One of the largest aquariums in Asia is the Okinawa Churami Aquarium; it is a must-go location when you plan to visit the island.
The catch is the aquarium is very far from Naha, around 2-3 hours away. You have only three choices:
- Rent a car and drive.
- Hop onto a bus just for the aquarium.
- Grab a taxi (the most expensive option).
I took the taxi option because my primary purpose in Okinawa was to go scuba diving, and I did not plan to go anywhere. Furthermore, scuba diving can be pretty tiresome, and I want to avoid dozing off while driving.
When I arrived, I only realised that the aquarium is part of a theme/natural park. The aquarium is linked to other areas, such as the beach, an entertainment zone, additional enclosures, etc. But of course, the main attraction is the aquarium itself.
After you purchase your ticket, a large exhibit that contains a Humphead wrasse and vast varieties of coral reefs will welcome you. After this exhibit, there will be multiple small tanks that host all the toxic/poisonous animals, such as rockfish and box jellyfish (ugh… I got stung by one, will talk about it in my future blog), and other smaller creatures such as garden eels.
After walking through the smaller exhibits, you will arrive at the aquarium’s main attraction. There is a whale shark, with other large marine creatures such as manta rays, guitar sharks, sawfish, etc. The whale shark in this aquarium is WAY HEALTHIER than the one in Osaka. Beside this massive tank, there is an area just for sharks. Unsurprising to anyone, these two are my favourite areas. Oh, lucky me, I saw a proposal happening right before me while I was having lunch at the cafe. Good luck to that new couple!
At the end of the tour, you can see exotic animal samples such as colossal squid and basking sharks. There was a free photograph session, and some staff dragged me into it because they noted that I was the only single person so far. I was caught off guard, but in the end, I agreed to take some photos since they were so lovely.
I highly recommend everyone check out that place. The only downside is the transportation, but if you can rent a car, then you can take your time exploring that area.
