Churaumi Aquarium is located in Ocean Expo Park on the northern portion of Okinawa, Japan. Churaumi currently ranks as the largest aquarium in Japan and one of the five largest in the world. The exhibits at the Churaumi Aquarium have been developed to give visitors a glimpse into the wonderful sea life that Japan has to offer. Starting from the beach and delving into the deep sea inhabitants, the aquarium offers a view of sea life like none other in the world.

There are four major zones in the aquarium, each corresponding with one of the building's main floors. Visitors enter on the top floor, dubbed "An Invitation to the Great Sea," passing a 10-meter long monument to Churaumi's famous whale sharks. Inside is , a microcosm of the waters surrounding Okinawa. The top of the tank is open, and visitors can peer at the corals from above. Similarly, the many creatures in The Sea of Tropical Fish can also be viewed from above.

The third floor is known as "Journey to a Coral Reef" and features views of The Coral Sea as well as The Sea of Tropical Fish (which features more than 200 varieties of multi-colored fish) from behind vertical glass walls. The former features more than 70 species of coral harvested by the aquarium in the late 1990s with special permission from the waters surrounding Okinawa. This floor is also home to Life in Inoh, a special exhibit where patrons are welcome to touch live starfish and shells underwater.

Called "Journey to the Kuroshio Sea," the second floor contains the tank and exhibit for which Churaumi is best known. Behind an acrylic wall more than 60 cm thick are several large whale sharks, manta rays, and schools of smaller fish, all representative of the life in Japan's Kuroshio, or "Black Current," a stream of warm water that runs between Okinawa and China and has long sustained the seafaring population of Okinawa. (The main tank holds almost 2,000,000 gallons of water and has the world's largest acrylic glass panel, measuring 8.2 meters by 22.5 meters.) The whale sharks in the aquarium's Kuroshio Sea are some of the first in the world to be successfully kept in captivity. The aquarium is currently aiming to be one of the first to breed whale sharks, although not much is known about the creatures' gestations. More than 3,000 tons of fresh seawater is piped in from the East China Sea and circulated through this tank every day.

The second floor is also home to a display that showcases the creatures (both innocuous and hazardous) that live among coral. Also of interest is the Sea of Dangerous Sharks, home to several dozen of the cartilaginous fish. Next door is the Shark Research Lab, an area devoted to answering common questions about a shark's anatomy and life.

The first floor is the lower level of the Kuroshio Sea and is noted for The Aqua Room. There, visitors can sit and look up at the creatures of the Kuroshio Sea swimming directly overhead. Numerous other displays about aquatic life are housed on this floor.

There are many activities just outside the aquarium also. Visitors can view two different dolphin shows and take in a wonderful manatee exhibit that features manatees rescued from Japan's mainland. Emerald Beach is accessible easily by the tram, and the Botanical Gardens are just a stone's throw from the aquarium's main building.

To reach Okinawa's Churaumi Aquarium by car, take the Okinawa Expressway to its northern terminus in Nago. Then follow the signs for Ocean Expo Park. Additionally, buses run frequently from Naha Airport; fares are very reasonable at approximately 2,500 yen per person, depending on route and bus service. Travel time is around three hours, depending on traffic conditions and weather.

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