We left later than the previous day: at 8:45. We traveled to the bus terminal station and luckily bought round trip highway bus tickets to the aquarium. The bus ride was about two hours one way, but unlike a plane, there's something to look outside the window. Okinawa has a lot of greenery and the Pacific Ocean (I'm assuming it's the Pacific Ocean) to look at, which made the two hour ride interesting.
My brother told me that when he last visited the aquarium, 3 hours wasn't enough to explore it fully. When we arrived, I could understand why. The aquarium was only one part of what is known as Ocean Expo Park. The park was divided into small sections. There were sections to display a traditional Okinawa village, dolphin tanks, manatee exhibits, turtle tanks, beach and a garden. Not to mention, I believe there were 3 different gift shops and a few cafeterias and restaurants. If I were to make a rough comparison of the size of the park, I would say it reminded me of Calaway park back home.
We first went to the dolphin tanks and managed to catch a snow where trainers had dolphins do some tricks. They are indeed very intelligent animals and we're able to impress me
With their tricks, like nodding hello to swimming upside down with the wave of one hand.
After the show, we headed l what I consider to be the main attraction: the aquarium. It is by far the largest aquarium in my books. We spent a good hour and a half going through the different exhibits. The main tank with the two whale sharks was the most impressive. The main viewing area must have been the size of an IMAX viewing screen, or even larger.
*Note: Not the main tank... I don't have one on my phone for some reason... I'll have to check my dslr after
After the aquarium, we headed towards the village. The houses on display had a rustic feelings to them. I had difficulties telling about some of the different houses because they appeared to be the same to me. After the village, and spending nearly 5 hours at the park, it was time to head on back to Naha.
We had a sushi dinner at a conveyor. Let restaurant. It was a delightful dinner in which I ate around 22 pieces! I had some extremely fatty toro. The salmon slices tasted extremely fresh and had a melt-in-your-mouth sensation.
Once dinner was over, we headed to the convenience store to stock up for breakfast. After dropping off our bags, we headed back outside for one last stroll through koukusai street. I was able to finally try blue seal (famous in Okinawa) salt cookie ice cream. It's wonderfully tasty and reminds me of cookies that my mom has been baking regularly that she buys from Costco.
And that essentially marks the end of our first leg in Okinawa! Onto Kyushu!
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