Sightseeing 

Comprising the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, the Oceanic Culture Museum, an arboretum, a traditional Okinawan village and more, this educational park brims with fun explorations for the entire family.
At the Tropical Dream Center, more than 2,000 orchids are displayed year-round. The aquarium is renowned for its schools of whale sharks and manta rays.

One of the world’s largest and most advanced aquariums is also one of the most visited attractions in Okinawa. In a seminal first, the facility has successfully bred whale sharks and manta rays.
Other must-sees are the brilliant displays of some 80 different kinds of reef-building coral, and the deep-sea tank, where 130 species of marine life normally found at depths of 200 meters or more can be observed.

Filled with plants and orchids endemic to Okinawa, this botanical park invites people of all ages with walking paths, an educational lake cruise, water-buffalo cart rides, a play area for small children, and a giant wooden jungle gym.
Old-fashioned fun like stilts and hula hoops bring out the kid in everyone, and both kayaks and SUPs can be rented for exploring the lake on one’s own.

Tropical environments from the jungles of Amazon to the African savanna and Oceania are showcased at this sprawling 25-hectare park, where visitors can see rare and endangered birds and other animals up-close, including the only African billed stork in Japan, flamingos, peacocks, capybaras, and ring-tailed lemurs.

Traditional dwellings and other structures relocated from across the prefecture, among them nine nationally registered cultural properties, offer a glimpse of island life as it was before modernization.
Look for the guardian shiisā lions on the red-tiled rooftops and at the gates. Craft opportunities and a daily schedule of song and dance performances round out the fun at this outdoor architectural park.

One of a group of castle ruins in Okinawa collectively named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000, Nakijin Gusuku is said to date back to at least the early 14th century.
A number of shrines and the remains of stone structures skillfully built on the undulating terrain can be seen, while permanent exhibits at the Nakijin Village History & Culture Center offer insight to the Ryukyuan lifestyle.