By plane
Most visitors arrive in Naha, the capital of Okinawa. Domestic flights do connect major Japanese cities directly to some other Okinawan islands like Miyako and Ishigaki, but prices can be steep; for example, the standard one-way fare for Tokyo-Ishigaki is a whopping ¥50,000. Using an international airpass like Star Alliance's Visit Japan or JAL's Welcome to Japan, both of which allow domestic flights in Japan for ¥12,000, may allow considerable savings.Numerous discount airlines now offer flights to Naha from the main cities in mainland Japan offering much cheaper options to visit Okinawa. SkyMark, JetStar and others offer flights from Tokyo and other major cities in Japan to Naha.
By ship
Ferry services to Okinawa have been cut drastically in the last few years, with Arimura Sangyo filing for bankruptcy and RKK Line stopping passenger services entirely. With long travel times, bumpy seas, frequent cancellations in the fall typhoon season and prices that aren't any cheaper than flying, it's easy to see why this isn't too popular anymore.
As of November 2008, the only survivors are A-Line Ferry (http://www.aline-ferry.com), aka Maru-A ãã«ã¨ã¼, which runs twice a week from Kagoshima 25 hours, ¥16,000 2nd class one-way and once a week from both Osaka/Kobe and Tokyo 44 hours, ¥28,000 to Naha, and Marix Line (http://www.marix-line.co.jp), which runs between Kagoshima and Naha only. All ferries call at various minor islands including Yoron and Amami Oshima along the way. Note that if you don't speak Japanese, you will find it easier to book through a travel agent.
In additional, Star Cruises (http://www.starcruises.com/) operates irregular cruises from Keelung, Taiwan to Naha via Ishigaki and Miyako. The service operates in summer months only June-Sep and is not available all years.