2016.12.23
All Santas invited to free bicycle and boat rides at Comprehensive Park
Okinawa Comprehensive Athletic Park is organizing a special Christmas event inviting all Santas and Santa-fans to come to the park to enjoy a free bicycle ride or a boat trip on the pond in the park.
Park officials say that everyone who comes to the park dressed in a Santa Claus costume on Dec. 23 through 25th will get a free one-hour ride on a rental bicycle along the bike paths in the park or take a boat to a leisurely row on the pond amidst the ducks.
The Comprehensive Park is located at Hiyane, Okinawa City.
The bicycles are available from 9:30 to 16:30. The riding time is one hour and the last riders must return the bicycles by 17:30. The boats are available from 9:30 to 17:00 for 30 minutes each. Children under 6 years of age are not allowed to ride the boat without a parent.
All the workers in the park also wear Santa Claus costumes on the three days.
A “Mochi-tsuki” or rice cake pounding event will be held in the Kyodo Hall in the park on Dec. 23rd only. The pounding starts at 13:00, and the mochi is then handed over to visitors until everything is gone. Admission to the event is free.
The Okinawa Comprehensive Athletic Park is divided into separate areas called the green, ocean, and sun zones, forest and water zones, and the beachside zone. The park has seven entrances so it’s possible to park near the facility one wants to go. All parking areas are free.
There are six sports facilities including the only cycling ring in the prefecture and a boating and camping area on the southern part of the park. The north side of the park has an athletic stadium, tennis courts and a gym. The swimming pool has a 100-meter long water slide that is open in the summer time. The park recently started to rent barbeque ovens for camping for ¥1,000 a day.