Date I went: 03/30/2020
Youtube video:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oritabi808/
The most fun part about Okinawa is definitely taking bridges to the small islands located just off the coast! One of those island bridges I checked out was Sesoko Bridge.
I kept going up the coast north from Cape Zanpa to Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, about an hour and 20 minute drive. The whole drive can be made on the western coastline of Okinawa.
Ryukyu Mura (琉球村)
I just wanted to highlight this little theme park called Ryukyu Mura you can stop by around the Cape Zanpa area. It's got some authentic Okinawan activities and performances apparently! Although the recent google reviews don't hype it up too much... I arrived too early so I didn't go in, but the outside looked pretty cool I thought.
Ryukyu Mura Website: https://www.ryukyumura.co.jp/
There are some really nice beach front views you can take in along the Western Okinawan coastline. You could easily pull over on the road and walk around the beach or even take a swim at a lot of the beaches.
Sesoko Island (瀬底島)
Sesoko Bridge (瀬底大橋)
I really stumbled onto finding the Sesoko bridge by accident, but I'm really fascinated with all the bridges you can cross to go to various small islands around the Okinawan mainland. This one is 762 meters long and boats often pass under it as well. There's really clear blue waters that swirl underneath it.
On Sesoko island I didn't find much that interested. There's a few cafes/restaurants and a Hilton hotel. Sesoko beach at the end of the island road is a popular spot to check out though. There's actually a university on the island as well studying the biosphere; a good amount of stuff was happening even on this small island!
Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium (沖縄美ら海水族館)
The Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium is probably one of the top three places on Okinawa mainland people want to check out. But for a vegan guy like me it was a bit conflicting to go in, although they do have ocean conservation efforts. It has a wopping 45,503 reviews at the time of me taking this screen shot, and a couple weeks later it added 150 more reviews. Got to be something worth seeing inside right?
I didn't want to pay the money or time to go in the aquarium so instead I took full advantage of the free sightseeing on the aquarium grounds.
Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium: https://churaumi.okinawa/
Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium Deluxe Flower Sculpture Garden (surprisingly there's no info about these cool garden sculptures on the website. Also I made up the name for it I guess sine it didn't have a name)
I can honestly say I had a blast just enjoying these garden sea life sculptures on the aquarium grounds. Just wish I had a selfie stick to get a pic with my favorite garden sea critters.
Kokuei Okinawakinenkoen Emerald Beach (国営沖縄記念公園エメラルドビーチ)
If you go behind the aquarium and a bit to the right of it you can find this beach called Kokuei Okinawakinenkoen Emerald Beach. Seemed like more of a ocean fun activities kind of beach, not the nice relaxing lay your towel out, get a good tan, and enjoy your mango daquiri kind of beach.
Meugan (ミーウガン)
The last stop I made around the area was to Meugan! It's a pretty strange name I know, but felt like a real hidden gem around the area. You take this off the road type of road up a bit north from the aquarium and boom it's right there. It's a small deserted island at the end of the peninsula here. You can easily walk to it during low tide (it's not more than 50 meters from where I stood), but there is a lot of coral in between you would need to navigate.
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