©southeast botanical gardens
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Illuminations in a tropical Okinawan setting
Okinawa City Tourism and Products Association
Opened in 1968, Southeast Botanical Garden is one of Japan’s largest outdoor botanical gardens. It functions like a museum, with more than 50,000 rare tropical and subtropical plants of approximately 1,300 species. It is also home to about 50 animal species that visitors can interact with, including capybaras, squirrel monkeys, and Jonaguni horses, as well as bird performance shows.
Every year from late October to late May, the park holds the “Okinawa Tropical Illumination event,” which has won second place in the nation at the International Illumination Awards. The most popular spot is the not-to-be-missed “Lotus of Light” area, where the illumination reproduces the actual lotuses in full bloom at the pond from June to August each year. Countless lotuses sparkle above the pond, mirrored by the water’s surface to create a photogenic lotus field of light.
How to get there
From Haneda Airport, take a flight to Naha Airport (about 2 hours 45 minutes). Board bus 190 from Naha Airport Domestic Bus Terminal, get off in front of the Farmers’ Training Center (about 1 hour 25 minutes), and take a cab (about 5 minutes). If you are renting a car, follow the navigation system. The drive will take about 50 minutes.
2146 Chibana, Okinawa-shi. Okinawa-ken
