Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium

I know, it's too soon to me to post again and I'm probably getting annoying, but I had to brag tell you about our first real Okinawa touristy sight-seeing experience.  If you look through any Okinawa travel guide, you'll find that the first "thing to do" will be to visit the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium.  (All right, I'm making that up. . . I don't know if it's the FIRST thing to do. . . but it should be!)  We've always had a thing for aquariums. . . we've had one close to almost every duty station and, no matter their ages, the kids (usually) like going for a visit.  I think it's something about the fish and huge tanks of water that they find mesmerizing.  So, after Mass this morning we loaded the children, lunches, and movies into the car started on our road trip.  The aquarium is actually quite far for Okinawa standards.  It's about 70km (or about 43 miles) from our house.  And, remember, you can't go faster than 50mph on the "expressway" so a trip that might take 45 minutes in the U.S. took an hour and a half over here. 

The road trip itself would have been enough for me.  Here's a picture I got while we were flying down the highway---

We also saw this slightly disturbing sign...



Do you really need the "caution" part if
 there's a wild boar chasing you?





After avoiding the wild boars we finally arrived at the aquarium and made a beeline for the Kuroshio Sea tank. The aquarium's greatest attraction is its large central tank which holds three whale sharks, several other run-of-the-mill sharks, and lots of giant stingrays and manta rays.   It's actually the 2nd largest tank of it's kind in the world (and I'm not making that up this time.)  Once we got there we were not disappointed.  I took a short video of it, complete with the Japanese narrator, so you would feel like you were there.  We had no idea what she was saying, but it didn't matter because the view was so breathtaking: 

(If the video starts & stops, click on the "pause" button and wait until the faint red line goes all the way across.  Then click "play" and it should run more smoothly.) 

Just to give you a better idea of how huge these fish really are, here is a picture of the kids in front of the tank.  

Here's one of Bill and me  (and Mary, who popped in at the last minute!)

There were other creatures there, of course.  Here are a couple of pictures of some other cool sea animals we saw:

This next picture has nothing to do with fish, but I know some of my germ-conscious female friends and family members will appreciate it.  I apologize to my more-sensitive readers if this is too much information.  This machine was in the bathroom stall at the aquarium.  It helps sanitize the toilet between users.  These Japanese think of everything! 

After seeing the whale sharks and other fish (and the bathrooms) we wandered outside to the "Dolphin Lagoon."  Yes, you heard right. . . this aquarium also had quite an impressive dolphin show.   I accidentally had my camera set to "video" when I tried to take this shot, so you, too, get a quick (and I mean quick) glance at the show:

Again, we had the Japanese narrator and we didn't understand a word she said.  When we saw all the little Japanese kids running down to get closer to the dolphin tank, we figured it involved something special and we encouraged our own kids to go down there too.  Little did we know we were sending our unsuspecting children down to this. . . .

Here's the aftermath:

Our last stop on our aquarium visit was playtime on a huge, net-structure called Kids' Adventure Land.  I think you'll understand why this is not an OSHA-approved  recreational apparatus.  A warning to all mothers out there (especially you first-timers) -- this isn't for the faint of heart. 

Can you believe these Japanese?  You mean to tell me that they expect the kids to go out and have fun when they play?  And actually exercise and exert some energy?  Without any protective gear or anything?  What could they be thinking!  There's even the possibility that the kids might . . . dare I say it . . . Get Hurt.  (gasp!)  What is this world coming to?  You would have thought that this sort of thing was right up Mary's alley.  It was her mother's greatest fears all wrapped up in one. . .fear of heights, fear of falling, fear of dangling children. . . . But, of course, this kid is full of surprises.  She thought the water fountain and faucet were way more interesting.

After an exciting afternoon, we finally headed back home.  This last picture describes how we all felt. 

Wish you were here...we miss you all!