Okinawa is 14 to 15 hours ahead of Chicago, depending on the time of year. If you are both awake 7 am to 11 pm, a January weekday gives you 8 hours awake at the same time, and 2 hours of those are outside a 9-to-5 for both of you (in July: 8 hours shared, 4 hours free). Here are the good ones.
Okinawa is 15 hours ahead of Chicago that week. On a weekday you are both awake for 8 hours, and 2 hours of those are outside work for both of you.
Worked out for the week of 11 January 2027 (11 Jan – 17 Jan), in Chicago time, with each zone’s own daylight-saving rules for those dates. Okinawa awake 7 am – 11 pm, working 9 am – 5 pm weekdays; Chicago awake 7 am – 11 pm, working 9 am – 5 pm weekdays.
A weekday, in Chicago timeboth awake
Chicagoawake 7 am – 11 pm
Okinawaawake 7 – 8 am and 4 pm – 7 am Chicago time
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Best on a weekday
5 – 7 pm Chicago
8 – 10 am Okinawa · Chicago early evening, Okinawa morning (their next day) · during Okinawa’s work hours
Another weekday option
9 – 11 pm Chicago
noon – 2 pm Okinawa · Chicago evening, Okinawa lunchtime (their next day) · during Okinawa’s lunch break
The long weekend call
Sat 6 – 9 pm Chicago
Sun 9 am – noon Okinawa · Chicago early evening, Okinawa morning
The week · Chicago time, 11 Jan – 17 Jan
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
2p
3p
4p
5p
6p
7p
8p
9p
10p
Mon
10p
11p
12a
1a
2a
3a
4a
5a
6a
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
Tue
10p
11p
12a
1a
2a
3a
4a
5a
6a
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
Wed
10p
11p
12a
1a
2a
3a
4a
5a
6a
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
Thu
10p
11p
12a
1a
2a
3a
4a
5a
6a
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
Fri
10p
11p
12a
1a
2a
3a
4a
5a
6a
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
Sat
10p
11p
12a
1a
2a
3a
4a
5a
6a
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
Sun
10p
11p
12a
1a
2a
3a
4a
5a
6a
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
Columns are Chicago hours; the small figure in each cell is the time in Okinawa. both freeboth awake, one at workOkinawa asleep
The Okinawa–Chicago gap through 2027
Dates
Difference
1 January – 13 March
Okinawa is 15 hours ahead of Chicago
14 March – 6 November
Okinawa is 14 hours ahead of Chicago
7 November – 31 December
Okinawa is 15 hours ahead of Chicago
The week grid and call windows were worked out for 11 Jan to 17 Jan 2027 with the IANA time-zone rules for Asia/Tokyo (Okinawa) and America/Chicago (Chicago). That week Chicago is on standard time and Okinawa keeps the same time all year. The table uses the same rules for every day of 2027. The finder above recalculates for the current week in your browser.
When it is … in Chicago
In Chicago
Okinawa, January
Okinawa, July
7 am
10 pm
9 pm
9 am
midnight (next day)
11 pm
11 am
2 am (next day)
1 am (next day)
1 pm
4 am (next day)
3 am (next day)
3 pm
6 am (next day)
5 am (next day)
5 pm
8 am (next day)
7 am (next day)
7 pm
10 am (next day)
9 am (next day)
9 pm
noon (next day)
11 am (next day)
Wednesday times. Send times as “your 8 pm” or “my 8 pm” so nobody has to guess whose clock you mean.
If one of you is deployed or stationed in Okinawa
Duty days rarely follow nine to five. Set the work hours on the Okinawa side to “No fixed work hours” and read the grid as a map of who is likely awake, not a promise of who is free. Calls may depend on access and schedules you cannot see from home, so keep the windows above as a starting point rather than a plan.
Follow your unit’s guidance on what you share about times, places and movements. The deployment countdown has a private mode that hides every date, and the deployment countdown guide covers OPSEC habits for families.
Stop doing the math every day
The Long Goodbye keeps your person’s local time and time of day on your home-screen widget and lock screen, so you can see whether it is morning coffee or midnight in Okinawa before you call. A “thinking of you” tap lights up their widget, and a countdown keeps the next visit in view.
What is the time difference between Okinawa and Chicago?
Okinawa is 14 to 15 hours ahead of Chicago, depending on the time of year. In 2027 it is 15 hours from 1 January to 13 March and from 7 November to 31 December; 14 hours from 14 March to 6 November.
What is the best time to call Okinawa from Chicago?
In January, the easiest two hours on a weekday are 5 – 7 pm Chicago, which is 8 – 10 am Okinawa: Chicago early evening, Okinawa morning, the next day there, during Okinawa’s work hours. At the weekend, Sat 6 – 9 pm Chicago (Sun 9 am – noon Okinawa) gives you a longer call. Change the awake and work hours in the finder on this page to fit your own days.
How many waking hours do Okinawa and Chicago share?
If both of you are awake from 7 am to 11 pm, you share 8 hours on a January weekday, and 2 hours of them fall outside 9-to-5 working hours in both places; in July it is 8 hours shared and 4 hours free.
Does daylight saving time change the call times?
Yes. In 2027 Chicago changes its clocks on 14 March and 7 November and Okinawa does not change its clocks, so a call you keep at the same time in Chicago moves by an hour in Okinawa on those dates. Check the table on this page and agree the new time out loud after each change.