Okinawa's Tropical Dream Center
Halfway around the world on the island of Okinawa, Japan, is the tropical version of Victoria, BC's glorious Butchart Gardens. It is called the Tropical Dream Center, a 6-hectare garden housing several greenhouses, countless exotic plants and fruit trees, and approximately 2,000 orchids.
My husband and I visited this garden paradise in November, and it was definitely a highlight of our Okinawa trip. The Tropical Dream Center is part of the vast Ocean Expo Park which was built on the site of the Okinawa International Ocean Expo held in 1975. The park extends 3 kilometers along the coast and includes a museum, arboretum, garden, a beach, and the famous Churaumi Aquarium, whose main attraction is a gigantic whale shark.
It took us about 3 hours to wander around the center; we would have stayed longer had the humidity not been over 90%! Although the weather felt oppressively hot to me on several days, November is touted as a mild weather month. A plus for gardeners is that Okinawa's frequent tropical rainfall and high humidity contribute significantly to the lush plant life.
photos by Cindy Yee
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