Chatan / Motobu Peninsula

Day Three

Woke up early in the morning and checked out our hotel at about 4.50 am. As it was too early, there was no hotel shuttle bus available to transfer us to the airport. Nevertheless, we took a cab to the airport which cost TWD 120. Even more disappointed was the packed hotel breakfast that was rather not appetizing.

EVA Airways

After gotten our flight tickets and checked in our luggage, we then explored Taoyuan Airport before boarded flight BR 112 to Okinawa (left photo below). Flight departed on time at 0645 hours. Despite only 1 hour and 25-mins flight, light breakfast was still served (right photo below).
We arrived in Naha International Airport at 0915 hours as per schedule. Subsequently deposited our big luggage in one of the lockers at the International Terminal at JPY 500 and then began to explore the International and Domestic Terminals.

Okinawa Outlet Mall Ashibinaa

Outlet Mall Ashibinaa is a large outlet mall located near the Naha Airport in Tomigusuku City. It is open from 1000 hours to 2000 hours daily.

Transport

Boarded Bus Number 95 from Domestic Terminal Platform 4 at JPY 250 per trip per passenger (left photo below). After about 15-mins ride, we got off at the stop 'Outlet Mall Ashibinaa' (right photo below).

Architecture

The building's appearance, which matches the emerald green sea, is a modern reinterpretation of ancient Greek architecture infused with Okinawan elements, making it a striking exterior (photos below).

Retail Shops

The mall features a rich selection of fashion, including luxury brands and casual wear, some making their debut in Japan (photos below). It also includes sports, outdoor, and accessory brands, totaling about 100 popular names. Shoppers will be able to find stock items and discontinued products at significantly reduced prices.

Lunch

Saw this fast-food restaurant which had ceased its operation in Singapore since 2003, thus we decided to have lunch there (left photo below). Its seats and furnishing remained familiar (right photo below).
There was even a small counter that displayed related merchandize products for sales (left photo below). Ordered a beef burger with onion rings that cost JPY 850 (right photo below).

Shopped at this mall for about 4-hours and only managed to get a pair of running shoes for myself. Left this mall and boarded the same bus no. 95 back to airport at about 3.30 pm.

Light Snack

Probably still hungry due to the cold weather, I then bought a 'seaweed hand-rolled with barbeque beef' at JPY 168 from a convenient store inside the terminal (photos below). Portion was just enough to satisfy my craving.


Grand Mer Resort Shuttle Buses

Although the frequency of the shuttle buses provided by Grand Mer Resort was rather low, we still managed to make full use of it.

• Took the complimentary shuttle bus at 1630 hours from the airport (Bus Stop 1 in front of the arrival lobby of the Domestic Terminal) to the hotel and the ride was about 40-mins. The shuttle is wine red in color with their hotel logo on its front and sides (left photo below).


• After checked in to the hotel, we then took the last timing of free shuttle at 1745 hours from the hotel to Chatan. The journey was about 15-mins. The shuttle bus is differentiated by orange band at its base with their hotel logo on its front and sides (right photo below).
  

Besides the two rides above, we also took their shuttle bus to day tour pickup point on 'Day Four' and to airport on 'Day Five'.

Dinner in Chatan

The shuttle bus reached Chatan at about 6 pm. As it was during winter period, the sky already turned dark which expediated us to go hungry early. Went to this 'Michi Cafe Vicolo' restaurant (left photo below) that had a homely dining area (right photo below).
Ordered a 'Homemade Bacon Carbonara' set which came with a creamy soup (left photo below) and the main dish carbonara (right photo below). Next a cup of hot tea was served (bottom left photo), and followed by a small dessert cheese cake (bottom right photo).

Carbonara taste was leaned towards Japanese style of being creamy but overall was appetizing. Cost for this set meal was JPY 1650.

Mihama American Village

Mihama American Village is a large American-themed outdoor complex featuring shops, restaurants, a cinema and a Ferris wheel in Chatan. Chatan (北谷町) is a town located in Nakagami District consists of 13.62 square kilometers where 53.6% of its land is covered by the US military bases.

Deport Island

The Deport Island is a multi-level shopping centre housing more than 100 stores of several stores and eateries (photos below).

American Deport

This is another centre for American fashion directly imported from the U.S. with American lifestyle (left photo below). The Ferris wheel is just located opposite this American Deport (right photo below).

Ferris Wheel

Located in the Carnival Park, this Ferris wheel was brightly lit at night with changing colors and patterns (photos below).

There were many taxis available beside the Ferris wheel. As there was no hotel shuttle bus service available, we then took taxi back to Grand Mer Resort which cost JPY 1640. Reached hotel at about 8.30 pm and had a good rest thereafter.


Day Four

After a satisfying breakfast, we went straight to the hotel concierge to check if there was any tour package available at about 8 am.

Day Tour to Churaumi Aquarium

Confirmed a day tour '水族馆 1 日游' at JPY 4,800 per person, which included trips to Butterfly Park, Churaumi Aquarium, Pineapple Farm and Glass-making factory. It was great that lunch was included in this tour. All the attractions are located in the Motobu Peninsula of Okinawa Island.

It was really last minute that by the time we paid our tour it was already close to 8.25 am. Luckily, we made it to take the shuttle bus departing from hotel to Chatan at 0830 hours sharp. Our meeting point for the tour was at Beach Tower hotel at Chatan. At 0910 hours, we boarded our tour bus which was comfortable and cozy (photos below).
Okinawa Sun Marina Resort hotel

This Sun Marina Resort hotel was not part of the tour itinerary, but the tour bus stopped there just for us to take a toilet-break and stretch ourselves before we continued the long journey (left photo below). The hotel has a very nice architecture of an inverted V-shaped with a hollow interior where rooms located along its arms (right photo below).


Ryugujo Butterfly Gardens (琉宫城蝴蝶园)

After a long ride, we finally reached our first attraction, Ryugujo Butterfly Gardens at about 11.30 am (left photo below). The butterfly gardens occupied an area of 1,650 square meters and holds more than 2,000 butterflies (right photo below).

Lunch

Lunch was taken in a restaurant at its second floor (left photo below) that had seats designated for tour groups and walk-in customers. The traditional Okinawan style soba noodles was served, where the noodle was in a pork broth together with a piece of pork and a fish cake (right photo below). Lunch was tasty and simple.

Sesoko Bridge

As the garden is located on the coastline so the view on surrounding islands was picturesque. Saw this sesoko bridge of 762-meters long that connects Sesoko Island and the main island. The sight of the white bridge between the blue sky and emerald green sea is breathtaking (photos below).

Butterfly House

This butterfly house is a pretty small netted enclosure (left photo below) where there were many live butterflies feasting on the fake flowers soaked with sugar water. The highlight in the enclosure was the black-and-white "paper kite" butterflies (Idea leuconoe) having a wingspan of 12 to 14-cm (right photo below).

We left he garden after spending about 45-mins there.

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium (沖縄美ら海水族館)

The Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, formerly known as the Okinawa Ocean Expo Aquarium, is located within the Ocean Expo Park in Motobu Peninsula. It was the largest aquarium in the world until surpassed by Georgia Aquarium in 2005. The aquarium occupied an area of 19,000 square meters and holds 11,000 animals consisting of more than 700 different species.

Oceanic Zone Area

The Oceanic Zone Area consists of several outdoor exhibitions that are free of charge to all visitors. This was the first area we visited.

Manatee Pool



The pool displays the West Indian Manatee given by the Mexican government, except for a female manatee born in the aquarium in 2001. These "mermaids" are best viewed from the observation room in the basement of the complex (photos below).
Sea Turtle Pool



Located next to the Manatee Pool, this pool is home to a variety of turtle species, such as the hawksbill, loggerhead, green, olive ridley and black turtles. Through the large acrylic panel in the basement observation room, these turtles can be seen gliding through the water (photos below).
Okichan Theater



The theatre presents shows with athletic performances by a false killer whale and bottlenose dolphins. The life and habits of these sea mammals, as well as their abilities can be learned from the show.

The dolphins first demonstrated their talents to "sing" through their high-pitch squeaks (photos below).


Next the dolphins showed off their ability to leap out of water (photos below).

High Tidal Waves



The high tidal waves off the coastline caught my attention. From the signage it indicated the waves were of 9-meters tidal height (photos below).

Aquarium Building

The Aquarium is made up of four floors (left photo below), with a total of 77 tanks containing 10,000-cubic meters of water. Water for the saltwater exhibits is pumped into the aquarium 24 hours a day from a source 350 meters offshore. The building entrance is located on its third floor and admission is required to enter the aquarium (right photo below).


The aquarium is open from 0830 to 1830 hours (last entry at 1730 hours) during Regular Period (Oct to Feb) or from 0830 to 2000 hours (last entry at 1900 hours) during Peak Period (Mar to Sep).

Life in the "Inoh"



"Inoh" is shallow water surrounded by coral reef in Okinawan dialect. Sea creatures such as starfish and sea cucumbers can be gazed through the glass or from above the water (photos below).
The Coral Sea



Was a sight to see a long wall of approximately 440 colonies of 80 different kinds of reef-building coral (photos below).
The Sea of Tropical Fish



The area simulated Okinawan Sea of various aspects such as the Speckled Blue Grouper (Epinephelus cyanopodus) in the rocky shallows (left photo below) and Spotted Garden Eel (Heteroconger hassi) in the beautiful sandy areas (right photo below). These garden eels live in colonies on sandy bottoms where there are strong currents and their upper half sticks out of the sand with their heads facing the current to feed on any zooplankton that floats by.
Coral Reef World



Seems like the flamboyant but venomous Broadbarred Firefish (Pterois antennata) is a must display in most aquarium (left photo below). This broadbarred firefish is a species of lionfish with toxic spiny fins. Another amazing creature was the Ornate Spiny Lobster (Panulirus ornatus) that can be found at the rocky shores of Okinawa at the depths of around 50-meters (right photo below).


The Kuroshio Sea



This was the main highlight of the tour. The Kuroshio Sea is a staggering 7,500-cubic meters of water in a 35-meters wide by 27-meters long, and 10-meters deep tank. The main window of the tank measures 8.2-meters by 22.5-meters and is made of 7 panels, glued together, to form a 60-cm thick acrylic panel. "Kuroshio" literally means 'black current'.

There were three whale sharks inside the tank during our visit (photos below). The largest named "Jinta" was transported into the tank in 1995 and currently holds the world record for longest time kept in captivity. Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are the largest fish species on the planet. Male whale sharks average about 8 to 10-meters in length and can weigh around 15-tonnes. The whale shark is a filter feeder, feeding primarily on plankton and other tiny organisms floating in the water.

The tank is also home to 16,000 fishes representing 70 different species, including alfred manta, Javanese cownose rays, zebra sharks, coachwhip rays, spotted eagle rays, tawny nurse sharks, giant trevally, skipjack tuna, yellowfin tuna, giant guitarfish and Indian mackerel (photos below).
Shark Research Lab



Located besides the Kuroshio Sea, the Shark Research Lab (left photo below) is dedicated to sharks comprising of an exhibition area and a large tank. There are many shark embryos on exhibit and a model showing the body structure of a shark (right photo below).
Several species of sharks lived in this large tank including bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) reaching 3.4-meters with a round snout (left photo below) and Sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) that has a larger first dorsal fin than other species (right photo below).

We were given about 3 hours to explore this beautiful aquarium which I thought was sufficient for an average tourist given its rather remote location. This day tour might perhaps not be suitable for nature lovers who can spend easily the whole day browsing through the tanks or reading the descriptions.

Nago Pineapple Park

The Nago Pineapple Park is theme-park dedicated to pineapples and other tropical fruits located in Nago of Motobu Peninsula (photos below).
This was a guided tour through a short path of Okinawan pineapples and then lead into a store with various pineapple products. It reminded me of the pineapple park I had visited in Sunshine Coast of Australia, but in a smaller scale.

Glass House in the Forest (森のガラス館)

The Glass House in the Forest is a studio and shop where visitors get to observe the manufacturing processes and purchase the Ryukyu glass (left photo below). Ryukyu glass is a glass craft mainly made on the main island of Okinawa, and was recognized as a traditional craft of Okinawa Prefecture in 1998. What caught my attention was the "kawaii" shisa posing with a V-sign at the entrance (right photo below).


Souvenirs from the Attractions

On the way back, our tour guide gave us souvenirs which were a pineapple sorbet (left photo below) from the pineapple park and a glass paper weight (right photo below) from the glass house.
Overall, the day tour was enjoyable; even though most narrations were in Japanese but there would be English commentary on points of interest. The day tour was at a good price at JPY 4,800; without the package, visitor will need to pay more than JPY 2,500 for all the admissions plus another JPY 2,500 plus on transport. What's more, we had comfortable transportation to the attractions and even a decent lunch.

Dinner in Chatan

The tour bus drove us back to Chatan at about 6 pm. After some shopping at the Aeon Shopping Mall, we decided to have dinner in this Washoku Rakuan (和食 楽庵) restaurant (left photo below). Order a 'Grated hamburger & Japanese deep-fried chicken' set meal at JPY 890 (right photo below). The meal was appetizing and satisfying.
Had window-shopping in American Village before taking a taxi back to Grand Mer Resort hotel. Packed our luggage for next day check out and had a good rest thereafter.