Wow! Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium

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 ".http://www.kaiyouhaku.com/en/info/description.html