What other travelers are saying about Southeast Botanical Gardens
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.
More about Southeast Botanical Gardens from our blog
Frequently Asked Questions
Southeast Botanical Gardens showcases an extensive collection of both tropical and subtropical flora. Expect to see a diverse range of plant species, including exotic flowers, towering trees, and rare botanical specimens.
The gardens are equipped with various facilities, including restrooms, a café or snack area, and a gift shop where visitors can purchase souvenirs and plant-related products. There may also be picnic areas where visitors can relax and enjoy the surroundings.
Photography is generally encouraged at the gardens, making it a popular spot for both amateur and professional photographers. However, commercial photography might require prior permission, so check their photography policy if planning a shoot.
To thoroughly enjoy all that Southeast Botanical Gardens has to offer, it is recommended to allocate at least 2 to 3 hours. Those with a keen interest in botany or photography may wish to stay longer.
Visited on a Thursday afternoon and it was not that crowded.
Free parking.
Botanical garden was separated from the main area with a parking area in between so we had to exit and re-enter again.
Bought tickets in advance via Asoview, showed it at the counter and they gave us an English map. Staff also spoke in simple English and kindly explained that the Animal part of the park closes early so we should make our way there first.
Very happy to have a close encounter and fed cute Capybara.
Very thoughtful of the park, there was a small hut selling insect repellant bracelets and spray.
Had a nice stroll around the park and illuminations in the evening were magical.
There’s a souvenir shop near the entrance that served simple snacks, drinks and there’s an animal interaction area (additional cost to feed rabbits, meerkat etc).
AMAZING EXPERIENCE!
This is the perfect place to spend the day, especially if you love animals. We were able to pet and feed monkeys, capybaras, goats, an armadillo, and some massive tortoises. My dream of finally meeting a capybara came true! It was such an incredible, up-close experience.
They also have bird show, a gift shop with gelato, and a petting zoo. During certain times of the year, they put on a spectacular night light display that I highly recommend seeing. Animals during the day and beautiful lights at night, it doesn’t get better than that. Such a special place to have right next door, and I can’t wait to go back!
Tips:
-Bring YEN change! 200 yen per cup of food to feed the animals. 300 yen just for the monkey admission fee
-Appy bug spray and sunscreen
-There is a restaurant and other places to buy snacks and drinks
-You can pay to go fishing with bamboo poles. Catch and release
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.
the park itself was okay, I went there in November so maybe it was because of that that it felt a bit dry and not so colorful, I stayed until sunset so I could see the limitations and that was definitely worth it. The animals , especially the capybara were super cute
I recommend either going there by car or have someone pick you up because in the evening it was very hard to hail a taxi from there and the busses didn't run very long
I paid for the day ticket 2.850¥, but if you only want to see the garden and not the illumination show it was something between 1.800 and 2.200, I think
