aquarium1, originally uploaded by okinawa hai.
CONTRIBUTED BY KAHO
If you’re after peace of mind, this is the place to go. I never knew how peaceful the underwater world was until I went to this aquarium. As I am scared to scuba dive, I enjoy experiencing what I imagine to be under water by walking through this aquarium. The aquarium is inside the Ocean Expo Park located in Motobu, the city in the north of Okinawa. The aquarium has the world's largest acrylic glass panel which is 8.2 meters high, 22.2 meters wide and 60 cm thick. In this tank you can see three whale sharks (7 meters long) and many manta rays swimming with other fish. It’ll be fun for kids to see the “Okichan Theater” which is a fun dolphin show. Of course, there are many more attractions that the aquarium offers other than the main tank and the dolphin show. For more information, please check the links listed below.
The admission for an adult costs 1,800 yen, but if you stop by at the Family Mart which you’ll pass on the way to the aquarium in the corner of Route 449 and 114, you’ll be able to purchase discount tickets. If you reside in Okinawa, it’s worth purchasing a year pass to the aquarium as it only costs 3,600 yen. It’s the price of two admissions and if you go to the aquarium more than twice a year, you’ll get your money’s worth.
There is an Okinawan food restaurant in a beautiful setting not so far from the aquarium called “Ufuya (Big House)”. It is a great restaurant to go either on the way to or the way back from the aquarium. For more information, please check the article on “Ufuya” on our blog. There are also two places to eat in the aquarium. One is “Inoh”, a nice restaurant with an amazing view of the East China Sea. This restaurant is located on the top floor of the aquarium where you first arrive from the parking lot. The entrance to the restaurant is on the left side of the escalator. They have a lunch buffet with the cost of 1,260 yen (about US$11) per adult. The other is “Café Ocean Blue” which is located right next to the main tank. It is a nice place to eat and relax, but you’ll be paying for the place rather than the food.
Getting there:
Take the Expressway north all the way to “Kyoda I.C.” After you pay the toll, you’ll continue on the expressway and it eventually merges with the Highway 58. Keep driving north on Highway 58. Take the Route 449 north. You should see the sign for the Ocean Expo Park along with the Route 449. You’ll drive on the Route 449 for a long time. You’ll come to a junction with the Route 114 and a Family Mart convenience store on the left hand corner. Turn left onto the Route 114 to the Ocean Expo Park. It takes about 1.5 hours from Okinawa Minami Expressway (Exit #4) near Kadena Air Base.
Below are awesome guides for the aquarium.
Churaumi Aquarium Official Site
But if you loved them and have never...
I never thought how this place would be a good substitute for those of us scared of scuba diving. Good angle. I need to get back up there. The grounds there are pretty extensive, aren’t they? I’ve only been when it was raining so I didn’t get to explore too much.
Just a note on the “Big House” restaurant, if you don’t eat pork it is not a good place to go because the only thing to order that’s not mostly pork is some tofu which has a few sides (one of them is also pork) but everything is really small and you will still be hungry when you’re done, even if you don’t normally eat a lot.
My family & I spent the better part of our day at the Aquarium today and had an AWESOME time! They had to drag me away from the sea turtle tanks. Then I had to drag all 3 of my boys (husband included) away from the climbing nets at the park. I have about 50 pictures of just that alone. Great post. Thanks!
I am surprised this doesn’t have more replies. My family wants to go even though I have mixed feelings about sea life in captivity. Do people just go up for the day? Has anyone ever combined this with an overnight stay in the area?
We LOVE the aquarium, and we’re pretty sensitive about captivity. Honestly, we don’t visit the manatees or the sea turtles.
We saw the dolphin show recently and it was really fun. We got annual membership cards and have gone four times so far (in 10 months), but my daughter would like to go daily (she’s a senior in high school). The annual membership provides a 5% discount at the gift shops and restaurants the first year and the discount increases when you renew (to 10%).
We take day trips – it’s under an hour to get there from where we are (near Courtney), even if there’s traffic or we can’t take the Expressway for some reason.
Thanks for the information. After Obon, we’ll probably do a day trip. I watched The Cove last year and it stuck with me. Reading on here about the zoo and reflecting on The Cove, I am left feeling conflicted about supporting these places with my admission fee.
This was fun, but I was not aware at all the walking outside we had to do. Good thing I was prepared and brought sunscreen for our daughter.
Does anyone know if the dolphin show runs year round? And if not what months does it run?
They do not run year round. Went there three weeks ago and I think they end it in October and resume again in May. They still had the dolphins in their tanks, though.
The dolphin shows are ON!! We just went their this weekend and saw the dolphin show, which was awesome!!!Loved it! I could spend the entire day.