OL Okinawa Lovers
A manta ray and shoals of fish in the Kuroshio Sea tank at Churaumi Aquarium
Motobu, Okinawa

Churaumi costs ¥2,180.
The park around it is free.

What the ticket actually costs, the one place still selling it cheaper, and the two discounts that guides keep listing after they were withdrawn.

Adult ¥2,180 Cheapest: ¥2,000 Park & dolphin show free Checked August 2026
The dolphin show is freeyou only pay to enter the aquarium building
What's free

In short

three things worth fixing before you go
01

The park is free, the tank is not

Ocean Expo Park surrounds the aquarium and costs nothing to enter. The dolphin show is free to watch. You only pay to go inside the aquarium building.

02

Two discounts have been withdrawn

The after-4pm ticket is discontinued, and Onna-no-Eki stopped selling discounted tickets in July 2025. Guides listing either are out of date.

03

Summer hours run much later

In summer 2026 the aquarium runs to 21:00, last admission 20:00. Most guides still say it shuts in the early evening. Check the official calendar for your date.

Churaumi is the reason most people drive north, and it deserves it — the Kuroshio Sea tank holds whale sharks and manta rays behind one of the largest viewing panels in the world. But the ticket information circulating in English is years out of date in at least two places, and almost nobody mentions that a large part of the site costs nothing.

What a ticket
actually costs

Gate prices as published by the aquarium, checked August 2026.

Adult, at the gate
¥2,180
Under 6 free · no evening discount

Adult

¥2,180The standard gate price

High school

¥1,440Student ID may be checked

Elementary & JHS

¥710Under ⅓ of the adult price

Under 6

FreeNo ticket needed

Where it is cheaper

and where it no longer is
WhereAdult priceStatus
Michi-no-Eki Kyoda ¥2,000 (saves ¥180) Current. Sold as vouchers at the Yanbaru Bussan Center checkout, 8:30–19:00, cash only. Valid about six months. Kyoda sits where the expressway ends, so it is on the way — no detour, and it opens before the aquarium does.
Onna-no-Eki Nakayukui ¥1,850 Withdrawn July 2025. Still quoted in a lot of guides, including Japanese ones. You cannot buy a discounted ticket there any more.
After-4pm ticket reduced evening rate Discontinued. There is no evening discount now, which matters more than it used to because summer hours run to 21:00.
Official online tickets Gate price Convenient — you skip the ticket queue — but not cheaper. Worth it in peak season for the time saved, not the money.
Annual passport ¥4,360 Exactly two adult admissions. Pays for itself on the second visit, so it is only relevant if you are staying long enough to go twice.
!
The Kyoda voucher is cash only. Everything else at that roadside station takes cards and e-money, but the ticket counter does not — the vouchers count as cash equivalents. Bring notes if you plan to buy there.

The part that costs nothing

Ocean Expo Park, around the aquarium

The aquarium sits inside Ocean Expo Park, a national park built on the site of the 1975 International Ocean Exposition. Entering the park is free. The aquarium building is the paid part; a lot of what people picture when they think of Churaumi is actually outside it.

That means a family on a budget, or anyone arriving late with no time for the full aquarium, still has a real afternoon here.

Okichan Theater at Ocean Expo Park, the open-air dolphin pool facing the sea
Okichan Theater, outside the paid aquarium. The sea behind the pool is the backdrop to the show.
01

The dolphin show

Okichan Theater runs shows against an open sea backdrop, with false killer whales and bottlenose dolphins. Free to watch. Check the day's programme times when you arrive.

02

Manatee and sea turtle pools

The manatee pool and the turtle pool sit near the theater, both viewable above and below the water line, and both outside the aquarium's paid area.

Dolphins performing at Okichan Theater
A manatee at the manatee pool in Ocean Expo Park
A sea turtle at the turtle pool in Ocean Expo Park

Paid extras inside the park exist — the dolphin feeding experience was revised to ¥1,000 per set from 1 July 2026 — but the shows and the pools themselves are not ticketed.

Inside, what you are paying for

Whale sharks in the Kuroshio Sea tank
The Coral Sea tank, lit by natural sunlight
Shallow reef life in the Inoh touch pool

The Kuroshio Sea tank is the reason the ticket costs what it does. Whale sharks and manta rays circle behind a viewing panel that was, when it opened, the largest acrylic panel in the world. People sit in front of it for a long time; the bench along the glass is not decorative.

Before it you pass the shallow reef tanks — the touch pool, the coral, the tropical fish — which are more interesting than they sound because the coral is grown on site rather than collected.

After it, the deep-sea section is dark, quiet and usually much emptier. If the aquarium is crowded, go there first and work backwards.

Time needed2–3 hours inside. Add an hour for the free park and a dolphin show
BusiestLate morning to mid-afternoon, and Japanese school holidays. Early or late is calmer
Re-entryPossible — ask at the exit if you want to break for the park and come back
From NahaRoughly 2 hours by car. Treat this as a day, not a stop

Getting there

and where to buy the ticket on the way

By car

Take the expressway north to its last exit, Kyoda IC, then Route 58 and Route 449 up the west coast. About two hours from Naha Airport in total.

Stop at Kyoda for the ¥2,000 voucher. It is three minutes from the interchange and opens at 8:30 — before the aquarium.

By bus

The Yanbaru Express Bus airport line runs from Naha Airport up the coast to the Kinen-Koen-mae stop, at the park. It also stops at Michi-no-Eki Kyoda on the way, which makes the voucher stop possible without a car.

Timing

The drive is long enough that a same-day return to Naha makes for a full day. Many people stay a night in Motobu, Nakijin or Nago instead, which also puts the northern roadside stations within reach.

Questions

How much is a ticket?+

Adults ¥2,180, high school ¥1,440, elementary and junior high ¥710, under 6 free. That is the published gate price, checked August 2026.

Where can I buy it cheaper?+

Michi-no-Eki Kyoda sells adult vouchers at ¥2,000, cash only, from 8:30, valid about six months. It is on the route north so it costs no detour. Onna-no-Eki stopped selling discounted tickets in July 2025 and the after-4pm ticket has been discontinued — guides listing either are out of date.

Is the dolphin show free?+

Yes. Ocean Expo Park is free to enter and the dolphin show at Okichan Theater is free to watch, as are the manatee and sea turtle pools. Only the aquarium building itself is ticketed. Paid extras like the dolphin feeding experience (¥1,000 per set from 1 July 2026) are separate.

What time does it close?+

It varies by season and the aquarium publishes a calendar. In summer 2026 it runs 8:30–21:00, last admission 20:00 — considerably later than most guides state. Check the official calendar for your specific date rather than trusting a fixed time.

How long should I allow?+

Two to three hours inside, plus an hour or more if you want the free park and a show. Add the drive — about two hours each way from Naha — and it becomes a full day.

Can I go without a car?+

Yes. The Yanbaru Express Bus airport line runs from Naha Airport to Kinen-Koen-mae at the park, and stops at Michi-no-Eki Kyoda on the way, so you can still pick up the discounted voucher.

Sources and corrections