Okinawa weather for 13 August
☀️ Haisai! This is CULT.
Today, 13 August, Okinawa was still a very hot day. Even so, it’s cooler than Korea or mainland Japan, so as soon as people arrive they often say it feels less hot than Korea and less hot than the mainland. Today in particular, despite only being under the very distant indirect influence of Typhoon No. 11 Beodeul, there was plenty of pleasantly cool wind, which was lovely. It was breezy, but not to the point of being inconvenient — right at that sweet spot where it feels refreshingly cool. The temperature reached a high of 32°C and a low of 28°C, so a parasol and suncream are, of course, essentials.
Okinawa weather video – 13 August
Here’s today’s Okinawa weather video. There’s a clip shot on a bus midway through, and finally, credit card payments are accepted, but only on the bus from Naha to American Village. Apple Pay works too. Still, I wouldn’t recommend travelling around Okinawa by bus 🙅
Okinawa weather on 13 August
I headed out a little early this morning to go to American Village. I’d planned to get around by hire car again today, but wow—there wasn’t a single car available; they were 99% booked out. There was one left, the largest HiAce in the range, pretty much a large vehicle, and I didn’t feel comfortable driving something that size, so I just took the bus to American Village today. It’s peak season until the end of August, so hire cars are a bit pricey at the moment.
I’m in front of Gurume Sushi at American Village. I came by bus and then walked to somewhere a bit offbeat. I wouldn’t exactly recommend bus travel to everyone, but I do enjoy getting around by bus. If I’m on the bus, I don’t have to drive, do I? So I use the travel time to ask AI about things I didn’t know, and to write blog posts. I make good use of my time.
Anyway, it was around 9:40 a.m., and it wasn’t all that hot yet.
Depot Island at 10:40 am. Even though it’s Wednesday morning, there were quite a few people about. Perhaps because it’s the summer holiday season, it looks very different from how it was in mid-July. I come to American Village quite often for Okinawa snap-shoot work—at least three times a week. Wednesday mornings are usually quiet with hardly anyone around, but today was a bit different.
This is Depot Island after we finished all our Okinawa snap photoshoots. Up to the 15th, it’s a low-tide period, so the water keeps going out. From the 16th it gradually comes back in and the water gets deeper. So for now, it’s a great time to enjoy a safe paddle.
I’m on my way home after lunch. Now that it’s midday, it’s quite hot. Even so, I reckon Okinawa is probably the coolest place in Japan. That’s because Okinawa keeps slipping in and out of the influence of the North Pacific high-pressure system. By contrast, Korea and the Japanese mainland sit under the combined influence of the North Pacific and Tibetan highs, which keeps any cooler air firmly at bay. Okinawa’s hot too, but it’s definitely not as sweltering as Korea — it’s much breezier here.
Here’s a view of the Miebashi River. Today I shot from a slightly different spot than usual. Since I’m getting around by bus, my shooting locations end up being a bit unusual too. Apparently, the reason the Miebashi River in Naha drains in the morning is that it’s low tide right now, so they intentionally release water because of the tidal range. I’m happy to have learned something new about how things work in Naha today as well.
Late in the afternoon, this is the scene in front of Makishi Market on Kokusai Street. There are quite a few tourists. Even for a Wednesday, it’s far too many. I didn’t go to Naha’s west coast today, so I wondered whether the Costa Serena cruise hadn’t left yet… maybe it’s because of the typhoon? Anyway, Typhoon No. 11, ‘Beodeul’, has ended up having nothing to do with Okinawa at all.
Okinawa Weather Forecast
This is the 10-day weather forecast for Okinawa from Weathernews Japan. The top one is Okinawa’s main island, and the two below are Miyakojima and Ishigaki Island. Overall, the fine weather looks set to continue, and today I’ve included both to explain how it differs from AccuWeather [Source: Weathernews Japan]
This chart shows AccuWeather’s 10-day forecast for Okinawa. It’s quite at odds with Japan Weather News, as Okinawa has a maritime climate where squally showers are common. About ten minutes a day? Because the rain is so scattered, Japan Weather News is more like, “Do we even count this as rain?”, whereas AccuWeather shows a rain icon because it’s raining. As you can see in the screenshot, AccuWeather displays a rain icon even when the expected precipitation is 0.5 mm. Strictly speaking, you could say AccuWeather is more accurate, but if you take the view that squally showers don’t count as rain, then Japan Weather News fits better. I don’t even register those squally showers as ‘rain’ myself, so lately I’ve been citing Japan Weather News more often than AccuWeather.
Even when rain is forecast in Okinawa, it often doesn’t fall as much as you might think [Source: AccuWeather]
I was originally due to shoot at a northern resort tomorrow, but with a change of schedule I’ll probably spend the day editing and working on a plugin. Expect some slightly toned-down weather photos to go up. That’s it for the Okinawa weather report for 13 August! See you again tomorrow with more Okinawa weather updates—Matayasai 👋
