Class12 Japan Exploration 2017: Day 13 Osaka

We visit Kaiyukan, the Osaka Aquarium, one of the largest of its kind in the world famous for its enormous tank holding 5300 tons of water and providing spectacular views on big sea life like hammer head and whale sharks behind 30 cm of acrylic glass.

Kaiyukan seen from the 122m high ferries wheel at Osakako, the Osaka port.

Osaka Aquarium: Kaiyukan by Summa

The aquarium was packed full as expected, but that didn't bother me. I love aquariums and I was excited right from the beginning to see this one. The Osaka Aquarium was huge with many different tanks and animals to see, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had seals and dolphins and penguins there – since I only expected to see a huge variety of fish.

The class was mostly split up and wandering through the aquarium in their own time, so it was nice not to be rushed at any point. I was glad we didn’t have a guide since I much prefer to just quietly observe the fish without commentary. I enjoyed looking at the different themed tanks and their inhabitants. There was one for the Great Barrier Reef which was teeming with bright, sparkly fish and small sharks and eels, and the backdrop of corals were all brightly coloured and covered the whole back wall of the tank. I was aware of the fact while watching the fish, that the real Great Barrier Reef is not as colourful as they have made out, which is sad. I highly enjoyed seeing all the jellyfish and have to say that the Fried Egg Jellyfish were my favourite; they looked quite colourful and frilly against their dark backgrounds.

My favourite tank would have had to have been the largest, and the centre of Kaiyukan, the “Pacific Ocean” tank. It had an immense amount of sharks, stingrays, and other sorts of fish, and though I don't know the name of pretty much all the inhabitants of this tank, I still enjoyed watching them peacefully glide around. This tank was also home to two Whale-Sharks. They weren't as large as I expected but is probably from the fact of their small environment. They were extremely graceful and swam close to the glass so the many kids with their faces pressed against the glass could see.

Later, close to the end of the aquarium, there was a petting pool for some small sharks and sting rays. Patting the sharks, it made me think they were like the cats of the ocean. One of the stingrays was having a blast swimming back and forth and up and down the sides of the tank while all the children squealed and touched it. While the sharks felt rough like sandpaper, the stingray was smooth and a little slimy.

I’m really glad I got to experience the Osaka Aquarium, Kaiyukan, and I would love to come back and go there again.

Summa