Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium Review: Discount Tickets, Booking Tips, and Visiting with a Baby

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium discount ticket booking review with a baby

When we traveled to Okinawa with our 10-month-old, we made sure to include one of the island’s must-do attractions: Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium and here’s how our visit went!

If you’re looking for things to do in Okinawa with a baby, this place always comes up—and now I totally get why. Our daughter was surprisingly engaged by the huge tanks and all the fish, so even before her first birthday, she had a great time. And honestly, the massive whale shark tank is breathtaking even for adults.

In today’s post, I’m sharing our experience visiting with a baby, plus parking, ticket prices, and how to bookall in one place.

1. Location

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium is in northern Okinawa.We stayed at The Busena Terrace, which is already in the central-to-northern part of the island, but it still took longer than I expected to get to the aquarium. Unless you’re staying way up north, definitely leave plenty of time in your itinerary for the drive.

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium is inside Ocean Expo Park,and if you’re searching for it, just typing “Churaumi” is usually enough.

We visited by rental car. It’s not the easiest place to reach by regular public transportation, so I highly recommend either renting a car or joining a day tour.

Churaumi day tour (click)

Klook rental car booking (click)

2. Parking

Ocean Expo Park is a pretty large park, so the parking lots are spacious too. Since there’s a bit of a walk from the parking area to the aquarium, where you park matters even more if you’re visiting with a baby or older family members.

If you’re heading to the aquarium, P7 or P6 near the North Gateare the closest options. Parking is free.

If you park in P3 or P5, just walk past the main information center, HiSai Plaza, and follow the signs toward the aquarium.

It was a rainy, gloomy day when we went…

We also walked over after parking while checking the map and signs, but since everyone is basically heading in the same direction, it’s easy to find the aquarium just by following the crowd—even if you’re terrible with directions.

3. Tickets and Reservations

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium tickets can be purchased on-site, or you can book them online in advance.

But honestly, buying your Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium tickets online is cheaper and much easier,so that’s what I recommend.

The on-site ticket prices were the same as shown in the photo above: ¥2,180 for adults, ¥1,440 for high school students, and ¥710 for elementary and middle school students. Children under 6 get in free.

Of course, prices may change depending on when you’re reading this, so use that as a general reference.

Even when I did the math with the yen exchange rate in the $0.6 range, booking through Klook was still cheaper than buying tickets at the gate.I was planning to book online too, but my dad had already bought our tickets on-site, so we ended up paying full price after all. ^_

So definitely check the online price first and grab the discount if you can. It’s cheaper, and you also skip the ticket line—which makes a big difference if you’re visiting with a baby. This is one of Okinawa’s most popular attractions, so it’s always busy.

There were seriously this many people.

If you buy through Klook, your reservation is confirmed instantly, and same-day booking is possible too. So yes, even last-minute planners like me can make it work. You can enter directly with a mobile QR code, so there’s no need to print a paper ticket.

At the very bottom of this post, I’ve also included Klook discount codesfor extra savings, so don’t miss them.

4. Visiting with a 10-Month-Old Baby

Our baby was 10 months old when we visited. I honestly wondered if she’d be too young to really enjoy the aquarium, but she was much more focused on the moving fish than I expected.

That said, it does get crowded inside, and if you want to line your baby’s eye level up with the tanks, a baby carrier works better than a stroller.Our daughter is on the bigger side too, so she got heavy fast, but we still kept her in the carrier most of the time inside the aquarium. You can bring a stroller in, though.

The area around the giant whale shark tank is always packed. Still, spots right up near the glass open up pretty often, so it wasn’t actually that hard to get close enough for photos.

5. Whale Shark

A photo of our baby with the shark!

The thing I was most excited to see at Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium was, of course, the giant whale shark tank.

The tank itself is enormous, and seeing a whale shark glide right past in real life was genuinely incredible. I just stood there staring for a while with my mouth open.

I’m not sure whether our baby actually recognized it as a whale shark, but she definitely seemed fascinated watching all the fish move through the water.

One tip: don’t only view it from up close. Walk to the higher area in the back and take in the full tank from a distance too. It has a completely different feel, and you get this oddly mesmerizing view of all the sea creatures going about their own little lives.

6. Souvenir Shop

After we finished the aquarium, we stopped by the gift shop on the way out.

They had a wide variety of items, from whale shark and sea creature plushies to snacks, bags, and clothing. Since you see the animals in the aquarium first and then find them again as souvenirs, it’s a fun stop if you’re visiting with kids.

I’m usually not someone who buys much at souvenir shops, but this one had more than just obvious touristy stuff. There were actually a lot of genuinely cute things, so I ended up buying more than I expected.

We bought T-shirts for our daughter and nieces and nephews, and they were adorable and surprisingly good quality. They wore them all summer, so I’d definitely recommend them.

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This place is so famous in Okinawa that I originally went in thinking, “Okay, let’s just check it out once.” But after visiting, I completely understood why everyone says Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium is a must. You really don’t get many chances in life to see whale sharks this comfortably and up close.

Since we were traveling with a baby, we couldn’t linger over every single exhibit, but there was still plenty to see and we had such a fun time. If I go back to Okinawa, I’d absolutely visit again.

If your itinerary isn’t super packed, I really recommend adding this to your Okinawa travel plans.

^{And if you’re booking Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium tickets,}definitely grab a discount code too!

Go straight to the discount code page (click)

^{When you book here,
make sure to apply the discount code above for extra savings!}