You Cannot Miss This New Attraction This Summer! “Ginoza Roadside Station” Has Renewed as Children’s Attraction!

“The home of water, green, and the sun” is a catchphrase of Ginoza Village. As it explains, the village is the entrance of Yanbaru area where is in Northern Okinawa and filled with rich nature. “Ginoza Roadside Station” has renewed in the such village in April 28^th, 2018, and it is getting much attention as the new attraction to have fun this summer.







I want to mention a “splash pad” first. It was built for visitors to feel familiar to water, so it is perfect for the village’s catchphrase. The water is deep enough for an adult to soak his/her ankles, so children might feel it as a pool. While children are having fun with the fountains, adults are soaking their feet and cooling down to avoid sunshine. Once you stop by here without thinking too much, you might feel fun and comfortable being here and stay here longer.



This playground is located next to the splash pad. It is called “Gino-kun Land,” and the mascot of Ginoza Village named “Gino-kun” watches children from above. Fun attractions for children include trampoline, slides, and others are gathered at this 4-story building, and I heard lots of laughter on the day I visited here. There are an open space and a stage in this facility, so various outdoor events and market might take place here in the future.



Not only outdoor playground, but also a Kids Room will be opened in the same building early on August. Very safe, colorful, and freely combinable play equipment called “PAO” has installed at the Kids Room, and this is the first facility to install this equipment for the first time in Okinawa. Children can play with blocks at the space, and a nursery room is available as well, so parents can play with their children without worrying anything. Water heaters are also set up for mothers to make powdered milk, so this is a very friendly facility for mothers with small children. 







A café called “COFFEE & BREAK GINOZA FARM LAB” is on the 2F of building, and it is produced by a group “Okinawa food flea” which produces a new style of food festival in Okinawa. Customers can enjoy overlooking the ocean from the café, and it makes you feel luxurious. Since there are not many cafes which opens early in the morning in Northern Okinawa, it is worth to eat a morning combo (drink, fried egg, toast, and salad) for 900 yen from 8:00. Other dishes are also served from 500 yen, so don’t you think it is attractive? 







Speaking of road station, we cannot miss a farmer’s market “Mirai Ginoza.” Fresh vegetables, fruits, flower seedling, seafood, and processed food are available here. Visitors are able to purchase lcoal specialty produced by farmers in Ginoza Village.





Visitors can drink and eat at an eating space next to Mirai Ginoza, and they can also have Okinawa soba with potato-kneaded noodle called “Jagamen.” 





Ginoza Village Tourist Information Center is also located here, and visitors can get information on Ginoza Village and Yanbaru area. If you ask the staffs about recommendation and find out more information on the village, it might make your trip more fun. 

Ginoza Roadside Station is chosen as one of the important road stations selected by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation, and about 1,000 people visited here per day during Golden Week (long holiday season in Japan) in 2018, and about 400 people showed up at the splash pad around 15:00 which is the hottest time in 1 day. Many tourists from China and Taiwan visit here, so its popularity might increase more after foreign media covers a story about this road station. How about going to Ginoza Roadside Station during this hot season? 


Ginoza Roadside Station
 

Address: 1633 Kanna, Ginoza Village
Tel: 098-968-8787
URL: https://ginozanavi.com/
Business Hours: Tourist Information Center / Roadside Station 9:15-18:00
                       Splash Pad 10:00-18:00 (closed for Sat, Sun, and Japanese holidays due to the maintenance)
                       Farmer’s Market Mirai Ginoza 8:30-19:00
                       COFFEE & BREAK GINOZA FARM LAB 8:00-18:00

Managed by: Ginoza Village Tourist Association
*Price referred as of August 2018.
 

Okinawa CLIP photo writer Yu Murakami