November 2018
Our third and final day in Osaka was spent around the Osaka Bay area, more focused to the Tempozan Harbor Village. The village main attractions are Tempozan Marketplace (mall), Tempozan Giant Ferris Wheel and Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan being our first stop for the day. This aquarium is reputed to be one of the largest and spectacular public aquariums in the world. It’s about a 5-10 minutes walk from Osakako subway station and the aquarium is at the far end of the complex.
Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan building.
Whale shark outside the building.
The ticket office for the aquarium. We bought our tickets online here.
Upon entering the building, visitors will walk through a tunnel-shaped tank where you will be surrounded by marine life. Then take the escalator up to the 8th floor and slowly descend spirally floor by floor around a huge water tank filled with 5,400 tons of water. The initial various smaller tanks display a selection of marine life inhabiting the Pacific rim in a well organized and impressive manner. The central tank displays sharks, manta rays, whale sharks and many other types of marine life. The central tank stretches over several floors, making it possible to observe fishes from different depths and perspectives. Nearing the end of the aquarium, you’ll see penguins, dolphins, seals, stingrays and many more.
The entrance ‘tunnel’ to the aquarium.
A pair of happy seals welcoming us.
Not sure what fishes these are.
The unique aquarium allows you to see above & underwater habitat.
Small colorful fishes in another tank.
Playful seals showing off their skills.
The aquarium is big, entertaining and well maintained. Walk through the first few levels with the individual tanks quickly, as the more interesting displays are lower down where the space opens up and less claustrophobic. The building is designed with a great layout with plenty of break spots with washrooms along the way. We spent almost 2 hours in the aquarium admiring the marine life in their habitat. A sense of serenity sets in when you see the them swimming gracefully around. There are a lots of benches for you to sit and absorb this tranquility.
One of the species in the main tank.
Manta ray among the other marine life.
Sharks in the main tank too.
This whale shark is actually BIG. The photo does not do justice.
See, told you so. The whale shark is big. The tail is wider than the diver.
Maintenance divers doing they job amidst a hammerhead shark.
Towards the end of the aquarium walking route are enclosures for seals, stingrays & penguins. While the stingrays are in shallow pool you can pat them, the seals are in ice enclosure and the penguin in a low level semi-open enclosure you can touch them but no one seems to want to.
Cute seal seeing us off.
Stingrays in shallow pool you can pat them. Beware of their tail.
Little penguins playing around in their enclosure.
