Japan Travel: Fun for all at the Ocean Expo Park, Okinawa Main Island, Okinawa15

The Ocean Expo Park, in Okinawa is fun for the whole family!! Located on the tip of the Motobu Peninsula in northern Okinawa Honto, this park was built in 1976 in commemoration of the Okinawa International Ocean Expo 1975.

The park is quite large at about three kilometers along the coast. Though there are walkways between the facilities, visitors have the option of using shuttle buses which operate between the park’s attractions. There are at least two buses per hour. The shuttle buses are not free so visitors may choose to spend 200 yen for a one-day unlimited rides pass.

The Churaumi Aquarium located in the Ocean Expo Park is said to be the best aquarium in Japan. In addition there are many fun and exciting facilities in the park! Some of the highlights include the following facilities:

**Oceanic Culture Museum is located just beside the park’s central gate. There are displays of ship replicas as well ocean-related displays from other parts of Asia and the South Pacific. Visitors can see a giant replica of a Lakatoi canoe from Papua New Guinea as well as trade ship used for travel between the Ryukyu Kingdom and other Asian countries. There is a planetarium here as well.

**Native Okinawan Village is located next to the Oceanic Culture Museum. This small open air museum displays over twenty residences and other buildings from various time periods and regions of Okinawa. There is no admission fee and visitors can freely wander between the structures.

**Tropical Dream Center is a beautiful botanical garden with an array of tropical trees and plants housed in multiple greenhouses. The center also has a Tower of Babel–a 36 meter tall observatory tower.

**Emerald Beach is an attractive sand beach on the northern part of the park. Emerald Beach is divided into three separate sections: a beach for playing and swimming, a beach for resting and a beach for viewing. Each section is carefully maintained, keeping in mind safety and comfort and most of all, the conservation of nature.

Facility Information:
Hours: Park: 8:00 to 19:30 (until 18:00 from October to February)
Individual attractions typically open half an hour later and close half an hour earlier.
Closed: First Wednesday of December and the following day.
Admission: Entry into the park is free, but some attractions require admission:
1850 yen (Churaumi Aquarium)
690 yen (Tropical Dream Center)
170 yen (Oceanic Culture Museum)
Note: There are some days where entry into some attractions is free.
(Tropical Dream Center/Oceanic Culture Museum is free for elementary school children on May 5th and for those over 65 years of age on Sept 15th. In addition there are various days throughout the year where entry into these two attractions is waived for everyone). For current information, please check the homepage of the park.

Access Information.
The Ocean Expo Park is located on the Motobu Peninsula in northern Okinawa Honto, about 90 kilometers from Naha.
**Express Bus
*By Yanbaru Express Bus:
Board from the following locations: Naha Airport, Prefectural Office, Tomari Port and Furujima Station. There are 6 round trips per day. The journey will take a little over 2 hours with a cost of 2000 yen.
**Regular buses
1. From Naha Bus Center, board highway bus number 111 to Nago Bus Terminal. The journey will take 90 minutes with a cost of 2100 yen.
From Naha Airport, board the same highway bus number 111 to Nago Bus Terminal. The journey will take 105 minutes with a cost of 2190 yen.
2. At Nago Bus Terminal, transfer to bus number 70 to Kinen Koen Mae (記念公園前) bus stop in front of the Ocean Expo Park. The buses are infrequent. The journey will take 50 minutes with a cost of 880 yen.
*Note: there are a few buses on line 65 and 66 which also can take visitors to the Ocean Expo Park. Please check the Ocean Expo Park’s homepage for more details.
**By car
From Naha, take the Okinawa Expressway to the northern end near Nago. The toll is 1020 yen. From Nago, travel along the regular roads to cross the Motobu Peninsula to Ocean Expo Park. The journey should take about two hours one way. During rush hour, expect a longer journey.

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