By Ryoichi Matsumoto
The Yomiuri Shimbun
MOTOBU, Japan — There’s a place I think encapsulates the beautiful ocean off Okinawa indoors: the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium at the Ocean Expo Park in Motobu. The aquarium building facing the East China Sea rears up like a gigantic castle, and a stream of people enter as if drawn to it.
“Our large fish tank is one of the biggest in the world. It contains a whale shark that holds the world record for the longest survival (at an aquarium or other facility),” said Asuka Kinjo, 30, who is in charge of publicity and planning at the aquarium. “It also contains a reef manta ray and many other fishes.”
The aquarium opened in 2002 and has recently attracted more than 3 million people a year, according to Kinjo.
I listened to her brisk explanations as we walked past the crowd at the aquarium. Various creatures from both shallow and deep parts of the ocean are kept in a total of 77 fish tanks at the aquarium, she said, amazing me again at the facility’s huge size.
“On weekdays, many students from across the nation visit our aquarium on their school excursions, even during off-seasons. If you want to see the fish in a tranquil atmosphere, I suggest you come in the early morning or the early evening on a weekend,” Kinjo said.
The Ocean Expo Park encompassing the aquarium is part of the Okinawa Commemorative National Government Park and is located on a 71-hectare lot that was the site for the Okinawa International Ocean Exposition. That event started in 1975, three years after the reversion of Okinawa to Japan from the United States.
The Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium at the Ocean Expo Park in Motobu, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, is like a large palace. [Ryoichi Matsumoto/The Yomiuri Shimbun]
To walk through the vast lot of the Ocean Expo Park takes more than an hour.
The park also encompasses the Tropical Dream Center featuring rare botanical plants, the Oceanic Culture Museum and a man-made beach. The park showcases the charms of Okinawa Prefecture and is meant to attract tourists not only from other parts of Japan but also from China and South Korea.
The town of Motobu used to flourish thanks to its bonito fishing.
As a reminder of that time, there are many restaurants that serve Okinawa soba using bonito soup stock.
I happened to come across a monthly handicraft fair in a small marketplace operated by the town government, near one of the noodle shops where I ate. They sold such goods as vegetables, home-cooked dishes and breads, and pins made from seashells bearing carved motifs. There was also an improvised flower decoration class.
When I mentioned to Madoka Seta, who was selling handmade daily commodities, that I saw few tourists at the fair, she replied: “That’s the attraction. Items sold here aren’t meant to follow fashion. We all bring what we like and people who like them come and we chat together. I like to spend time relaxing that way.”
Visiting the tourism association in the neighboring Nakijin village, I saw a poster with the catchphrase “Nuun Nenshiga” in large letters. The phrase in the local dialect means, “We don’t have anything special, though.”
That’s not true — the village has such attractive tourist spots as the ruins of Nakijin Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage site. However, association Director General En Matayoshi, 45, said he would rather promote the village as a place “with nothing special.”
“Recently, more and more people are attracted to (places in) Okinawa (Prefecture) that aren’t meant to be tourist destinations,” Matayoshi said. “Our village is warm even in winter. The inns are cheap and not very crowded. It’s good we have nothing special.”
On my way back from Nakijin to Motobu, I saw a roadside stall selling citrus tankan, a type of tangerine grown in the prefecture. The fruit looked tough and difficult to eat, but to my surprise, it was sweet and had a strong aroma.
“We don’t ship them to the mainland, so you should buy it here now,” said tangerine farmer Naohide Urasaki, 60. According to Urasaki, tankan is grown outdoors all year round, so freshly picked tankan is sold even in midwinter.
This handicraft fair at a market operated by the Motobu town government is visited by many local people. Illustrates [Ryoichi Matsumoto, The Yomiuri Shimbun]
In this region, which is some distance from Naha and other lively places in the southern part of the main island, I saw a huge showcase for tourists existing side by side with the daily life of local people.
After the summertime bustle and the typhoon season are over, the beach on Sesokojima island in Motobu regains its calmness and time slows down again. On a fair day, it might be nice to sit on the beach and do nothing all day other than watch the gentle East China Sea.
IF YOU GO …
Naha Airport is about a three-hour flight from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. The Ocean Expo Park is about a two-hour car drive from the airport.
For more information, call the Ocean Expo Park’s management office at (0980) 48-2741, the Motobu Tourism Association at (0980) 47-3641, and the Nakijin Tourism Association at (0980) 56-1057.