730 Traffic Change July 30, in 1978 was a historical day for Okinawa which is called 730 (nanasanmaru) . It was a day the traffic in Okinawa switched from driving on the right to the left. Before the World War II, cars drove on the left in the same way as mainland Japan. After the war, under the rule of the USA, the traffic system turned to the right side. Okinawa returned to Japan in 1972, the traffic system remained for 6 years. The preparation for 730 (nanasanmaru ) took some time. New traffic lights and road signs were installed and arrow signs on the street were painted all over Okinawa and they were covered until July 30. Busses and taxis needed to fix their automatic doors to the left side for their passengers. Okinawa was filled with posters and slogans of “730 Cars left, People right”. The traffic change was done at 6:00 AM on July 30(Sun). The traffic was banned for 8 hours from 10 PM on the 29th to 6 AM on the 30th. During the 8 hours, the new traffic lights and signs were uncovered. With police car’s sirens and announcement of ‘Cars left, People right’, the traffic was switched. After that, drivers unfamiliar with the new traffic caused traffic jams everywhere for a while. Some people describe those days, “It was like looking into a mirror or being in an another world. The town was the same but the traffic was reversed.”