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Okinawa 🐟 Aquarium 📷 10

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium

美ら海水族館

An aquarium built around the marine life of this coastline.

See the photos How to get there Open in Maps
Best season Year-round — an excellent rainy-day option
Time needed 2–3 hours
Admission Roughly ¥1,500–2,500 (≈ $9–16)
Opening hours Typically 9:00–17:00 (later in summer)

Photos

Photos from Wikimedia Commons — click any image for the photographer and licence.

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.

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium (美ら海水族館) is one of the standout places to visit in Okinawa. Give yourself unhurried time for photos, seasonal views, and nearby food stops. IC cards such as Suica, Pasmo, or ICOCA cover most trains and city buses.

Background text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)

Why it is worth the trip

  • A main tank large enough to show schooling fish and big pelagics moving naturally.
  • Species collected from the surrounding sea, so the line-up differs from other Japanese aquariums.
  • Feeding times and training sessions where staff explain what the animals are doing and why.

What you can do here

  • Check the daily schedule on arrival and plan around feeding and show times.
  • Sit at the big tank for ten minutes — it is the one exhibit that rewards patience.
  • Visit the touch pool for starfish, urchins and rays, especially good with children.
  • Watch a dolphin or sea lion session; front rows may get wet, which is part of the fun.

Getting there by public transport

  1. Highway bus from Naha Airport/Naha to aquarium (~2.5–3 h).
  2. Nearest station/stop: Nago bus.

Route on Google Maps

Good to know before you go

  • Flash photography is banned everywhere; raise ISO instead.
  • Weekend afternoons are busiest — mornings are calm and the animals are more active.
  • Tanks are cold and dim; bring a layer even in summer.

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