23 Oct - Today is a day for outdoor exploration as we had rented a car for 10 hours accompanied with a Chinese driver. General plan for the day is to go have breakfast, before visiting the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, followed by Kouri Ocean Tower. Weather forecast is that the whole Okinawa will be affected by Typhoon Trami's rain (which is ravaging Philippines) starting after 12pm. We will see the situation then and decide which is the final destination we can visit.
Morning shot from hotel balcony (Weather really changes fast in Okinawa)
For breakfast, I search Google Map and decided on Hawaiian Pancakes House Paanilani, which is on the way to the aquarium and has a 4.3 rating out of 2000+ reviews. They have an interesting variety of toppings for the pancakes which make you spoilt for choices. For myself, I settled on Loco Moco Pancake, which has the most recommendations on Google Review, consisting of homemade beef patty with a sunny side up.
Hawaiian Pancakes House Paanilani
Loco Moco Pancakes (Really nice!)
Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium (Our first attraction of the day) is situated within Ocean Expo Park. What sets it apart is that the dolphin show and sea turtle pool is located outside the aquarium and public can access them for free! I guess I can only find such deals in Japan. Anyway, the aquarium is not big. You can probably finish touring it in about 2 hours. However, the vibe that it gives me was that it was built for educational purposes, rather than a tourist attraction. I find the experience is way way better than our SG SEA Aquarium.
Going down the escalator to the Dolphin Show
Our next destination was Kouri Ocean Tower, a scenic view overlooking the Kouri Ohashi Bridge. The ground floor is the Shell Museum showcasing all types of shells and corals you can imagine. Be amazed how expensive can 1 coral cost. Too bad rain and wind gust was coming in from Typhoon Trami. We did not have a good picture at the top of the tower. Stay any longer and we just might get blown over and fall flat on the floor.
Kouri Ocean Tower
Shell Museum
Kouri Ohashi Bridge
Given that rain will be continuing for the whole of the day, our last stop was decided to be Nago Pineapple Park, where 90% of the park is under shelter. The whole park is divided into 3 distinct exhibits - Tropical Fruits (Including Pineapple field), Butterfly House and Dinosaur Tour. The park itself is not big and probably you can finish walking in under 2 hours.
Pineapple Park Entrance
Tropical Flowers
Butterfly House
Pineapple Field
Dino Tour
Typhoon is really no joke. You are practically stuck within shelter due to the rain and wind. Thank God tomorrow is "Stay in resort Day" as this weather is forecast to last till tomorrow evening.
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