Experience the Wonders of the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan
If you're planning a trip to Osaka, Japan, I would highly recommend spending a day at the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan while you're there!
About Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan
One of the largest aquariums in the world, Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan has so many animals and sea creatures to visit and learn from. Most notably, this aquarium's banner animals are the whale sharks (of which they have two), and the ringed seals (it's home to the famous Yuki!). But you can also see so many more other creatures too like sun fish, spider crabs, garden eels, and more!
Getting Tickets
Tickets for the aquarium are pretty easy to purchase. You can purchase directly through their website where you'll need to make an account to purchase the tickets. Note on the purchase page that prices can vary depending on the day (they're typically more expensive on the weekends).
Once you've decided when you want to visit, you'll also choose your Entry Time. This is the time window when you're able to actually enter the aquarium.
The aquarium does get very busy and because its designed to basically be a single main path through the exhibits, you will have to put up with the possible crowding. Because of that I'd recommend entering as early as possible to get a head start.
Tickets are also available on Klook if that's a platform you're more familiar with. I personally purchased directly from the aquarium's website.
Aquarium Layout
This aquarium has a very unique layout. Guests essentially walk down a large spiral ramp that takes them through all of the exhibits. And at the center of this spiral ramp is a giant tank that houses the two resident whale sharks and lots of other fish and sea creatures as well like a variety of rays and other sharks.
Food and Drink
Within the aquarium, and partway through the main pathway, is Cafe R.O.F. which offers guests a place to relax and take a break while enjoying some snacks, drinks, and ice cream.
They have some small bites, like this garden eel hot dog.
They also have a very cute soft serve that is designed to look like their whale sharks. This soft serve is a ramune and vanilla swirl.
The menu is a little limited, but it's a nice little stop in the middle of your trip. If you're looking for something more substantial, there's plenty of shops and restaurants outside of the aquarium in the surrounding neighborhood.
Souvenirs
The souvenir potential here is endless. They have adorable goodies to bring home representing all of their adorable animals. There two large gift shops at the entrance/exit of the aquarium with lots of items to choose from. Of course, I wanted all the whale shark items!
Stamp Rally
If you have a stamp book, make sure you bring it (or get one at the gift shop!) At every exhibit in the aquarium there's a small table with a stamp representing the animal from the exhibit. They're adorable and make for such a fun little keepsake!
Look how cute the whale shark stamp is!
Aquarium Exhibits
Entrance
The first thing you'll experience is an aquarium tunnel with lots of sea animals swimming to and fro. There are lots of rays along with other fish to see here. It can get crowded since it's the first part of the aquarium and everyone enters through the tunnel.
Don't forget to look for the stamp tables as you're entering each exhibit!
Exhibits Split by Areas
As you walk through the different exhibits you'll see an information panel that indicates which areas in the world the exhibits that are being showcased inhabit.
Whale Sharks
As I mentioned earlier, the whale sharks are in the large tank that's at the center of the whole aquarium. As you're going through the different exhibits you'll see the whale sharks and all the other animals that share the tank with them from different angles and heights. There's plenty of time to see them, and if you're lucky you'll even catch their feeding time!
Spotted Garden Eels
The main path of the aquarium leads you down and around the large central tank. At one point in this path, there is a small offshoot that brings you to an area that is designed like a kids aquarium section. There are lots of small tanks and fun animal facts around the room. And in here is where you'll find the spotted garden eels. There super small and stay relatively still, but if you watch them long enough you'll see them pop in and out of the sand!
Deep Sea
The deep sea area is very cool. Here you'll see all kinds of interesting sea creatures and a lot of sea jellies. Some are so small and so translucent it might even be hard to catch them.
The Arctic
The arctic area is also very "cool" (pun intended). The exhibit literally is colder than everywhere else. There are lots of small exhibits here too, but the best part of this spot is that there is a literal tank above your head where you can see the ringed seals swimming by! They are so cute and chubs and they'll sometimes literally just lay on the glass.
After you leave this area under the tank, you'll take an escalator up to the floor where the actual ringed seals exhibit is. There are typically big crowds here because everyone loves to see them! When I visited there were three seals in the exhibit with a fourth getting ready to be sent to a different aquarium. We saw the famous Yuki and Arare as well as another seal who I unfortunately forgot the name of (oops!), but they were all so adorable!
Interactive Exhibits
After the Arctic region there was a tidepool like area where guests could interact with the creatures inside, but at the time we visited, they weren't facilitating that so the tanks were empty. There were several other interactive exhibits related to animal senses but that weren't directly interactive with real animals. And from there, we were led to the gift shops!
Other Notable Animals
Of course there are lots of other exhibits and animals that I didn't detail that were just as cool to see! I loved seeing the penguins and dolphins, the spider crabs and sunfish (which I had never seen before in real life!), and all the other animals I had only learned about there!
In total, we spent around four hours at the aquarium, including the snack break we took at Cafe R.O.F. and the time we spent at the gift shop. If time allows in your itinerary, I'd definitely recommend setting aside some time to come here, even if it's just to see the whale sharks or the ringed seals!
