Fun things to do in Okinawa

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Easy to get to and very easy entry/exit for night diving at Sunabe. You can find an array of night critters here. The only thing I would do differently is to come back in the summer time, as the water is still pretty chilly in April. (a balmy 67 F, or so says the dive computer...)

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This marine aquarium opened in 2002 is currently the second largest aquarium in the world.
You can see corals, créatures of the deep sea , rays and sharks. In the main aquarium whale sharks and manta rays move with other species.

Prices: Adults 1800yens
high school 1200 yens
elementary/ junior 600 yens
under 6 years old free

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Small park at NAGO, kids will probably have fun, adults hum......except if you are passionate about pineaple.

The store offers a great choice of products derived from pineapple.

Price : Adults 500 yens
Children 250 yens

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Seifa Utaki was registered as a part of a World Heritage site in December of 2000 specifically the Gusuku Sites and parts of the Ryukyu Kingdom. It had once been used Okinawan chieftains and as a holy site. It's a beautiful place for prayer and relaxing the mind.

200 yen admission

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Shurijo Castle was my first none Japanese castle to see in Japan. Built sometime in the 13th to 14th century, it's marvelous in how it differs from all the other Japanese castles I've seen.

Being that I'm into castles and history, it was worth seeing it.

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I got up early so I could see the Sunrise a few times. In Japan, when I ask kids to draw a picture of the sun, the funny thing is that they color it red. The sun is RED? I think Japanese kids are taught that the sun is red much as they are taught a green traffic light is blue and tigers are yellow. Well, if they're basing it on sunrise (or sunset) then I can see why they might think of it as being red. The flag of Japan is all connected with this idea. That's right that big red dot on the white flag is the SUN.

The Tale of How Green Lights Became Blue

The traffic light problem started a long time ago when some samurai were marching along aside their shogun (who was on a horse) and one samurai said, "Hey, look at that green star up there." "Where?" said the shogun who could only see one star between the cloud cover.
"There!" pointed the samurai. "Where?!" said the shogun. "Ther..." But, before he could finish the shogun chopped off his head with his katana. "You lie...", said the shogun,"it's blue!!!"
There after, all the rest of the samurai agreed with the shogun despite what there eyes were really telling them. Later it was found the shogun was suffering from color blindness. But, the damage and the overall impact on Japanese history had already taken it's toll. It was too late to change. And back then, in Japan change was slow and never easy. So, green lights are blue even to this day in Japan.

Don't get me started on yellow tigers.

If you are like me and too chicken to go snorkeling this place is really great to see the ocean life. Also for the kids there is a great dolphin show! You also get to see other marine life such as turtles, manatees, and more. My daughter didn't stop talking about it for 3 months and we plan to go back again soon. It's also attached to the Ocean Expo Park which I hope to take better advantage of next we go since we arrived late. So get there early and don't miss out on anything!

One of the best in the world, this is THE number one tourist destination in Okinawa. Here you can observe whale sharks, manta rays, turtles, and a see a dolphin show that rivals Sea World presentations.

Admission is 1800 yen (currently about $18 USD) for an entire day of family fun.

For fun, look for the sign at the refreshment cafe that advertises "coke froats".