Spelled With a J: March Adventure Day 1: March 5th, 2013 - Kaiyukan

When I found out that my Mom was coming to visit me in Japan I requested time off from work to show her around. The next few entries are going to be about the short break she spent with me.

The first day was March 5^th. Mom and her friend were getting in later in the evening, so I had the day to myself to explore. I decided that I was going to visit the Osaka Aquarium.

I got to the aquarium a little late in the afternoon and spent a few hours enjoying the peace and calm of the place.

The outside of the Aquarium

The entranceway to the main part of the aquarium is a water tunnel holding a few small sharks, rays and fish. It sets up the atmosphere of the aquarium quite nicely.

Water Tunnel

The animals that are shown in the aquarium are Pacific based animals. Which is nice because many of the aquariums that I have been to displayed animals from the Atlantic Ocean. The aquarium goes through the Japan forest and then through other Pacific coasts, the Seto Inland Sea, Japan Deep and in the centre the Pacific Ocean.

The first few displays are of animals that can live both on land and spend time in water. It starts of with Asian small-clawed otters and Giant Salamanders. The otters were quite cute in their little tree as well as diving in and out of the water.

The next displays were the Sea Otters, Seals and Sea Lions. It’s hard to capture a picture of some of these guys as they glide through the water.

The next little section was that of the coasts along Panama and Ecuador. Here there were monkeys, Iguanas, fish and even a Capybara.

From there it was my favourite display. The Penguins. The group was having “lunch” so they were all out on the rocks waiting to get some fish. It also meant that there was quite a crowd in front of the glass. There were a mix of King and Gentoo penguins and I stayed and watched them for a while.

It was the happy Pacific White Sided Dolphins next. They were having fun and even playing around with an orange ball.

Two of the interesting tanks were the one for the Seto Inland Sea and Deep Japan. Both of these tanks were cool because they displayed the animals that live close to Japan. The Inland Sea display was very informative, seeing as Niihama is on the coast of the Inland Sea. The Japan Deep had the giant spider crabs, which are scary looking things. There was a little fight between two and one kept his spot on the top of the cage.

Crab Fight

The real draw of the aquarium is the Pacific Ocean tank. A giant tank in the centre that can be viewed as you walk through. Inside the tank there is a whale shark, Manta Ray, Blue Fin Tuna and a few other rays and sharks. It’s quite a sight to behold as all these animals circle and swim. I ended up finding a spot to take a quick break and watch the fish swim. It was relaxing and a great place to think.