When I think of Okinawa, blue skies and beautiful beaches will come into mind.
While planning this trip, I found that Okinawa has more to offer than water
sports. Okinawa has many kids friendly attractions and interesting cafes for
the family to explore and enjoy "Hawaii of Japan".
Transportation
Naha International Airport is located within Naha City. Within Naha City, it
is convenient to travel via Yui Rail monorail. However, as many tourist attractions are located outside of Naha City, it
is recommended to rent a car to tour outside of Naha City. Same as Singapore,
Okinawa is a right hand driving.
Before the trip, we rented a car from OTS Rent-A-Car. We collected the car upon reaching Okinawa and returned the car on the
second last day. Free shuttle bus is available from Naha International Airport
to OTS office to collect the car. For the last day within Naha City,
transportation will be via monorail.
For those who preferred not to drive, you can opt to take a bus tour from Naha
City. However, that will mean the sequence of the places to visit will differ
from this itinerary.
Itinerary
Day 1
- Flight to Okinawa
- Collection of rental car
- Blue Seal Ice Park
- Beachside Pizza Bar BEAPA
Day 2
- Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium
- Dolphin Feeding and Dolphin Theatre
- Tropical Dream Centre
- Okinawasun
Day 3
- Nago Pineapple Park
- Neo Park
- Kouri Ocean Tower
Day 4
- Busena Marine Park
- Cape Manzamo
- Southeast Botanical Gardens (Christmas Lights)
Day 5
- Ryukyu Mura
- Mihama American Village
- Junglila Cafe and Restaurant
Day 6
- Okinawa World
- Umikaji Terrace Senagajima
- Okinawa Outlet Mall Ashibinaa
Day 7
- Return of rental car
- Naha Kokusai Dori Shopping Street
Day 8
- Flight back home
Day 1
Collection of Mini Churaumi Enjoy Pass
After landing, we collected the Mini Churaumi Enjoy Pass which allows
admission to Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium + 4 Attractions from JTB Okinawa Naha Airport Branch. I have purchased the Mini Churaumi Enjoy Pass from KLook before the trip.
We purchased this pass as it is cheaper than purchasing individual tickets. It
also allows us to save time at each attraction as we simply exchange these
pass with the actual tickets. More time saved means more time to explore.
JTB Okinawa Naha Airport Branch is located at Naha Airport Domestic Terminal
which is about 10 minutes' walk from Naha Airport International.
Collection of Rental Car
Blue Seal Ice Park
Blue Seal Ice Park is a place where children and adults alike can experience making your own
ice cream. Blue Seal is a specialty ice cream brand with a slogan "Born in
America, Raised in Okinawa." To avoid disappointment, do make reservations
before going.
Besides having pictorial instructions to guide the ice cream making process,
the friendly staff will also go around to help out.
Let the fun begins! First, we choose the toppings for the ice cream.
Next, we dip the ice cream into chocolate. We can't help but say "Wow" when
the chocolate sauce forms a shell around the ice cream almost immediately.
Lastly, we sprinkle the toppings onto the ice cream.
All done!
After all the hard work, we were treated to more ice cream! Cheers!
Cooler bags were given to store the self-made ice cream.
Mission Accomplished!
Beachside Pizza Bar BEAPA
Beachside Pizza Bar BEAPA is a quiet and relaxing place to feel the sea breeze, completed with pizza,
drinks and swings. For more pictures, go to Beachside Pizza Bar BEAPA Official Instagram.
Day 2
Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium
Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium showcases the magnificent world of mystic creatures of Okinawa, including
the famous whale sharks in the Kuroshio Sea tank. For more pictures, go to Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium Official Instagram.
Kids can see, touch and learn about different animals living in the coral reef
lagoon.
Dolphin Feeding and Dolphin Theatre
We purchased a bucket of food nearby to feed the dolphin.
Dolphin Theatre is a show featuring bottlenose dolphins and false killer
whales with amazing acrobatics. As we went during Christmas season, even Santa
Claus appear to play in the show.
Tropical Dream Centre
Tropical Dream Centre exhibits over 2,000 orchids, tropical and subtropical flowers. It is a lot less crowded as compared to Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. We took a relaxing stroll here and there are a lot of photo spots.
Tip: Show your Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium ticket to get Tropical Dream Centre ticket at half price.
Take a picture with the tower of Tropical Dream Centre.
Okinawasun
Okinawasun sells smoothies, sodas and Okinawa theme accessories. For more pictures, go to Okinawasun Official Instagram.
Day 3
Nago Pineapple Park
Nago Pineapple Park is a park to enjoy, learn and savour the pineapples. For more pictures, go to Nago Pineapple Park Official Instagram.
Self-driving
pineapple cart!
Take a picture with the biggest pineapple in this park.
Neo Park
Neo Park is a park where children have fun feeding birds, bringing dogs for a walk
and learning about animals such as flamingos, Ostriches, llamas and more. For more pictures, refer to Neo Park Official Instagram.
Feeding South African Crowned Crane (The 2 colourful birds) and Sacred Ibis. South African Crowned Crane are more daring and will come very near to the food.
Feeding capybaras
Petting guinea pigs
Petting dogs
Running with dogs
Kouri Ocean Tower
Kouri Ocean Tower is a
viewing tower where you can view the beautiful panoramic landscape of Okinawa. For more pictures, go to Kouri Ocean Tower Official Instagram.
Ring the bell at the top of the tower.
Day 4
Busena Marine Park
In Busena Marine Park, you can sail to the coral reef with glass bottom boat to see the fishes.
Afterwhich, go to the underwater observatory tower to see the fishes. Do check
the website before going as the boat rides may stop due to bad weathers.
View the fishes from the glass bottom boat.
A good way to get the attention of the fishes is to purchase the fish feed
before boarding the boat and throwing the feed into the water once the boat
stops in the middle of the water.
The way to underwater observatory tower. Blue skies, blue sea, ready your
camera.
Watching the fishes from the underwater observatory tower. I can't shake off
the feeling that they watching us.
Cape Manzamo
Cape Manzamo is a scenic rock formation that looks like an elephant's trunk.
Southeast Botanical Gardens Christmas Lights
Exploring plants, workshops and animal encounters in Southeast Botanical Gardens. During December period, Southeast Botanical Gardens will be transformed
into a Christmas paradise and this is what we came for!
Feeding ducks!
Day 5
Ryukyu Mura
Ryukyu Mura is a theme park about Okinawa culture. You can visit different types of
traditional residence houses and participate in various workshops to know more
about Okinawa culture.
Learning how to weave textile.
Visiting traditional residence house.
Traditional dance.
Activity to keep the children occupied. Bring back a self-made souvenir from
Okinawa.
Mihama American Village
Mihama American Village is a large outdoor shopping mall with wide variety of shops and
restaurants. The Ferris wheel is the most obvious landmark to tell that you
are at the right place.
Arcade centre to keep the children occupied while the adults are shopping.
Shopping at American Depot
Junglila Cafe and Restaurant
Junglila Cafe and Restaurant is a nice place to rest your legs and have some drinks. It is within
walking distance from the American Village. For more pictures, go to Junglila Cafe and Restaurant Official Instagram.
Day 6
Okinawa World
Similar to Ryukyu Mura, Okinawa World is theme park about Okinawan culture. The main attractions are Gyokusendo
Cave (Limestone cave), Kingdom Village (Workshop on traditional Okinawa
crafts) and Habu Park (snake museum).
Gyokusendo Cave
Do note that as the floor is damp, it is kind of slippery.
Umikaji Terrace Senagajima
Umikaji Terrace Senagajima is a cool Santorini architecture style complex with interesting restaurants
and cafes. For more pictures, go to Umikaji Terrace Senagajima Official Instagram.
Hammock cafe La Isla
Imaging cocktail in your hand, lazing in a hammock and looking at the sea.
That is Hammock cafe La Isla within Umikaji Terrace Senagajima.
Okinawa Outlet Mall Ashibinaa
Okinawa Outlet Mall Ashibinaa is a shopping outlet mall. For more pictures, go to Umikaji Terrace Senagajima Official Instagram.
As Okinawa seldom snows, the made-believe snow had the kids go crazy.
Day 7
Return of Rental Car
We have decided to return the rental car at OTS Rental DFS Branch which is
within DFS T-Galleria shopping mall as it is near to a monorail station which
we can take to our next destination.
Before we can return the rental car, we needed to fill up the car with petrol.
We went to ENEOS Petrol Station (Google Map) as it is quite near to DFS T-Galleria shopping mall.
Next, we drove to DFS T-Galleria shopping mall. I have placed the exact location to drive into DFS T-Galleria shopping mall to return the car in the Google Map. Do take a look at the street view so
that you do not go round and round finding the entrance.
We then walked to the Omoromachi Station (Open in Google Map) to take the monorail.
Naha Kokusai Dori Shopping Street
We took the monorail to Prefectural Office Station (Open in Google Map).
Naha Kokusai Dori Shopping Street is lined by restaurants, cafes, souvenir shops and department stores.
Don Quijote (Better known as Don Don Donki in Singapore)
Day 8
Flight back to Home
We took the monorail to Naha Airport International and took an early flight
back to Singapore.
Our family really enjoyed the trip. The weather is cooling, but not to the
point of freezing. As compared to summer which is the peak travel season,
tourist attractions during winter is relatively less crowded. Most of the
travelling was via car. This allows us to enjoy the Okinawa better.
