Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium
Last updated: August 25, 2026
Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium centres on the immense Kuroshio Sea tank, where whale sharks — the largest fish in the world — glide past alongside manta rays, including the first ever bred in captivity. The aquarium unfolds the marine life of Okinawa's own waters, from seahorses to reef sharks, in some of the most advanced aquarium facilities in Japan. It anchors Ocean Expo Park on the Motobu Peninsula, making it the centrepiece of a day out in northern Okinawa.
Itinerary
- Stop at: Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium
Frequently Asked Questions
The aquarium sits in Ocean Expo Park on the Motobu Peninsula in northern Okinawa, roughly a two-hour drive from Naha, and highway buses run there direct. It pairs naturally with the beaches and viewpoints of the surrounding coast for a full day in the north.
The Kuroshio Sea tank — one of the largest aquarium tanks in the world — holds whale sharks and manta rays together behind a single vast viewing window, and the aquarium was the first anywhere to breed a manta ray in captivity. The exhibits focus on Okinawa's own waters, so what you see is the sea around the island itself.
Very — the whale sharks are a guaranteed jaw-drop, the touch-friendly and shallow-water exhibits are built with children in mind, and the surrounding Ocean Expo Park gives them room to run between beaches, gardens and playgrounds.