The is an aquarium located in the ward of

Minato Minato (港 or 湊) is Japanese for 'harbor', and may refer to: Places * Minato, Tokyo or Minato City, a special ward in Tokyo, Japan * Minato-ku, Nagoya, a ward of Nagoya, Japan * Minato-ku, Osaka, a ward of Osaka, Japan * Minato (湊), a neig ...

Osaka, Osaka Prefecture is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

, Japan, near Osaka Bay. When it first opened, it was the largest public aquarium in the world. It is a member of the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The aquarium is about a five-minute walk from Osakako Station on the Osaka Municipal Subway Chūō Line, and is next to the

Tempozan Ferris Wheel Tempozan Ferris Wheel is a 112 meter tall ferris wheel located in Osaka, Japan, at Tempozan Harbor Village, next to Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, one of the largest aquariums in the world. The wheel has a height of and diameter of . Description Tem ...

History

In 1988, with the aim of redeveloping the Osaka Bay Area, the Kaiyukan and Tempozan Marketplace were to be built following the success stories of aquariums and commercial facilities overseas. The aquarium was named "Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan" by the general public and opened in 1990. The number of visitors reached 1 million on the 40 days of the opening and 2 million on the 101 days, The final number of visitors during the year reached 5.6 million, surpassing the national record held at that time Tokyo Sea Life Park and being the fastest record in Japan. The number of visitors reached 50 million on February 26, 2008. Achievement in 6317 days (about 18 years) is the fastest among aquariums in Japan, and about 60% of the visitors are repeaters. In 2014, the total number of visitors exceeded 65 million. In 2017, the number of visitors reached 75 million, making it the most visited aquarium in Japan.

Exhibits

Visitors will go up to the eighth floor on the escalator, passing through the Aqua Gate, a tunnel tank with various tropical fish. After exiting the escalator is the Japan Forest, which recreates a Japanese forest and holds

Asian small-clawed otter The Asian small-clawed otter (''Aonyx cinereus''), also known as the oriental small-clawed otter and the small-clawed otter, is an otter species native to South and Southeast Asia. It has short claws that do not extend beyond the pads of its web ...

s, Japanese giant salamanders,

black-crowned night heron The black-crowned night heron (''Nycticorax nycticorax''), or black-capped night heron, commonly shortened to just night heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, including parts of Europe, Asia, and N ...

s and many other native freshwater animals. The walk-through aquarium displays marine life in several habitats comprising 27 tanks in 16 main exhibits with a total volume of 10,941 tons of water. The habitats are from the Ring of Fire area of the Pacific Ocean and these include the Aleutian Islands ( tufted puffins), Monterey Bay ( California sea lions and largha seals), Gulf of Panama (

ring-tailed coati The South American coati (''Nasua nasua''), also known as the ring-tailed coati, is a coati species and a member of the raccoon family (Procyonidae), found in the tropical and subtropical parts of South America. An adult generally weighs from a ...

long-spine porcupinefish The long-spine porcupinefish (''Diodon holocanthus''), also known as the freckled porcupinefish among other vernacular names, is a species of marine fish in the family Diodontidae. Diet The species' diet includes sea urchins and hard-shelled mo ...

and

blotcheye soldierfish The blotcheye soldierfish (''Myripristis berndti'') is a species of soldierfish belonging to the family Holocentridae. Description This species grows to a length of TL. The body is oval and laterally compressed and the scales are quite large. ...

), Ecuador Rain Forest ( arapaima, red-bellied piranhas,

capybara The capybaraAlso called capivara (in Brazil), capiguara (in Bolivia), chigüire, chigüiro, or fercho (in Colombia and Venezuela), carpincho (in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) and ronsoco (in Peru). or greater capybara (''Hydrochoerus hydro ...

& green iguanas), Antarctica ( Adélie, gentoo & king penguins), Tasman Sea ( Pacific white-sided dolphins) and Great Barrier Reef ( palette surgeonfish,

pennant coralfish The pennant coralfish (''Heniochus acuminatus''), also known as the longfin bannerfish, reef bannerfish or coachman, is a species of fish of the family Chaetodontidae, native to the Indo-Pacific area. Description The pennant coralfish is a s ...

threadfin butterflyfish The threadfin butterflyfish (''Chaetodon auriga'') is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family (biology), family Chaetodontidae. It has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution. Distribution ''Chaetodon auriga'' is found in the Indo-P ...

Seto Inland Sea The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū, three of the four main islands of Japan. It serves as a waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to Osaka ...

(

common octopus The common octopus (''Octopus vulgaris'') is a mollusc belonging to the class Cephalopod A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda (Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. The ...

Japanese spiny lobster The , ''Panulirus japonicus'', is a member of the genus '' Panulirus'' of spiny lobsters. It grows up to long and lives in the Pacific Ocean around Japan, Taiwan, China, and Korea. ''P. japonicus'' is the subject of commercial lobster fisher ...

& red seabream), Coast of Chile ( Japanese anchovies and South American pilchards), Cook Sea Strait ( loggerhead sea turtles, deepwater burrfish & scarlet wrasse), Japan Deeps ( Japanese spider crabs, elephant fish & Hilgendorf's saucord) and a jellyfish gallery ( moon jellyfish & northern sea nettle). The largest tank is the Pacific Ocean tank which is deep and holds of water and a variety of fish including

Indian mackerel The Indian mackerel (''Rastrelliger kanagurta'') is a species of mackerel in the scombrid family (family Scombridae) of order Perciformes. It is commonly found in the Indian and West Pacific oceans, and their surrounding seas. It is an impor ...

Pacific bluefin tuna The Pacific bluefin tuna (''Thunnus orientalis'') is a predatory species of tuna found widely in the northern Pacific Ocean, but it is migratory and also recorded as a visitor to the south Pacific. In the past it was often included in '' T. thyn ...

reef manta ray The reef manta ray (''Mobula alfredi'') is a species of ray in the family Mobulidae, one of the largest rays in the world. Among generally recognized species, it is the second-largest species of ray, only surpassed by the giant oceanic manta ra ...

s, scalloped hammerhead sharks and two whale sharks. The tanks used in the aquarium are made of of acrylic glass. The largest single pane measures six meters by five meters by thirty centimeters and weighs roughly 10 tons. At the thicknesses used, regular glass would be unwieldy and would not have the desired transparency. The most popular animals on display are the whale sharks. In 1990, the Okinawa Ocean Expo Aquarium (predecessor of Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium), were the first in the world to whale sharks in captivity, but did not exhibit them. At that time, the Osaka Aquarium was the only facility in the world that owned whale sharks. In 1994 the aquarium successfully captivated a

manta ray Manta rays are large rays belonging to the genus ''Mobula'' (formerly its own genus ''Manta''). The larger species, '' M. birostris'', reaches in width, while the smaller, '' M. alfredi'', reaches . Both have triangular Pectoral fin#AnchPect ...

which was the second in the world at the time. Later in 1995 the aquarium managed to successfully hold an ocean sunfish in captivity. The "New Interactive Area" that opened in 2013 allows visitors to see the animals up close and possibly touch them. In the "New Interactive Area", 3 zones are constructed, the Arctic Zone, in which you see ringed seals, Falkland Islands Zone, where you can see southern rockhopper penguins, and the Maldives Zone, in which you can directly touch

stingray Stingrays are a group of sea rays, which are cartilaginous fish related to sharks. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae (sixgill stingray), Plesiobatidae ( ...

s and small sharks like

brownbanded bamboo shark The brownbanded bamboo shark (''Chiloscyllium punctatum''), is a bamboo shark in the family Hemiscylliidae that can be found in the Indo-West Pacific from Japan to northern Australia, between latitudes 34° N and 26° S. It is regularly bred i ...

s and

coral catshark The coral catshark (''Atelomycterus marmoratus'') is a species of catshark in the family Scyliorhinidae. It is common on shallow coral reefs across the Indo-West Pacific, from Pakistan to New Guinea. Reaching up to in length, the coral catshark ...

s. In 2020, the museum shop was reopened on February 22 after renewal work was carried out to coincide with the 30th anniversary of its opening.

Research and conservation

Osaka Aquarium are focusing on research on sharks and

Ray Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (g ...

s. By 2016, Kaiyukan had successfully captivity or breeding 47 species of sharks, 37 species of rays, and 1 species of

ghost shark ''Ghost Shark'' is an American 2013 horror film directed for the Syfy television network by Griff Furst. With Furst joined by Paul A. Birkett and Eric Forsberg for screenwriting, the film premiered on Syfy on August 22, 2013. Despite being p ...

, for a total of 85 species. In addition, the past eight surveys of tagging whale sharks have revealed that they can migrate to the Philippines and dive to a depth of .　 Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan has a research center in Iburi, Kochi Prefecture, where fish swimming tests and animals to be brought in are carried out in tanks with a water volume of and a water volume of . although it was not exhibited at the aquarium, they succeeded in captivity of Pelagic thresher for 26 days at the Research Center in Iburi, Kochi Prefecture. Other captivity such as

Chilean devil ray The Chilean devil ray (''Mobula tarapacana''), also known as the box ray, greater Guinean mobula, sicklefin devil ray or the spiny mobula, is a species of ray in the family Mobulidae. It is often observed worldwide, basking just below the surface ...

, which has not been recorded since Georgia Aquarium captivity in Taiwan, was also successful at the research center. In 2001, the aquarium published a research book at the Research Center, publishing the knowledge accumulated by the Osaka aquarium over 10 years on 567 species of fish in 136 families. The research book later received the Kochi Prefecture Academic Publishing Award. In addition, since the opening of the Osaka Aquarium, it has succeeded in breeding Spotted Seal, Pelagic stingray,

California Sealion The California sea lion (''Zalophus californianus'') is a coastal eared seal native to western North America. It is one of six species of sea lions. Its natural habitat ranges from southeast Alaska to central Mexico, including the Gulf of Ca ...

Sea otter The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the small ...

, etc., and received the breeding award from the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums. aquariums also focusing on breeding and cultivation other than aquatic organisms, and in 1993, aquariums received the breeding award from the association for the first successful breeding of the

spur-winged lapwing The spur-winged lapwing or spur-winged plover (''Vanellus spinosus'') is a lapwing species, one of a group of largish waders in the family Charadriidae. It is one of several species of wader supposed to be the "trochilus" bird said by Herodotus ...

in Japan. In addition, about 200 species of plants are exhibited in the Japanese forest area inside the building. Research and conservation will be reported in Bulletin "kaiyu(かいゆう)".

Architecture and name

The Kaiyukan's conceptual design, architecture, and exhibit design was led by Peter Chermayeff of

Peter Chermayeff LLC Peter Chermayeff LLC is a Massachusetts-based architectural firm which specializes in aquarium architecture and exhibit design, from conceptual planning to the details of final realization. History The two principals, Peter Chermayeff and Bobb ...

while at Cambridge Seven Associates. Peter Chermayeff also builds the

Lisbon Oceanarium The Lisbon Oceanarium ( pt, Oceanário de Lisboa, ) is an oceanarium in Lisbon, Portugal. It is located in the ''Parque das Nações'', which was the exhibition grounds for the Expo '98. It is one of the largest indoor aquariums in Europe. Archi ...

and other buildings.

TV personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

Emiko Kaminuma is a Japanese comedian, singer, television presenter, and radio personality. Her maiden name is . Kaminuma is one of the leading broadcast personalities in the Kansai region. She has often appeared in Kansai local programs, and has garnered high ...

states that it is her role to decide the name "海遊館 Kaiyukan" in Japanese. Kaminuma, who was a member of the name selection committee among the common candidates starting from Marin, chose Kaiyukan, which had only one vote, and said, "It is better to make it an impactful'Kaiyukan'". Emiko Kaminuma said, "There is no impact with a mundane name that starts with Marin. If you express it in three kanji characters, the meaning will be easier to understand, and it will have an easy-to-understand impact like (夢工場). There is. " As a result, it was not named after Marine, which has a large number of votes, but was named Kaiyukan.

Gallery

Aqua gate File:Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan 2013-09F.JPG File:1 Chome Kaigandōri, Minato-ku, Ōsaka-shi, Ōsaka-fu 552-0022, Japan - panoramio - jetsun.jpg File:Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan (5262319413).jpg penguins File:Kaiyukan, Osaka, Japan (9229056167).jpg File:Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan 3-24 (26216339690).jpg File:Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan 3-24 (26489093555).jpg Tasmanian Sea tank File:Dolphins (3595430038).jpg File:Osaka Aquarium(Lagenorhynchus obliquidens).jpg File:サンタ (8276813559).jpg The Pacific Ocean tank File:Whale Watching at the Osaka Aquarium.jpg File:Kaiyukan manta ray.jpg File:Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan (5262933558).jpg Japanese Trench tank file:Japanese-spidercrab.jpg File:Spider crabs at the Kaiyukan Aquarium in Osaka close below.jpg File:Spider crab at the Kaiyukan in Osaka, Japan.JPG Maldives sea pour File:People touch fishes at Osaka Aquarium 01.jpg File:People touch fishes at Osaka Aquarium 02.jpg File:People touch fishes at Osaka Aquarium 03.jpg Jellyfish Zone file:Small.Jellyfish.Osaka.jpg File:Jellyfish (6159273286).jpg File:Jellyfish, Osaka Aquarium.jpg

Notes

External links

* {{Authority control Aquaria in Japan Tourist attractions in Osaka Buildings and structures in Osaka Zoos established in 1990 1990 establishments in Japan