to suit your needs, covering everything from midsize and large companies to small operators.

One thing to know before booking: insurance is mandatory and costs extra on top of the basic car rental rate. Each company’s insurance system is a little different. I’ll explain those differences in the individual car reviews, but generally, you have to take out comprehensive insurance covering common accidents travelers have.

I’d also recommend adding NOC (Non Operation Charge) insurance. If you have an accident and the car goes into a repair shop, later bookings may have to be canceled or switched to another vehicle while it’s being repaired. This insurance covers the compensation for that lost rental income.

When I rented in May 2025, the two types of insurance together cost 1,100 yen per day for cheaper cars and up to 2,000 yen for expensive ones. For most cars, it was around 1,650 yen per day.
You may be refused a rental if you’ve had your license for 6 months or less. I’ll explain this in each car review. For expensive luxury cars, the company may also refuse the rental if they judge your driving skills to be too poor.

If you can drive a car the size of a Hyundai Avante in Seoul or Busan without an accident, driving in Japan isn’t difficult. If you can handle a Kia Grand Carnival or Hyundai Staria, larger vehicles won’t be a problem either. For new drivers, renting a kei car can make traveling around Okinawa easy. Japanese kei cars are narrow and offer excellent visibility, making them easy to park.

There’s a trio of documents people often say you should prepare for an overseas trip.
Your Korean driver’s license, International Driving Permit, and passport. Those are the three. The English version of a Korean driver’s license is not accepted in Japan, and despite visiting plenty of rental companies, I’ve never had one ask for my Korean driver’s license. They only copy the International Driving Permit and passport.

If you’re worried about your personal information being leaked, switch to the newer passport. The newer Korean passports don’t include your resident registration number.
The law could change, so be sure to bring your driver’s license, International Driving Permit, and passport.

For a rental company pickup at the airport, there are two main meeting points. Midsize and large companies use Exit 4 on the 1st floor, while small companies use Exit 6 on the 3rd floor. I’ll explain each separately. After immigration and customs, this is what you’ll see when you finally leave arrivals. Walk straight for about 50 meters and you’ll find an elevator on the left. Take it to the floor you need.

Midsize and large companies use Exit 4 on the 1st floor, but half of Naha Airport’s 1st floor is currently under construction, so you can’t go straight there. You’ll need to cross over on the 2nd floor and then go back down to the 1st floor. The photos make it easy to follow.

This is where the routes split.
If you’ve booked with a midsize or large company and I’ve mentioned Exit 4 on the 1st floor, go to the 2nd floor. If the review of a small company mentions Exit 6 on the 3rd floor, go to the 3rd floor. I’ll cover midsize and large companies first, so let’s go to the 2nd floor.
If you’re using a small company, scroll down to the 3rd floor, Exit 6 section.

This is what you’ll see when you get out of the elevator on the 2nd floor. There’s a picture of Shuri Castle ahead, and some sort of performance is taking place. They usually hold events like this on weekends; otherwise, it’s an open space with just the Shuri Castle picture. Take your time if you want to watch. Then turn left and keep going.

Turn left and you’ll see a gate modeled on the entrance to Shuri Castle. Walk through it and keep going.

How far do you need to go? Keep walking until the second set of escalators, about 250 meters away.
If you look around as you walk, you’ll spot three sets of escalators in total, but if you look straight ahead, you’ll only see two, as shown here. Once you reach the escalators in the photo on the right, you can take them down. If you have lots of luggage, walk to the end of the passageway on the left and look left to find an elevator.

Take that elevator down to the 1st floor. It’s small, so you may have to queue. Give yourself some time.

Once you’re on the 1st floor, you’ll see Exit 4 or Exit 5. Either is fine. Go outside, and the midsize and large companies will be waiting with their buses between platforms 10 and 12.

You’ll usually come out at platform 10. Check the pillar to see where you are. The pillar in the photo shows that this is platform 10. Cross the pedestrian crossing and turn right for platforms 11 and 12.
Midsize and large companies pick you up here by bus. If your booking is for 2 p.m., for example, staff will be looking for you from around 1:40 p.m., holding a sign with the company’s name or logo. Check in with them and board the bus.

Every vehicle on this stretch of road belongs to a rental company picking up customers. All the way to the end.
Each company has limited parking space. Midsize and large companies can only park at designated platforms.
The bus will take you to the rental office, where you’ll present your International Driving Permit and passport, get a brief explanation, and collect your car.

If you’re using a small company, get out of the elevator on the 3rd floor. You’ll see the Shuri Castle picture from above, like this. With the picture behind you, head left and keep going.

The 3rd floor of Naha Airport has check-in counters and a food court. The airport is tiny compared with Incheon Airport, but you still have to walk about 300 meters. Just keep going straight. Check the exit numbers on your left and walk to Exit 6.

This is what you’ll see when you reach Exit 6 on the 3rd floor. There are three vending machines, one shaped like Pikachu, so it’s easy to spot. The airport Wi-Fi reaches this far, so this is a good place to send a final message to the company on KakaoTalk or LINE and confirm where they are. Small companies usually communicate through KakaoTalk or LINE.
They’ll tell you roughly where they’ve parked. Let them know what you look like and what you’re wearing, and it’ll be easier to recognize each other when you get close.

See the white roof ahead once you step outside? Staff usually park nearby and wait for you. They might tell you roughly where they are and the color of the vehicle, say they’re wearing red, or ask what you’re wearing. It varies by company, so checking in real time over chat makes things easier.
They’ll pick you up here and take you to the rental office to collect your car. Some small companies also give you a driving lesson or one-on-one guidance on things to watch out for when driving in Japan. That’s one advantage of using a small company. Korean operators generally run small companies.

Next up: transfers to and from Akamine Station.
This is for when you’re collecting or returning a car on days other than the first or last day of your trip. There’s no need to go all the way to the airport then. Instead, you can arrange a pickup or a ride back after returning your car at Akamine Station, the stop just before the airport.

Once you get off the monorail, there are only two ways to go: left or right. For your pickup, head left. A rental company employee will be waiting with a vehicle somewhere in this parking lot. Message each other and they should be easy to find. Go with them to the office to collect your rental car.
Most car rental companies in Okinawa are clustered around this area.

If you request a ride to Akamine Station after returning your car, they’ll drop you off here. Check the monorail instructions above and boarding should be easy.

If you have a suitcase, take the elevator to the 2nd floor to catch the monorail. If you’re traveling light, just take the escalator up. The monorail is handy if you still have time left to explore central Naha.

After you return your car, the rental company will drive you to the airport. A ride to Akamine is a special arrangement you need to request; midsize and large companies usually drop you off where they picked you up. You’ll arrive at an airport entrance that looks like this.

If you’re flying to Korea, follow the signs to the 3rd floor and head to the check-in counter for your airline.

Midsize and large companies sometimes drop you off near Exit 6 on the 3rd floor too, but only if they don’t have another pickup scheduled soon. Small companies, meanwhile, almost always drop you off near Exit 6 on the 3rd floor after you return the car. The advantage is.. you can walk through the door and go straight to check-in.

All right, let’s recap.
Midsize and large rental companies cost more, but their service is a little better.
Insurance is mandatory, but NOC insurance is optional (some companies require it). I’d generally recommend taking it out.
The English version of a Korean driver’s license is absolutely not accepted in Japan. Your International Driving Permit and passport matter most.
Midsize and large companies use Exit 4 on the 1st floor for passenger pickups and rides back after the car is returned; small companies use Exit 6 on the 3rd floor.

I lived on Jeju for 4 months and got around just fine by bus.. but Okinawa is a completely different story. You absolutely need a rental car in Okinawa. I’ll be reviewing all sorts of cars, from kei cars and minivans to family cars and concept cars, to help make your Okinawa trip easier.

I’ll be back with more Okinawa travel tips. Mata yasai