I did a blog on
things to do in Osaka, and one of those things was the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan. The aquarium is a great place to escape to from the busy city or the weather, if it's really hot. Osaka is famous for a lot of things and this aquarium is one of them.
Let's review what you will discover and experience at the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan.
First off, how to get there. Well, the aquarium is located by Osaka Bay in the Minato Ward of Osaka. There's a subway line that goes to Osakako Station that will be a short walking distance to the actual aquarium. The Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan opens at 10 am and closes at 8 pm, but stops selling tickets at 7 pm. I went there at about 2:30 pm and only stayed for a hour and a half.
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| Area outside the aquarium. |
Once you approach the aquarium area you will know it immediately. I came across a light display of oceanic creatures. I'm not sure if it was a season thing or if it is a standard (I went during the Christmas season). But you will have to purchase your tickets to the aquarium's ticket booth. The cost of admission is 2,300 yen or about $23, with varying prices depending on age. Once you purchase your ticket the attendants will ask you where you are from. Don't be weirded-out about it, they are just keeping track of where their visitors are coming from. Think of it as a business survey.
Once you've paid for your ticket you are ready to go in by taking the outdoor escalators. Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan has about 15 tanks that display exhibits on oceanic life in the Pacific Ocean. The unique part about the aquarium though is that you start you exploration on the 8th floor! Once you enter the aquarium you will notice as you journey from one exhibit to another, you will be making your way down in a spiral motion. This is because the interior of the aquarium is a spiral with a center tank housing the famous whale shark.
There are many interesting creatures to see at the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, some who are well-known and some more unfamiliar. If you are interested in seeing a creature's
feeding time please check out the aquarium's website. I was lucky enough to witness the feeding time for the penguins. They were super cute and fun to watch. Some other options for witnessing feeding time are the otters, sea lions, the capybara, dolphins and the fish in the main tank.
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| It's feeding time! |
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| For those of you who have seen this animal but never knew what it was, this is the capybara. |
Once you are finished making your way down to the bottom floor of the aquarium, you be there is an option to spend more money. Just like every good aquarium or zoo there's a gift shop of cuteness. I found Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan's gift shop more mature than the ones in America. None of the items look cheaply made or just a trinket. Like they had a whole wall dedicated to stationary items (for those of you who may not know, Japan is a big fan of stationary). And of course they had stuffed animals of all the creatures you just saw in the tanks above. It was very hard to resist buying something.
I have to say, I think I was more impressed by the smaller sea creatures than the bigger ones. I'm going to share pictures with you of my favorites at the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan.
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| Not even sure what these guys are or if they are even part of the permanent exhibit, but they looked really cool. |
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| Once again, not even sure is this was part of the permanent exhibit, but I call it the unicorn fish. |
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| I won't lie. These Japanese Spider Crabs kind of freaked me out, but were mesmerizing. |
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| I think I watched the jellyfish tanks for like a good 15 minutes. |
Thanks for reading my blog! For more information on the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan please
click here to visit their website (in English). I hope you enjoyed my little tour and experience at the aquarium in Osaka. It's a fun, little activity to do. It wasn't planned out for me to go visit the aquarium. I just had time during the day and made the decision to go since I've never been before.
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