[JP; 2025] Day 2 - Okinawa | Cape Manzamo \ Hanasaki Marche \ Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium \ Naha City

Day 2!

We joined in a day tour (that doesn't have tour guide), it was more like a shared transport to visit the aquarium!

Okinawa Sightseeing Bus Day Tour - North & South Routes

https://www.klook.com/en-SG/activity/142932-okinawa-south-north-1-day-bus-tour-churaumi-dmm-autoguiding/

We booked the bus that goes to the North side of the island! Downside of the tour, all tickets are excluded, so you need to pay out of pocket.

Cape Manzamo

Cape Manzamo 万座毛

https://maps.app.goo.gl/otewvmYMijXFRhqn6

First stop - Okinawa's most famous rock which overlooks the sea. You can take a free photo at the entrance, if you want to purchase a bigger photo you will need to pay. They were not very pushy if you don't purchase the photo.

Such an awesome view with great weather!

Hanasaki Marche

Hanasaki Marche オキナワ ハナサキマルシェ

https://maps.app.goo.gl/Ex6fBmVdjzKcMgz17

It was lunch time and we were brought to this is small mall. We had the famous Pork Egg Onigiri for lunch - tip, walk real fast when you alight the tour bus otherwise you will need to wait for your food for some time.

Potama - Okinawa Motobucho store ポーたま 沖縄 本部町店

https://maps.app.goo.gl/nZnPFGkKca8A5cVW8

The menu: click to enlarge!

We ordered the slightly fancier Onigiri, and it tasted real good!

After the quick lunch, we walked to the Starbucks nearby:

Starbucks Coffee - Okinawa Motobucho スターバックス コーヒー 沖縄本部町店

https://maps.app.goo.gl/Lr9o6sGetcnmUtVh8

The store had quite an impressive view of greens & blues:

We grabbed a seasonal strawberry frap to stare at nature!

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium

The most popular aquarium in Okinawa~

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium 沖縄美ら海水族館

https://maps.app.goo.gl/CR7BjxSHyxj1TXfL6

First glance at the sea on the escalator - so pretty:

We bought the tickets to enter the aquarium - buying it online etc doesn't have a significant price difference, so we got it in-person to get the physical ticket for memory keeping.

A few displays to view:

Verdict: The aquarium is not really worth the price. The amount of displays, exhibitions etc; I think Singapore's aquarium has a much better ROI. I would suggest to skip going in the paid area if you're not a big fan of aquarium.

And for the gift store, it is not tax free. But if you purchase the items in their Naha City store, they are tax free - Umichurara 沖縄美ら海水族館アンテナショップ "うみちゅらら. I would recommend to make a visit to the Naha's outlet first, buy what you need, and things that you couldn't get from Naha, get it from the aquarium.

Other than the aquarium requires paid tickets, the rest of the activities are free! Like soaking our feet in the beautiful sea.

Watching this cabbage eater - manatee! It was so cute!

And many turtles swam around the enclosure:

Plus a dolphin show - that we missed most of it because we were busy shopping at the gift store.

We also tried this lucky dip while walking back to the bus parking area:

It was a sure win dip:

But we got the smallest prize! Well which was good because if it was too big, it will be hard to pack it back.

Naha City

The bus dropped us off at Naha City, which we were just in time to capture pretty sunset along the street:

We stopped by a ramen stall that I read on Reddit - it was one of the place featured on Running Man's Okinawa episode:

TORISOBA SHINZATO 鶏そば 新里

https://maps.app.goo.gl/B2vuLnSdMaZz2z6T6

I'm glad we came early because the seats were quite limited!

The chicken ramens were delicious that we finished it really quickly:

Highly recommend to add this into your list of food to eat in Okinawa~ but big a warning that a cup of coke was 700yen!!!

This marks the end of Day 2!