According to the Okinawa tourist bureau it is difficult for tourists to enter any american bases. If you are, as I am, interested in aviation one option in Okinawa is the small mall ‘Road Station Kadena’. It is located just next to the airbase and the runways. It has a few restaurants and a quite big observation platform. This makes it possible to combine lunch or dinner with plane spotting.
And it is possible to see a lot of airplanes on just an ordinary day. I saw among other planes several 707 tankers and Hercules transporters, a military 737, a dozen F15 and several navy patrol planes.
The place is very popular with the local planes spotters that have radios, so you know that it is possible to get a good photo when they picks up their cameras.
In the building is also located a smal but good museum about the airbase (free).
Note that this upload contains both stills and HD video.
All pictures and videos are taken with Sony DSC-HX9V and Sony DSC-RX100