JPN: Ocean Expo Park
424 Ishikawa, Motobu, Okinawa, Japan
As mentioned in the previous post, Japan's best aquarium is the centrepiece of Ocean Expo Park that's located on the tip of Motobu Peninsula in northern Okinawa, which is about 90 km away from Naha. Of course, there are many other attractions that one can look forward at the large park that stretches about 3 km along the coast.
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JPN: Ocean Expo Park <YOU ARE HERE!>
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I took this particular photo of a shuttle bus that plies across Ocean Expo Park. Based on what I can see, a one-day pass used to cost ¥200 (~S$2.50) per adult, and half of that per child. I'm not sure about the prices now though.
There's a pool featuring West Indian manatees. You don't need to pay a single yen to have a look at them. I recall touching one at Guyana Botanical Gardens in South America.
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| Most of the manatees at the park were gifted by the Mexican government. |
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| Are you aware of the differences between a manatee and a dugong? |
I have a short video clip of them swimming adorably.
In addition, there's a sea turtle pool.
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| The pool is home to a number of sea turtles from among the eight extant species. |
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| "Would you like to swim with me, hooman?" BTW, did you know that Hooman is a Persian male name that means 'benevolent'? |
Okichan Theatre offers free-of-charge shows featuring dynamic athletic performances by false killer whales and bottlenose dolphins. My BFFs and I didn't manage to catch one though as we weren't there at the right time.
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| A few seconds after the photo was taken, we were splashed by them. Naughty! |
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| Do dolphins really love us as much as we think? |
Below is a short video clip that I took there.
Plant lovers may want to drop by at Tropical Dream Centre, a well-maintained botanical garden with an array of tropical trees and plants in multiple greenhouses. At the point of writing, the entrance fee is ¥760 (~S$9.35) per adult. Middle school students and below need not pay at all. We didn't go there though.
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| There's are small steps for you to go to the top of that creature. What's that anyway? |
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| Time to test your knowledge! Is that a manatee or a dugong? |
We took a quick look at Oceanic Culture Museum and Planetarium. It costs ¥190 (~S$2.35) per adult to enter the paid area at the point of writing. Similarly, middle school students and below can enter the museum for free.
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| The museum displays about 750 valuable items from Okinawa and Oceania. |
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| I wonder if we can embark on leisure travel by Christmas 2021? |
Somehow I don't have many photos of the museum. Here's a photo of ny ticket, which shows the planetarium that presents a beautiful starry sky featuring a maximum of 140 million stars.
Native Okinawan Village stands next to the Oceanic Culture Museum and Planetarium.
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| It's an open-air museum with no admission fee. |
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| Say hello to one of my BFFs! |
There are over twenty residences and other buildings of different time periods.
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| What's cooking? |
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| Welcome to our humble abode! |
Take note of some of the rules when entering the traditional houses.
Ryukyuan people are the indigenous dwellers of Okinawa and the rest of the Ryukyu Islands, a chain of islands belonging to Japan that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan. They have a distinct culture from Japanese mainlanders with some matriarchal elements and unique cuisine that had a fairly late introduction of rice in the 12th century.
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| The name Ryukyu is derived from the Chinese name for the islands: Liuqiu. |
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| The Okinawan diet has only 30% of the sugar and 15% of the grains of the average Japanese dietary intake. |
It was such a lovely day for a walk at the park.
Emerald Beach lies at the northern end of Ocean Expo Park.
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| We went to the section for viewing. There's another section for swimming. |
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| Look at the crystal clear water! |
It's said that the park is closed on the first Wednesday and Thursday of December.
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