Ocean Expo Park offers rare peek at aquatic life

** NOTE: The captions for the photos in this article incorrectly identify the false killer whale (pseudorca crassidens) in the Okichan Theatre performance (NOT a pilot whale) & the fossil jaws of the megalodon shark (NOT of a great white).

Lance Cpl. Richard Blumenstein
okinawa marine staff

Averaging 25 feet in length, weighing up to 15 tons, with huge mouths that can open up to 4-feet wide, whale sharks are the largest fish on earth.

They are also a key attraction at Okinawa’s Ocean Expo Park, and the giant fish made a lasting impression on a group of people who visited the park during a trip to the park hosted by Marine Corps Community Services April 11.

Cpl. Matthew J. Vasquez and his wife Wilikinia both said the giant fish were the park’s most awe-inspiring attractions, and most in the group echoed their sentiment.

Ocean Expo Park, located on the western edge of Okinawa’s Motobu peninsula, is a major tourist attraction on Okinawa and is home to several subsections, including the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium.

One of the aquarium’s main displays, the Kuroshio (Black Current) Sea tank, is massive. It is 10 meters deep (about 33 feet), 35 meters wide (about 115 feet) and 27 meters long (about 89 feet). Aside from the whale sharks, the tank contains a number of aquatic animals native to the Kuroshio (the warm undersea ocean current that supports the Okinawa underwater ecosystem) depth region including manta rays, sea turtles and countless schools of tropical fish.

The tank is constructed with a transparent wall, 35 meters wide (about 115 feet) and 60 centimeters thick (about two feet), that allows visitors see an amazing view of the ocean life.

“The whale sharks made me seem like an ant,” said 12-year old Jariah Tolbert. “They were amazing.”

Ocean Expo Park was the site of the Okinawa International Ocean Exposition, a 1975 event concerning oceanographic cultures, technology, and marine life. The park features several areas of interest, each containing distinctive themes focused on aquatic life, history and nature. The vast park has many exhibits and shows that can keep patrons busy all day.

On the MCCS tour, visitors all started with a trip through the aquarium but then went their separate ways. Some continued to explore the aquarium in depth while others ventured off into other areas including the Oceanic Culture Museum, the Native Okinawan Village, Emerald Beach, the Tropical Dream Center and the Tropical & Subtropical Arboretum.

For most of the children, and a few others on the tour, the comical antics of dolphin species, such as the pilot whale, at the aquarium’s Okichan Theater proved to be another favorite.

“It was pretty cool when the dolphin actually came on stage and stuck his tongue out,” Army Capt. Jeremy B. Robert said. “I’d never seen anything like that before.”

Elsewhere in the park, close encounters with in the Shark Research Lab was the highlight for 6-year old Daniel Locke III.

The lab houses an aquatic tank full of various kinds of sharks and is full of shark skeletons, including the jaw of a great white shark.

“I’d never been that close to a shark before,” Daniel said. “It was cool.”

In the Okinawan Village, the Vasquezes got hands-on experience in mastering one of their favorite lullabies on a Sanshin, a traditional Okinawan instrument similar to a banjo.

“We spent most of our time in the Okinawan Village,” Wilikinia said. “They taught us how to play ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’.”

The village replicates Ryukyuan dwellings found on Okinawa during the 17th and 18th centuries and presents visitors with a chance to experience ancient Okinawan culture and explore the ancient homes.

There is no fee to enter Ocean Expo Park, but aquarium tickets are ¥1,800 for adults and ¥1,200 for high-school students. A few other attractions in the park also have admission
fees. A complete list of attractions, show times and admission fees are available on the park’s
Web site at http://www.kaiyouhaku.com/en/index.html.

To get to the park, take the Okinawa Expressway north to its final exit near Nago City. Exit on Highway 58 and follow the signs to the park.