Planetarium of Ocean Expo Memorial Park is powerful! You can enjoy the story of the starry sky with a big screen above your sight
Actually, it is not well known, but the Ocean Expo Memorial Park has a Planetarium. Moreover, Only 170 yen for adults and 50 yen for children you can enjoy it by cheap fee! Although the fee of 1,000 yen or more is normal, you can enjoy planetarium with such a cheap price. Moreover, it is bigger than any cinema, you can enjoy the story of starry sky on the the powerful big screen.
You can enjoy such a planetarium in “Oceanic Culture Museum”. The building which looks on the left side entering from the central gate is the Oceanic Culture Museum.
As the name suggests, the Oceanic Culture Museum is a museum that conveys the history and culture of the south islands across the vast ocean. The ocean culture of Okinawa and the ocean culture of Pacific islands like Micronesia, Fiji and more are exhibited. There are exhibits that show the whole life of the islands of the Pacific, such as double canoes, various canoes, clothing, food, living, fishing, dancing, faith. The inside of the hall is also beautiful and you can enjoy it quite interestingly.
Well then, it is a planetarium. There are 3 to 4 screening programs of 30 minutes, which are screened every day. So you can enjoy the next program as soon as you go.
Planetarium’s screen is all over this ceiling! It is bigger than our sight. Because the program image moves with a size larger than our own field of vision, it makes you feel as if you are moving. It’s that powerful force. Also, in a quiet program, the screen moves slowly and the narrative of the starry sky progresses, so it felt good and fell asleep. Some american father other than me was asleep, so there is no mistake.
Unfortunately the planetarium of the Ocean Expo Memorial Park is not well-known and it can be called a crowd. Even an adult can only enjoy at 170 yen, you can enjoy planetarium with more power than the movie theater. Please drop in at the Oceanic Culture Museum as well. Finally, I will introduce the videos of the Oceanic Culture Museum.
You can enjoy a cute dolphin show at Okichan Theater
Near the Churaumi Aquarium there is the Okichan Theater where you can see the dolphin show for free. About 20 minutes dolphin show is held three to four times every day. Even before you watch or after seeing the Churaumi Aquarium, you can drop in and feel free to enjoy the dolphin show. With The Ie island as a background, you can enjoy the dynamic high jump of the Minami Bottlenose Dolphin, the Okigodendo Dolphin, the Dolphins, Humorous Dance and Chorus.
You should already watch a movie directly here rather than words. It’s a bit far from the dolphin pool, but I’m happy if you feel the atmosphere of Okichan theater. The dolphins are fun, dancing, and humorous dolphin shows to suit the music. Adults and children can enjoy it.
The synonym of the Okichan theater, Okichan of Minami Bottlenose dolphin has been playing at this Okichan Theater before I was born. I remembered I saw it since I was a child, but I did not think Okichan was older than me (laugh). Besides, she still continues to appear in the show with her daughter dolphin. It is a little impressed.
Since holidays are pretty crowded, I recommend that you check the time in advance. You can see pretty dolphins up close. My daughter was also very moved.
The Topical dream center where you can experience, touch, perfume tropical plants
Tropical Dream Center that you can see, perfume, touch tropical flowers and plants such as hibiscus, bougainvillea, cattleya etc, starting at more than 2,000 strains at any time. A lot of rare flowers and fruit trees in the tropics are planted. You can enjoy the tropical flowers blooming in the building created by imagining the ancient ruins in an unusual atmosphere.
There are few people in the Tropical dream center, birds’ barking and quiet classical music are flowing, it is a very quiet and calm atmosphere. It is very comfortable and you can enjoy flowers and plants in a relaxed mood.
In the corridor there are also trees of Baobab, which had been in “The Little Prince”. There are cafe with tropical juices and delicious ice cream here. You can enjoy various flowers while resting slowly.
There is a tower in a tropical dream center called distant base. From the height of 36m you can see the beautiful sea of Motobu town.
The view of the beautiful ocean in Motobu town seen from the distance deck is like this. On sunny days the sunshine is dazzling.
The admission fee for the tropical dream center is 690 yen for adults and 350 yen for children, but if you present the admission ticket of the Churaumi Aquarium, you can enter at half price. By all means, please visit the tropical dream center after the Churaumi Aquarium. You can enjoy beautiful and rare tropical flowers in a quiet non-everyday space.
About Ocean Expo Memorial Park
When you come to Okinawa sightseeing, you definitely will go to the Churaumi Aquarium. However, the Ocean Expo Memorial Park is not just the Churaumi Aquarium. As introduced on this page, it is a fun sightseeing spot that you can play all day, such as Planetarium, Okichan Theater and Tropical Dream Center. Between April and October you can swim in Emerald beach, which was also selected as “100 beautiful beaches in Japan”. The sunset is also very beautiful so you can take pictures of beautiful sights on SNS.
Near the Churaumi Aquarium, there is “Kids’ Adventure land” that children can play with plenty. I have been playing since I was a child. Children from overseas travelers are flying and jumping and playing.
It is fun to walk in the park on a sunny day. You can take a walk slowly while enjoying the pleasant wind from the sea and beautiful scenery.
When you come to Okinawa sightseeing, please stop by not only the Churaumi Aquarium, but also the recommended spots introduced on this page. Both children and adults can enjoy it from the bottom of your heart.
- Address:905-0206 424 Ishikawa, Motobu cho, Okinawa
- Car parking: wide free parking is available
- Telephone: 0980-48-3748
- Click here for the website of Ocean Expo Park
Ocean Expo Park is here ↓
If you want to know recommended sightseeings in Okinawa
Since you are coming to Okinawa traveling a lot, you want to know the shops and spots that local people only know. This book is a little different from the ordinary guidebook, and the local recommend these books. Every book has many pictures and it is easy to understand. It is recommended.
※If you click on the image you can buy it directly from Amazon Japan
