We have a lot of places to visit in Okinawa. It differs depending on which part or island in Okinawa you would visit. So where is the best place to enjoy Okinawa?

I think the northern part of Okinawa is the best place to feel nature in Okinawa especially this part is well known as having the most beautiful sea in Okinawa. In this column, I will explain how to enjoy the northern part of Okinawa.

Where to stay?

ROYAL VIEW HOTEL CHURAUMI

Churaumi means beautiful sea in the Okinawan dialect. As its name suggests, the beautiful ocean view from your room is an attractive point of this hotel. But there are more attractions about this hotel. This hotel is the closest to Churaumi Aquarium. You can reach it in 5 minutes. This hotel has a pool so you can enjoy swimming in your free time.

If you want to have dinner or lunch at a restaurant you can ride a bus to MAHAINA WELLNESS RESORT OKINAWA for free from this hotel. I enjoyed eating Yanbaru Gerato. The left one tasted shekwasha and the right one tasted purple yam. Both of them are famous in Okinawa. I could also buy souvenirs there. Chinsuko and beni imo taruto are popular items as souvenirs.

Where to visit?

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium is the most popular sightseeing spot in the northern part. It has big aquariums and various aquatic creatures. A whale shark is the most famous of all creatures in this aquarium. You can eat lunch in front of the biggest aquarium, seeing beautiful marine creatures. Here is the picture of curry and rice I had for lunch. Curry′s color was blue which indicates the sea and rice was designed as whale shark. It was so cute and photogenic. Even if you finish seeing this aquarium, you can also enjoy other things like seeing manatees, visiting Sea Turtle Pool – Foursquare and so on.

Fukugi trees in Bise

Fukugi trees in Bise is the best place to experience Okinawa’s natural life. Just walking is good but borrowing a bicycle is better to look around there. It costs 300 yen per hour. You will feel the comfortable wind while riding it. You can see the traditional houses in Okinawa and take many beautiful photos among the beautiful trees.

When the tree road ends, you will meet the beautiful beach. The sea is not strictly managed and restricted so you can enjoy the sea as much as you like such as swimming and snorkeling in the sea.There are some local restaurants where you can eat taco rice, okinawan soba noodle which are very popular as Okinawan food.

Minna jima

Minna jima is one of Okinawa’s islands. You can get there by ferry from Toguchi port for only 15 minutes. It takes 10 minutes to go toToguchi port from Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium (or ROYAL VIEW HOTEL CHURAUMI) by bus. You can enjoy many marine activities there. In order to enjoy marine activities, it is better to reserve a marine tour beforehand.

Marine activities

As for snorkeling, the staff will take you to the snorkeling spot which is deep and has more fishes and coral. You will be able to see clownfish, blue damselfish which is blue and small fish and colorful coral. You also enjoy riding a banana boat which gallops on the sea. It is so exciting and thrilling.

Lunch

If you reserve a marine tour, you will get the option of BBQ as lunch. If you don’t choose BBQ, there are stalls where you can buy okinawan soba noodle, taco rice, curry, and so on.

Inside the island

Okinawa produces the best sugar cane in Japan. In Okinawan dialect, they say “Uji” The word often appears in Okinawan lyrics. If you have time to walk around inside the island, you can find sugar cane fields. You will surely be relaxed when you hear the sound of sugarcane swaying with comfortable wind.

Lastly, It became my greatest experience of all the trips I had done before. You will surely enjoy these beautiful places in Okinawa. Thank you for reading my blog article about “ Trip to Okinawa”!

• – Asaka