A Guide to the Best Aquariums in Japan

Located in Iwaki (Fukushima), the Fukushima Aquarium is an aquarium with a "Chaomu Sea (i.e. boundary of the sea's tides)" theme, with the marine environmental characteristics of Fukushima. The aquarium is full of natural and beautiful light. In the children's experience hall, children can taste the fish they catch by themselves, while on the outdoor "snake eye" beach, tourists can walk barefoot in the water and get up close with beach creatures.

Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, located on Tianbao Mountain, Osaka, is one of the largest indoor aquariums in the world. With a "Pacific Ring of Fire and Life" theme, it represents the natural ecological environment of different regions around the Pacific Ocean. Among them, whale sharks, displayed in the large-scale water tank in the center, are the most popular animal in Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan. Although there are no animal shows in the aquarium, 620 kinds of rich biological species with a total of 30,000 in various forms still make the place very spectacular. It not only includes all kinds of fish, but also amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, and invertebrates, as well as plants, etc. It is extremely spectacular! Moreover, there are also lobsters, octopuses, caretta, Japanese spider crabs and jellyfish in different forms. If you come here at night, you may have a chance to see the cute sleeping animals.

Marine World Uminonakamichi is an aquarium built in April 1989 in the cultural and recreational resort of the state-run Uminonakamichi Seaside Park. Taking the "Tsushima warm current" as its theme, the aquarium successively displays the subtropical zone around the Amami-Oshima Island from the coastal area of Kyushu, to the temperate zone in Shanyin, and the sub-frigid zone around Hokkaido. The exhibitions follow the direction in which the water current flows from south to north. The largest attraction in the facility is the dolphin and sea lion performance pool with a water volume of around 2,000 tons. There is also a panoramic pool containing more than 120 sharks of 20 kinds in 7-meter deep water, and a volume of 1,400 tons. There are more than 70 outdoor water tanks which have a diameter of 13 meters, a depth of 15 meters, and a volume of 720 tons. There are 3-5 dolphin and sea lion performances in the aquarium every day. Since the performance venue is a large-scale performance pool that accommodates 2,000 people and has a shielded roof, there is no need to worry about missing the performance due to weather conditions. In the beautiful background of Hakata bay, dolphins and sea lions will give you a lively and interesting performance. The cute and lovely sea lions make people laugh, and the dolphins jumping through hoops will awe people by how brave and valiant they are. It is a performance that will fill you with happiness. The live underwater performance is displayed in a giant panoramic water tank, and scuba divers will record the exciting scenes with their cameras by approaching the various marine creatures. While watching the live scenes projected on the large screen, the tourists can also communicate with the scuba divers through underwater communication devices and listen to their explanations, so that they can gain a more vivid understanding of the ocean. In addition, there are marine natural science labs that conduct interesting experiments on aquatic organisms, which can be used as experience games.

Located on the 5th and 6th floors of the Tokyo Sky Tree and as an urban aquarium, the Sumida Aquarium has more than 10,000 kinds of marine creatures. The aquarium brings back the "Tokyo water tank" from the world heritage area of Ogasawara and is equipped with an open indoor water tank with penguins and seals, and also has a jellyfish tank and research laboratory. The exhibition area the "Cradle of Life" takes the sea of "Tokyo Archipelago" as its theme to help recreate the "Tokyo water tank". When viewing it, it feels like the ocean world of the Ogasawara Islands is in front of you, as you watch the whale sharks and all kinds of fish swim through the water. "Water is fun with life" is the largest open indoor water tank in Japan with a water volume of about 350 tons. Penguins and fur seals live in large tanks and can be observed at close range. The exhibition space is connected by two floors, which shortens the distance between the tourists and animals. At the same time, the use of LED lighting enables tourists to not only see their activity in the daytime, but also observe penguins sleeping at night.

The Sunshine Aquarium is in Sunshine City, which is very convenient to get to. It is based on the design concept of "oasis in the sky" where you can enjoy the ecology of a variety of marine organisms, such as deep-sea fish, coral reefs, and subtropical fish, etc. It also acts as an entertainment and leisure complex. Here you can not only see all kinds of fish in the sunshine reef tank, but also the extremely popular water performance in the aquarium. The sea lions' performance should surely not be missed. On the open stage, the sea lions and the animal tamers work together seamlessly, and each skill they perform, such as ring-on, ball header, greeting, somersault, are extremely impressive.

Located in a coastal area, Izu Mito Sea Paradise is a giant pool that holds 80 tons of water, and is a paradise for marine fish that was created by diverting natural seawater. Furthermore, it also has great facilities such as the sea otter hall, and hosts 13 kinds of and nearly 90 sea animals, such as dolphins and seals. Visitors can enjoy the excellent marine animal performances in the aquarium and experience the magic and mystery of the marine world via viewing the lovely Emperor Penguins and a variety of decorative fish. Also, the huge garden in the park is built with flowers from all seasons, so that visitors can enjoy gorgeous flowers and appreciate the beauty and kindness of nature at any time of the year.

Kamo Aquarium is located in Tsuruoka, Yamagata and has the most species (more than 50 species) of jellyfish in the world. All kinds of luminous jellyfish and colorful jellyfish here create a beautiful and dreamlike world. In the aquarium, you can eat healthy food made of jellyfish, such as jellyfish spring rolls, jellyfish ice cream, and jellyfish ramen. There are also explanations about jellyfish feeding, seagull feeding activities, and sea lion performances, which are all very interesting.

Facing Tachibanawan, the Nagasaki Penguin Aquarium raises about 180 penguins in a 4m deep water tank including 9 of the 18 species of penguins currently left in the world. It has the largest number of penguin species in Japan. On Saturdays and public holidays, you can experience penguin feeding and have direct contact with penguins, etc. There are also Nagasaki fish exhibition areas in the aquarium, such as mudskippers and horseshoe crabs, etc. The Mekong Giant Catfish, which is the world's largest freshwater fish, can also be seen here, along with natural experience areas that recreate the scenes of mountain villages from former times. In the natural experience area, fish and insects can be touched in rivers, ponds, forests, and other natural regions. Visitors can experience kayaking in natural coastal breakwaters and artificial "coastal areas". As the name suggests, Nagasaki Penguin Aquarium is an aquarium especially for penguins. Although the size of the venue is not large, each exhibition site is designed according to the penguin's personality, which is well worth seeing. As soon as you enter the aquarium, you can see a huge tank in which all kinds of penguins can be seen freely swimming around. It's a scene that people can never tire of seeing. Visitors can also feed penguins here, and get up close with cute penguins. Another amazing activity in the aquarium is kayaking. In the wide Tachibanawan in front of the aquarium, tourists can leisurely row kayaks in the fresh sea wind. With the tutor beside you, you don't need to worry, even if it's just your first time.