Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium

The Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium is the centrepiece of Ocean Expo Park, created on the site of the 1975 International Ocean Exposition on the Motobu Peninsula, on the north-west coast of Okinawa Island. Churaumi means beautiful sea in the Okinawan language. The aquarium overlooks the East China Sea and the island of Iejima.

Visitors descend through the building from the shallows to the depths. The route begins with a touch pool and a tank of living reef-building corals, grown under natural sunlight with seawater pumped directly from the sea, continues through tropical reef fish and sharks, and reaches the Kuroshio Sea, a tank of 7,500 m³ viewed through an acrylic panel 8.2 m high and 22.5 m wide. Whale sharks, the largest fish in the world, and manta rays swim here among schools of tuna and other species of the Kuroshio current. The final section presents creatures of the deep sea around Okinawa.

The aquarium has achieved long-term keeping of whale sharks and was the first to breed manta rays in captivity. It also runs research and rescue programmes for sea turtles, dugongs and dolphins.

An aquarium opened in 1979 on the former Expo site, building on facilities from the 1975 Okinawa International Ocean Exposition, held to mark the return of Okinawa to Japan in 1972. It was replaced by the present, much larger aquarium, which opened in November 2002. At the time of opening, its Kuroshio Sea tank had the largest acrylic viewing panel in the world.

The aquarium is a showcase for the marine environment of the Ryukyu Islands, whose coral reefs are among the most biodiverse in Japan. Its name, from the Okinawan word chura (beautiful), reflects the islands' identity and language.

With its research work on whale sharks, manta rays and coral cultivation, the aquarium contributes to conservation in the region. Together with the rest of Ocean Expo Park, including a beach, a botanical garden and a reconstructed traditional Okinawan village, it is one of the most visited destinations in Okinawa.