What is Okinawa’s hotel occupancy rate right now? On the OTA listed-inventory basis compiled by MetroEngines Research, Okinawa Prefecture averaged 90.1% in October 2026 (31-day average, fixed cohort of 933 properties / 37,131 rooms) and 86.7% in September (30-day average, 708 properties / 36,220 rooms). Occupancy rose from 83.4% in May to 89.3% in July, eased once to 85.5% in August, then climbed back to around 90% in autumn. These figures, however, use a different definition from the room occupancy rate for Okinawa published in the Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) Overnight Travel Statistics Survey (58.4% preliminary for August 2026), and they structurally run higher. This article first sorts out the definitional gap between the two, then reads the monthly peaks and troughs, the municipal differences between Naha, Onna, Ishigaki and Miyakojima, the combination with estimated settled ADR, and how 2026’s new supply of 104 properties / 2,950 rooms affects occupancy, from the perspective of those who invest in and operate hotels in Okinawa.

What Is Okinawa’s Hotel Occupancy Now — 90.1% in October, 86.7% in September

The direct answer first. In October 2026, Okinawa Prefecture’s OTA listed-inventory occupancy for a fixed cohort of 933 properties / 37,131 rooms reached a monthly average of 90.1%. Day by day, the month’s high was 96.1% on Saturday, October 10, when remaining inventory had narrowed to 1,420 rooms. The weakest day was Sunday, October 25, at 84.4%, with 5,632 rooms remaining. Even within the month, the range is about 12 points.

September came in at 86.7% for a cohort of 708 properties / 36,220 rooms. Okinawa’s inbound visitor arrivals in September were 897,700, down 5.4% year on year (domestic visitors −1.4%, foreign visitors −15.8%), and the prefecture cites flight cancellations caused by Typhoons No. 24 and No. 25 as the reason for the decline in domestic visitors (the decline in foreign visitors came from sea arrivals, down 61.8%, while air arrivals rose 8.0%). Even so, inventory-based occupancy held at 86.7%, suggesting the typhoon-disrupted days were not enough to drag down the month as a whole. For October, the prefecture also expected strong results on the back of the school-trip season and additional flights by airlines, and the inventory-based 90.1% is consistent with that outlook.

November started at 85.8% on a five-day average for November 1–5 (904 properties / 36,070 rooms), slightly below the October level. This is, however, an interim tally of five days, and an assessment of the month must wait until month-end.

Two “Occupancy Rates” — How to Read the Gap with the JTA Figures

One point worth clarifying here: even under the same label, “Okinawa room occupancy rate,” the level differs completely depending on the source. The JTA Overnight Travel Statistics Survey room occupancy rate for Okinawa (all property types) ran from 52.5% in January 2025 to 66.4% in August and 66.6% in October, and in 2026 (preliminary) it was 51.4% in January, 61.8% in July and 58.4% in August. By contrast, the OTA listed-inventory figures in this article were 89.3% for July 2026 and 85.5% for August, a gap of 27.5 and 27.1 points respectively. Including May (26.7pt) and June (29.8pt), the gap stays roughly constant at about 27–30 points and does not swing wildly from month to month.

There are three main reasons for the gap. First, the denominator: the JTA figure is the actual room occupancy across all property types, including ryokan, simple lodging and company/group accommodation (the August 2026 preliminary figures were 29.4% for simple lodging and 5.1% for company/group facilities), whereas this article’s cohort is a hotel-centered set of properties listing at least 30% of their total rooms on OTAs. Second, the numerator: this article’s indicator counts rooms not listed on OTAs on the “sold” side, so rooms allocated to direct sales, groups or contract sales, and rooms a hotel releases only in small batches, are also counted as occupied. Third, timing: the JTA figure is an after-the-fact report of actual stays, while this article’s figure is an estimate back-calculated from listed inventory as of the day before check-in. It is therefore not possible to compare the “levels” of the two and argue which is better. In terms of usage, it is reasonable to treat the JTA figure as a long-term, cross-segment benchmark of actual results, and the inventory-based figure as an early indicator of the strength of supply and demand in recent months and the daily pattern.

What is interesting is that the two series agree on the “shape of the months” in 2026. The JTA preliminary figure for August 2026 (58.4%) fell below July (61.8%), the opposite of the prior year, when August (66.4%) exceeded July (64.4%). On the inventory basis as well, August’s 85.5% was below July’s 89.3%, so the relative softness of August can be called a feature of 2026 regardless of the measurement method. Note that from the January 2026 data onward, the JTA survey changed its sample stratification criterion from number of employees to number of rooms, and year-on-year comparisons between 2025 and 2026 need to carry that caveat.

Source: Compiled by the HotelBank Editorial Team from MetroEngines Research data (OTA listed-inventory basis, May–October 2026, 589–933 properties per month) / JTA Overnight Travel Statistics Survey, Okinawa room occupancy rate (2025; January–August 2026 are preliminary figures)

Source: Compiled by the HotelBank Editorial Team from MetroEngines Research data / JTA Overnight Travel Statistics Survey (prefecture-level preliminary figures for September 2026 onward not yet published)

Monthly Trend — The July Peak, the August Dip, the October Rebound, and the Winter Trough

Lining up the inventory-based months available since May 2026 gives May 83.4% → June 84.9% → July 89.3% → August 85.5% → September 86.7% → October 90.1%. There are two peaks, July and October, and troughs in May–June and August, with the swing contained to about 6.7 points. By segment, business hotels moved more from month to month, at 90.7% in July and 91.5% in October, while resort hotels built up relatively smoothly from 85.5% in May to 90.4% in October. In August, business hotels eased to 84.7% while resorts held 87.2%, suggesting the summer softness mainly reflected thin business-travel and school-trip demand.

Because the depth of the winter trough falls in months before the inventory-based series begins, we check it with the JTA series. Okinawa’s room occupancy rate in 2025 bottomed at 51.9% in December and 52.5% in January, about 15 points below the peaks of 66.6% in October and 66.4% in August. January 2026 also stayed at 51.4% (preliminary). By segment, resort hotels show a seasonal gap of nearly 20 points, with 75.0% in August 2025 and 74.7% in October versus 55.0% in December and 57.1% in January, and business hotels also sink in winter, from 83.4% in October to 63.7% in January. Public statistics confirm that Okinawa is a market where the hotel business should be planned on an annual basis of “earn in summer and autumn, and work out how to fill December–January.”

Source: JTA Overnight Travel Statistics Survey, Okinawa room occupancy rate by property type

October Daily Data and Booking Curves — From 69.9% at 45 Days Out to 90.1% the Day Before

Behind the monthly average, it is worth looking at which days demand concentrated on and how fast it built up. October’s daily inventory-based occupancy peaked at 96.1% on Saturday, October 10, the first day of the three-day weekend including Sports Day, and the average listed price that day was also the month’s highest at ¥38,400. After the holiday, occupancy fell into the 87–88% range on the 12th–13th, formed another peak at 94.4% on Friday the 16th, and in the latter part of the month moved in the 84–91% range. The weekday-weekend gap is around 3–6 points, and the sharp weekday drop seen in urban markets is not observed.

Source: Compiled by the HotelBank Editorial Team from MetroEngines Research data (Okinawa, OTA listed-inventory basis, fixed cohort of 933 properties / 37,131 rooms, October 1–31, 2026)

Drawing the booking curve (the change in OTA remaining inventory toward the check-in date) as a monthly average, October built up from 69.9% at 45 days out to 76.0% at 30 days, 82.2% at 14 days, 84.8% at 7 days and 90.1% the day before. September started at 64.5% at 45 days out and finished at 86.7% the day before, so October’s entire curve sits about 5 points above September’s. Overlaying July (68.9% at 45 days out → 89.3% the day before) and August (66.1% → 85.5%), the shapes are almost parallel: for Okinawa as a whole, the booking pace of “just under 70% at 45 days out, adding a little over 5 points in the final week” is stable regardless of season. For operators, whether inventory absorption at 45 days out is below 70% can serve as one benchmark for judging a month’s landing early.

Source: Compiled by the HotelBank Editorial Team from MetroEngines Research data (Okinawa, monthly average booking curves, lead time within 45 days only, 708–898 properties per month)

By Municipality — Differences Between Naha, Onna, Ishigaki and Miyakojima

How much does the prefecture-wide 90% vary at the municipal level? In October 2026, OTA listed-inventory occupancy was 92.8% in Naha City (183 properties / 15,686 rooms), 94.5% in Onna Village (74 properties / 2,824 rooms), 93.1% in Ishigaki City (107 properties / 3,601 rooms) and 89.3% in Miyakojima City (135 properties / 3,740 rooms). Onna Village was the highest, and Miyakojima City slightly below the prefectural average. As with the prefecture as a whole, October was the highest month since June in all four areas, but while Onna Village stayed stable in the 91–94% range throughout June–October, Miyakojima City eased to 83.9% in August and Ishigaki City also dropped a notch in summer to 86.8% in August. The two outlying-island cities are markets where occupancy is easily swayed by the supply of airline seats and ferry services, and where typhoon-season cancellations hit more directly than on the main island.

Naha City has the largest cohort of the four areas at 15,686 rooms, and its monthly swings, 90.2% in July, 86.0% in August and 92.8% in October, almost mirror the prefecture-wide shape. Note that in Onna Village, Ishigaki City and Miyakojima City the number of properties covered increased from September to October (Onna Village 52 → 74, Ishigaki City 69 → 107, Miyakojima City 96 → 135), so comparisons across months include cohort turnover. Each month’s figure is calculated within the same set of properties, but it is safer to read month-to-month comparisons with a margin of about 1–2 points.

Source: Compiled by the HotelBank Editorial Team from MetroEngines Research data (by municipality, OTA listed-inventory basis, June–October 2026. June is a 21-day average. Number of properties covered is shown in the table)

Source: Compiled by the HotelBank Editorial Team from MetroEngines Research data (ADR is estimated settled ADR, tax-excluded equivalent, area median. N is the number of properties covered by estimated settled ADR)

Overlaying rates makes the character of each municipality clear. October’s estimated settled ADR was ¥22,300 in Onna Village (N=43) versus ¥10,200 in Naha City (N=144), a gap of more than double, with Miyakojima City at ¥14,000 (N=77) and Ishigaki City at ¥12,000 (N=59) in between. Onna Village raised its rate to ¥33,000 in August while keeping occupancy at 91.0%, making it a market that captures revenue through rate in summer and does not lose occupancy in autumn. Year-on-year growth was large in Ishigaki City (+13.5%) and Onna Village (+11.4%), while Naha City (+7.0%) and Miyakojima City (+6.0%) stayed in single digits.

Combining with ADR — Comparing Months by a Rate × Occupancy Index

Occupancy alone does not reveal monthly differences in revenue. Okinawa’s estimated settled ADR (area median, tax-excluded equivalent) in 2026 moved from ¥11,000 in January to ¥11,200 in May, ¥13,700 in July, ¥14,700 in August, ¥12,000 in September and ¥12,200 in October, with year-on-year changes of +7.1% in July, +2.7% in August, +10.0% in September and +12.7% in October (N=515 properties). August had the year’s highest absolute rate level, but its year-on-year growth was a modest +2.7%, and occupancy also fell below July. In the sense that neither rate nor occupancy grew as strongly as the prior year, summer 2026 can be summarized as “a continued plateau” rather than “a further upswing.”

Multiplying estimated settled ADR by OTA listed-inventory occupancy for each month gives a “rate × occupancy index” of ¥9,400 in May, ¥9,700 in June, ¥12,300 in July, ¥12,500 in August, ¥10,400 in September and ¥11,000 in October. Occupancy peaked in July and October, but the index peaked in August (¥12,500) and July (¥12,300), and October (¥11,000), despite 90% occupancy, was about 12% lower than August. This is a clear example of high occupancy not directly meaning high revenue: in autumn the rate ceiling is lower than in summer, so the structure fills with occupancy instead. Note that because inventory-based occupancy runs high, this index is larger than actual RevPAR. The correct way to use it is only for relative month-to-month comparison, not as an absolute amount.

Source: Compiled by the HotelBank Editorial Team from MetroEngines Research data (Okinawa, estimated settled ADR, area median, tax-excluded equivalent, N=451–515 properties. November 2026 onward are estimates based on listed levels at the time of the survey)

Source: Compiled by the HotelBank Editorial Team from MetroEngines Research data (estimated settled ADR is tax-excluded equivalent, area median; listed price is per room for 2 guests, tax included, all-plan average. Index = estimated settled ADR × inventory-based occupancy)

Looking ahead, estimated settled ADR derived from listed levels at the time of the survey comes out at ¥11,700 for November (+10.8% YoY), ¥11,700 for December (+7.4%), ¥11,100 for January 2027 (+0.8%) and ¥13,200 for February (-2.8%). December–January rates are around 20% below August, and while November–December are listed above the prior year at +7–11% YoY, January is priced flat to the prior year (+0.8%) and February below it (-2.8%), at a stage where these prices are listed in advance. These figures will change as sales progress and should not be treated as final.

Connecting to New Supply — How Do 104 Properties and 2,950 Rooms Affect Occupancy?

Supply is indispensable when considering where occupancy goes next. According to MetroEngines Research’s tally of 2026 openings, accommodation facilities that opened in Okinawa Prefecture in 2026 numbered 104 properties with 2,950 rooms within the scope MetroEngines Research tracks; of the eight properties with more than 200 rooms, four (1,100 rooms) were conversions of existing buildings, leaving a net addition of 1,850 rooms. Against this article’s October cohort of 37,131 rooms, the net addition of 1,850 rooms equals about 5.0%. If demand (rooms sold) stayed flat with the prior year, the net addition alone would push inventory-based occupancy down by 4–5 points, but 2026’s results did not turn out that way. October occupancy reached 90%, and estimated settled ADR also landed at +12.7% YoY, so the natural reading is that, at least as of autumn, demand absorbed the added rooms.

The effect of added supply, however, differs by area. In the same tally, the increase within 5km of Naha was only +1.8%, while Miyakojima and southern Onna Village saw increases in the +11% range. Miyakojima City’s October occupancy of 89.3%, the lowest of the four areas, and its small +6.0% YoY growth in estimated settled ADR are consistent with this supply increase. Onna Village is also an area where supply increased, yet it maintained both 94.5% occupancy and +11.4% ADR growth: the same “+11% range supply” produced different results depending on the depth of demand. In the north, openings from 2027 onward are also lined up, such as the 140-room plan in Agarie, Nago, and tracking the supply calendar side by side with occupancy and rate trends at the area level is worth continuing next year.

Implications for Operators and Investors — What to Watch in a 90%-Occupancy Market

First, when Okinawa’s inventory-based occupancy is running around 90%, there is little room to add further occupancy, and the upside for revenue lies on the rate side. The fact that August had the year’s highest rate × occupancy index even though occupancy fell below July shows that summer revenue is determined by rate. Raising high-season pricing in stages from early on, and not rushing last-minute discounts in months where absorption above 70% is visible at 45 days out, is the kind of practice that leads to revenue opportunities.

Second, the December–January trough shown in the JTA series (51.9% and 52.5% in 2025) is the single largest variable driving annual RevPAR. Among foreign-language reviews in Okinawa, Traditional Chinese has the highest share, and how to fill January–February as capacity for Lunar New Year 2027 ties directly into each property’s channel design. Estimated settled ADR is listed above the prior year for November–December, but January 2027 is flat to the prior year (+0.8%) and February is 2.8% below the same month a year earlier, so there is not yet any sign of the market setting Lunar New Year rates more aggressively than last year.

Third, in investment decisions, do not put this article’s inventory-based occupancy directly into a business plan as the OCC. As noted above, this indicator structurally runs 27–30 points higher than the JTA figure. A plan’s OCC assumption should be anchored on the JTA’s results by property type (resort hotels 55.0–75.0% across 2025, business hotels 63.7–83.4%), with the inventory-based figure used alongside as an early indicator for reading “whether recent supply and demand are stronger or weaker than last year” and “which months and days of the week demand concentrates on.” That is the proper division of roles between the two statistics.

Summary

Okinawa’s hotel occupancy, on the OTA listed-inventory basis, is around 90%, at 90.1% in October 2026 and 86.7% in September; since May, July and October were the peaks and August the soft month. The definition differs from the JTA room occupancy rate (58.4% preliminary for August) and runs 27–30 points higher, but both series agreed on 2026’s monthly shape of “August below July.” By municipality, Onna Village was at 94.5%, Naha City 92.8%, Ishigaki City 93.1% and Miyakojima City 89.3%, with Onna’s rate more than double Naha’s. Estimated settled ADR was ¥12,200 in October (+12.7% YoY), and the rate × occupancy index peaked for the year in August. 2026’s new supply of 104 properties / 2,950 rooms (net 1,850 rooms) has been absorbed by demand as of autumn, but growth in occupancy and rate was relatively small in Miyakojima City, where supply rose in the +11% range. Tracking each area’s supply calendar alongside occupancy is the task for those investing in and operating hotels in Okinawa next year.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is Okinawa’s hotel occupancy rate right now?
A. On MetroEngines Research’s OTA listed-inventory basis, the monthly average was 90.1% in October 2026 (933 properties) and 86.7% in September (708 properties). The room occupancy rate in the JTA Overnight Travel Statistics Survey was 58.4% (preliminary) for August 2026; because the definitions differ, the levels do not match.

Q. Why is there such a large gap between the two occupancy rates?
A. The inventory-based rate counts rooms not listed on OTAs on the sold side, so it runs higher. The JTA figure is the actual room occupancy across all property types, including ryokan and simple lodging. The gap was roughly constant at about 27–30 points in May–August 2026.

Q. Which month has the lowest occupancy in Okinawa?
A. In the JTA’s Okinawa room occupancy rate, December (51.9%) and January (52.5%) were the low points of 2025. January 2026 was also 51.4% (preliminary).

Q. Which municipalities are highest?
A. OTA listed-inventory occupancy in October 2026 ranked Onna Village 94.5%, Ishigaki City 93.1%, Naha City 92.8% and Miyakojima City 89.3%.

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