Our Exhibits

Three factors contribute to the rich natural habitat for marine life here in our Okinawa seas: 1) the giant, warm Black Current ("Kuroshio"); 2) living coral reefs; and 3) the two deep sea areas located on each side of the Ryukyu Islands. A variety of the world's most rare creatures can be found in our mystical seas. The exhibits here at Churaumi have been designed to allow visitors to start at the beach and gradually journey down into the deep sea world, as if taking a dive themselves. Through these exhibits, we hope to show visitors the beauty of the sea and its precious value. This is our heartfelt message from Okinawa to the world...

About Our Name

The Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium first opened its doors on 1 November 2002 in Ocean Expo Park. Its name was chosen from a total of 13,897 public votes, which had been sent in from all aver Japan. The Naming Committee commented that the name, Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium: "can easily be distinguished from other mainland aquariums", "sounds uniquely Okinawan", and " has a ring to it, making it easy to remember."

* " Chura " of " Churaumi " means " beautiful " or " graceful " in the Okinawan dialect.
" Umi " means " ocean ".

Equipment Outline

Built Area	approx.10,000m²
Total Area	approx.19,000m²
Building Structure	Reinforced-concrete, 4-stories high
Aquarium Size	Total water quantity 10,000m³
The Largest Tank	Kuroshio Sea　7,500m³
Total Number of Tanks	77
Water System	Seawater is taken from 350m off shore, at a depth of 20m.
Maximum Water Intake Rate	3,000m³/ h
Water Intake Method	Intake Pipe
Diameter of Intake Pipe	1.8m
Electric Supply	The Aquarium complex generates its own power( 2000kW) and also uses commercially available electricity( 500 kW ).
Filtration System	Closed high-pressure filtration system
Intake Water Filters	3.2m in diameter x 8 units
Filter Material	Polyester fiber
Circulating Water Filters	2.8m - 3m in diameter x 65 units
Filter Material	Silicate sand