Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium
美ら海水族館
Usual hours and prices, checked 2026-10-04 against the sources under “What this place is”. They can change for holidays and events — confirm before you go. Official site
Our guide
Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, formerly the Okinawa Ocean Expo Aquarium, is in the Ocean Expo Park in Okinawa. Its Kuroshio Sea tank was the largest aquarium tank in the world until the Georgia Aquarium overtook it in 2005, and its exhibit “Encounter the Okinawan Sea” recreates the sea around Okinawa and most of the creatures that live in it. The name was chosen by public vote: chura means “beautiful” in the Okinawan language, and umi means “sea”.
We have not checked tickets, opening hours or a public-transport route, so use the aquarium's own site and plan the journey on the map.
Written by japan-spots.com (2026-09-22) from the sources credited on this page. Distances are straight lines between map positions.
Photos
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence — see credits
- Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium dolphin show - panoramio — lienyuan lee · CC BY 3.0 · source · resized
- 沖縄美ら海水族館＿大 — sinnosuke uchida · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source · resized
- Rhincodon typus and Manta alfredi — Pagemoral · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source · resized
- Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium Touch pool 2007-04-01 — Project Kei · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source · resized
- Okinawa Aquarium — Jordy Meow · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source · resized
- Ie Island and Okichan Theater 20090912 — Abasaa · Public domain · source · resized
- Dolphin jump at Okichan Theater 20080915 — Taisyo · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source · resized
- Churaumi-fishing Park — s2000fd · CC0 · source · resized
- 2014-11-02 Okinawa Churaumi Suizokukan — Alex Ho · CC BY 2.0 · source · resized
- 20080327OkiGondou — BehBeh · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source · resized
What this place is
The Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium (沖縄美ら海水族館, Okinawa Churaumi Suizokukan), formerly known as the Okinawa Ocean Expo Aquarium, is a public aquarium located within the Ocean Expo Park in Okinawa, Japan. The aquarium's Kuroshio sea tank was the largest aquarium tank in the world until it was surpassed by the Georgia Aquarium in 2005. The aquarium has the exhibit, "Encounter the Okinawan Sea", which reproduces the sea of Okinawa and most of the creatures that live in it. Churaumi was selected as the name of the aquarium by public vote amongst Japanese people: chura means "beautiful" or "graceful" in the Okinawan language, and umi means "ocean" in Japanese. It is a member of the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums (JAZA), the aquarium is accredited as a Registered Museum by the Museum Act from Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
Visitor information checked: 2026-10-04 · Official visiting information (1) · Official visiting information (2)
Background text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
What to expect at this type of place: Aquarium
Getting there
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