It takes about 1 hour and 45 minutes by car from Naha Airport. It is a free facility located in Ocean Expo Park where the “Churaumi Aquarium” is located. Amazingly, you can see a group of sea turtles for free!
But why can we see them for free?
Point 1: What is Ocean Expo Park where “Ocean Expo Park Sea Turtle Pavilion” is located?
The Ocean Expo Park Sea Turtle Pavilion is located on the same site as the Churaumi Aquarium, in a national park called Ocean Expo Park.
The park is 4 km long from north to south along the coast and is dotted with six major facilities, including the Churaumi Aquarium, Sea Turtle Pavilion, Manatee Pavilion, Oki-chan Theater (dolphin show), Tropical Dream Center (tropical plants), and Okinawa House Museum (local Okinawan houses).
The park was originally opened in 1976, the year after the 1975 Okinawa Ocean Expo, using the former site of the expo.
Point 2: What can I see at the “Ocean Expo Park Sea Turtle Pavilion”?
Of the seven species of sea turtles said to exist in the world, five are kept in the Sea Turtle Pavilion at Ocean Expo Park.
The Turtle Pavilion can be viewed both outdoors and through the glass of the underground exhibition room, where you can see the turtles swimming leisurely in their tanks.
There is also an egg-laying sandpit for breeding turtles, and turtles come ashore to lay their eggs every year.
In the viewing room in the basement, panels are displayed showing the results of various studies conducted on the ecology of sea turtles.
In addition, a “sea turtle release event” is held every summer. What route do baby sea turtles travel in the ocean? To investigate this question, the Ocean Expo Park releases hatchlings that have been raised for one year after hatching from Emerald Beach with a sign.
120 pairs of winners will be able to release the hatchlings, and many entries are received each year by return postcard.
Here is a report of the implementation to the Ocean Expo Park website and Facebook, etc. will be posted.
Point 3: Why is “Ocean Expo Park Sea Turtle Pavilion” free?
Like the Ocean Expo Park Sea Turtle Pavilion, there are several free areas within the Ocean Expo Park grounds.
For example, there are many free areas such as the “Manatee Pavilion” right next to the “Sea Turtle Pavilion,” the “Oki-chan Theater” and “Dolphin Lagoon,” the “Ryukyu Dynasty Traditional Houses” and the “Tropical and Subtropical Urban Botanical Garden.
The reason why there are so many free areas is that Ocean Expo Park was originally a state-run park, so to speak, and is operated with our tax money.
If it is operated with taxpayers’ money, why not make “The Churaumi Aquarium,” “Tropical Dream Center,” and “Oceanic Culture Museum,” which also has a planetarium, free of charge? Some may ask, “Why not make the Churaumi Aquarium, the Tropical Dream Center, and the Oceanic Culture Museum, which also has a planetarium, free of charge?
I suppose it is an “adult situation,” but I would like to see more money spent on valuable academic and cultural activities.
