Irabu Island Car Rental: IDP, Airport and Parking

Irabu Island sits at the far northwestern edge of the Miyako Island group in Okinawa, joined to Miyako by the toll-free, 3,540 m Irabu Bridge. Public transport here is close to nonexistent, so nearly everyone who visits arrives by rental car — and the single most common booking mistake is picking the wrong airport.

Quick Fact	Detail
Two airports, not one	Shimojishima Airport (SHI) and Miyako Airport (MMY) are separate — check which one your booking is at
Irabu Bridge	3,540 m, toll-free, connects Miyako Island to Irabu Island
Driving side	Left — same as Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia
IDP needed	Yes, obtained before you leave home (HK: TD51, approx. HK$80 / Singapore: AA Singapore, approx. S$20)
Parking	Mostly free, but informal — gravel patches, roadside space, some beaches with none at all
Typhoon season	June to November, peaking August–September

Which Airport Should You Book: Shimojishima or Miyako?

This is the mistake that trips up more visitors than anything else on this list, and it is worth reading carefully before you commit to a booking. Shimojishima Airport (SHI) sits on Shimoji Island, which is linked to Irabu Island by six short bridges — a few minutes' drive, not a ferry crossing or a connecting flight. Miyako Airport (MMY) is a separate airport altogether, on Miyako Island itself, roughly 30–40 minutes from Irabu by car depending on traffic and which part of Irabu you are staying on.

The confusion is understandable. Both airports serve the same island group, both get shortened to "Miyako" in casual conversation, and both appear as options on some booking engines without much explanation of the distance between them. If you are flying in on the Hong Kong Express seasonal service from HKG, you will land at Shimojishima Airport directly, which is genuinely convenient for an Irabu-based stay. If you are connecting through Naha — from Singapore's Scoot route, for example — your domestic leg lands at Miyako Airport instead, and you will need to factor in the extra drive. Both routes, and the buses that run from each airport, are covered in more detail in our guide to flights and buses to Irabu Island.

If you realise you booked the wrong airport

Call the rental company before you fly, not after you land. Many operators can move a Miyako Airport pickup to Shimojishima, or vice versa, for a fee — but only with advance notice, and not always on short notice during peak season.
Check if the company has a counter at both airports. Larger chains often do; small local operators frequently only serve one.
Worst case, take an airport taxi to the correct counter. Shimojishima to Miyako Airport is a fixed, short-ish taxi ride, not a logistical disaster — just an unplanned cost and a delay to your first day.
Confirm the airport code, not just the name, when you book. SHI and MMY are unambiguous in a way that "Miyako Airport" in English is not.

Do You Actually Need an International Driving Permit?

Yes. If you plan to drive on Irabu, you need a valid International Driving Permit (IDP) issued in your home country, because Japan does not issue them on arrival and will not accept a home licence alone at a rental counter, regardless of how experienced a driver you are.

Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia are all signatories to the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic, which means an IDP from any of the three is recognised in Japan without complication. The permit has to be arranged before you leave — it cannot be issued once you are already in Japan, and rental staff will turn you away without one, no exceptions made for jet lag or a missed appointment back home.

Where to apply

Hong Kong: apply using form TD51 through the Transport Department. The fee is approx. HK$80 (about US$10), and processing is generally quick if you apply in person.
Singapore: apply through AA Singapore. The fee is approx. S$20 (about US$15).
Australia: apply through your state motoring club — RACV, NRMA, RACQ and the equivalents in other states all issue them, usually same-day.

Bring the IDP itself, your home licence, and your passport to the rental counter — all three are usually checked together, and a mismatch between the name on your licence and your passport can cause delays.

Is Driving on Irabu Difficult If You Are Used to Left-Hand Traffic?

A Leisurely Drive Around Irabu Island: Rental Car

If you learned to drive in Hong Kong, Singapore or Australia, this is one thing you do not need to worry about: Japan drives on the left, exactly as your home country does. Steering wheel position, road positioning and roundabout direction will all feel familiar from the first minute, which is a genuine advantage over travellers coming from most of Asia, Europe or the Americas.

What does take some adjustment is the road itself, not the side of it. Irabu's main routes are narrow two-lane roads shared with farm vehicles, cyclists and the occasional wandering goat, and the Irabu Bridge in particular can have noticeable crosswind — worth respecting rather than fearing, especially if a typhoon is anywhere nearby. Our driving routes and rental tips guide covers the roads themselves in more depth, and our typhoon season guide is worth reading if your trip falls between June and November.

What to Check Before You Book a Rental Car

We are not going to quote you a daily rate here, because rates on Irabu shift constantly with season, vehicle size and how far in advance you book, and any number we printed would likely be wrong by the time you read this. What we can tell you is what actually matters when you are comparing quotes.

Questions worth asking before you pay

What is the insurance excess (deductible)? Standard cover usually leaves you liable for a chunk of any damage; many companies sell a Collision Damage Waiver add-on that brings that figure down to zero or near-zero.
Is fuel full-to-full or prepaid? Full-to-full — you return the car with a full tank — is the norm across Japan and is almost always cheaper than a prepaid fuel option.
Is there an ETC card for the toll roads on the way from the airport? Irabu Bridge itself is toll-free, but you may cross other toll roads depending on your route on Miyako Island.
What vehicle size suits your route? A compact car handles Irabu's narrower lanes and informal parking areas more comfortably than a larger SUV, unless you specifically need the extra space.
Does the counter open before your flight lands or close before a late arrival? Smaller operators keep limited hours, which matters more at Shimojishima than at a major mainland airport.

Where Can You Actually Park on Irabu Island?

Parking on Irabu is mostly free, which is the good news. The less convenient news is that it is also mostly informal: expect gravel clearings rather than marked bays, and roadside space that genuinely fills up at popular spots during peak midday hours in summer.

What parking on Irabu actually looks like

Gravel or dirt clearings at most beach access points, with no barrier, ticket machine or attendant.
Roadside verges near smaller viewpoints and shrines — fine outside peak hours, tight when a tour bus arrives.
Some beaches have no parking area at all, just a pull-off wide enough for a handful of cars before the shoulder narrows.
No paid parking structures anywhere on the island — if you see a barrier arm and a ticket machine, you have crossed back onto Miyako Island proper, not Irabu.

17END, for example, draws enough visitors that its gravel lot can fill by mid-morning on a clear summer day, so plan an early arrival if that is your first stop. Toguchi-no-Hama has a small gravel area that is usually manageable outside August weekends, but do not expect it to hold more than a modest number of cars at once.

Parking Situations at Irabu's Main Spots

Spot	Parking type	Fills up when	Facilities
17END	Gravel lot, informal	Mid-morning, clear summer days	None on the beach itself
Toguchi-no-Hama	Small gravel area	August weekends	Limited nearby
Irabu Bridge viewpoints	Roadside pull-offs	Sunset hours	None
Sawada-no-hama and smaller beaches	Verge parking, a few cars only	Any weekend afternoon	Usually none
Sarahama port area	Roadside, near shops	Rarely full	Nearby diners and stores

The practical takeaway: arrive early, especially at 17END and in August, and do not expect toilets, shade or a kiosk simply because a beach is popular on social media. If parking is genuinely off-putting to you, an Irabu sightseeing taxi is a reasonable alternative for a single day, since the driver handles parking entirely and you can focus on the view instead of the search for a space.

Know Before You Go

International Driving Permit: arrange it before departure — Hong Kong via form TD51 (approx. HK$80), Singapore via AA Singapore (approx. S$20). It cannot be issued once you are in Japan.

Driving side: left, same as home if you are coming from Hong Kong, Singapore or Australia — genuinely no adjustment needed here, unlike most other overseas destinations.

Connectivity: arrange an eSIM or pocket Wi-Fi before you arrive. Coverage on Irabu is generally fine, but you want it working the moment you land, not after searching for a shop that sells local SIM cards.

Cash vs card: convenience stores and larger shops take cards without issue, but small diners and roadside stalls are frequently cash-only. ATMs that accept foreign cards are available inside convenience stores.

English levels: English is rarely spoken outside larger hotels and a handful of tourist-facing businesses. A translation app makes ordering food, asking directions and dealing with a rental counter considerably easier.

Typhoons: the season runs June to November, peaking in August and September. Check the Japan Meteorological Agency forecast before driving the Irabu Bridge if a storm is tracking anywhere nearby, and build a spare day into your itinerary if you are travelling in peak typhoon months.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need an International Driving Permit to drive on Irabu Island?

Yes. Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia are all Geneva Convention signatories, so an IDP from any of them is valid in Japan — but it must be obtained before you leave home, since Japan does not issue them to arriving travellers.

Are Shimojishima Airport and Miyako Airport the same place?

No. They are two separate airports. Shimojishima Airport is on Shimoji Island, six short bridges from Irabu Island. Miyako Airport is on Miyako Island, roughly 30–40 minutes away by car.

Can I get by on Irabu without a rental car?

Public transport is very limited, so a rental car is effectively required for most itineraries. A sightseeing taxi can reasonably cover a single day if you would rather not drive or deal with parking yourself.

Is parking free on Irabu Island?

Mostly, yes — but it is informal gravel and roadside space rather than managed car parks, and popular spots like 17END can fill up by mid-morning in summer.

Is it hard to drive on the left if I am used to right-hand traffic at home?

If you learned to drive in Hong Kong, Singapore or Australia, this does not apply to you — Japan's left-hand driving will feel completely familiar. The real adjustment on Irabu is to narrow roads and bridge crosswind, not to which side of the road you drive on.