Southeast Botanical Gardens is a large tropical garden and nature park in Okinawa City that showcases a wide variety of subtropical plants, palms, and flowers in a lush and spacious setting. It is divided into different themed areas, including lakes, walking trails, and animal zones, where visitors can see waterfowl, capybaras, and other small animals alongside the botanical collections.
The gardens are especially popular for their seasonal blooms and illuminated night displays, which create a completely different atmosphere compared to daytime visits. We arrived at around 7.15 pm for the night illumination only. We purchased our tickets via Klook, and redemption at the ticketing office was quick and easy.
The park was relatively quiet at night, which made the experience very relaxing and enjoyable. Wild ducks could be seen walking freely around the park, adding to the charm. There were many interesting light installations throughout the gardens. One of the highlights for us was the lotus pond, where the lighting moved in rhythm with the music, creating a very beautiful and immersive experience.
We spent about one hour walking through the park and taking everything in. Parking is free, which is an added convenience. Overall, it is definitely a place worth visiting if you have extra time in your itinerary, especially for the night illumination experience.
A wonderful place to spend an afternoon with the family. The botanical garden offers a great mix of nature, relaxation, and fun activities for all ages. One of the highlights is the variety of animals you can interact with: capybaras, armadillo, monkeys, goats, ducks, turtoises, and more. The grounds are beautifully maintained, and there are plenty of shaded paths and scenic spots to explore. It’s an enjoyable, laid-back experience that’s perfect for kids and adults alike. Highly recommended for a peaceful and entertaining day out in Okinawa.
5 stars for gardens and capybaras, but 1 star for the food and laser show in winter. Fireworks were nice. But last reentry is allowed only before 5pm, so it's a long stretch of time before they actually start.
What an unexpected pleasant surprise. We were looking for a place to take my elderly reduced mobility mother after coming back from Naha early in the morning.
This place had a mini tour bus, lots of places to sit, and many many things to look at… the highlight was the animals!
You can interact with them!
Capybara that rolled over like a dog to have its belly scratched when my son was petting it
Giant tortoises (we just missed the window they allow interaction).
Goats, ducks and crazy chickens and Ibis. But the absolute most unexpected part was feeding the squirrel monkeys!
Had a nice time here with my family. Was a bit underwhelmed by the garden aspect, a lot of the plants were dry and the gardens were not super well maintained. For the price I was expecting it to be in a bit better shape with more to see.
The animals were the highlight for us but the enclosures could definitely be cleaner. Also being close to the airbase there were lots of very loud planes landing and taking off.
More about Southeast Botanical Gardens from our blog
