Kamo Aquarium

is an aquarium located in Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. In 2005, it exceeded Monterey Bay Aquarium in California regarding the number of jellyfish display types and holds the Guinness World Records for this exhibition.

History

The facility was on the edge of bankruptcy again in the late 90's.
Until then, jellyfish exhibits at aquariums were extraordinary, and there was no breeding methods. In addition, the Kamo does not have enough money. In such a situation, the director Tatsuo Murakami groped to establish methods for breeding jellies, it became the best jellyfish museum in the worlds. The popularity of the Vivarium exploded when Osamu Shimomura received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2008, thanks to the studies he led on Aequorea victoria, a jelly that contains a green fluorescent protein, with two American scientists: Martin Chalfie of Columbia University and Roger Tsien of the University of California-San Diego. He led his studies in Kamo, since at the time, it was the one of few marine museums displaying it. Researchers from the world, including the Paris Aquarium Cineaqua in France, come to learn about this breeding and raising.

With the light emission of the Aequorea victoria exhibited at the Kamo Aquarium
Osamu Shimomura won the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. It was also reported that the Green Fluorescent Protein that was the reason for the award was derived from Aequorea victoria. This attracted attention to the museum, which breeds Aequorea victoria, and the number of visitors to the museum increased to 1.5 to 2 times the normal number. The adult jellyfish bred in the museum emit light when they are collected from the natural world, but they do not emit light when the generations are changed by artificial propagation. Upon hearing this, Shimomura called the museum directly on October 24, 2008, and advised that "if you mix coelenterazine with food, it will shine in two weeks." Then, with the introduction of Shimomura, he took over coelenterazine from Katsunori Teranishi, a professor at the Graduate School of Bioresources, Mie University, and worked on a luminescence experiment.

Northern elephant seal

A three-year-old 2.5-meter 273-kilogram female northern elephant seal was found on Sanze beach (), Tsuruoka on 16 October 2017. She was weakened and injured but recovered after receiving antibiotics at this Aquarium, growing to over 400-kilogram in March 2018. She was named Naomi after a tennis player, Naomi Osaka by a public vote and has been exhibited in a pool at Kamo.

Exhibits

Jellies

*Lion's mane jellyfish
*Immortal jellyfish
* Cyanea capillata Eschscholtz
*Freshwater jellyfish
* Habu-kurage
* Glassy nautilus
*Lychnorhiza lucerna
* Acromitus maculosus
* Jelly blubber
*Egg-yolk jellyfish
*Purple-striped jelly
*Rhizostoma luteum
*Blue jellyfish
*Spotted jelly
* Mastigias papua etpisoni
*Atlantic sea nettle
*Pacific sea nettle
* Flame jellyfish
*Beroe cucumis
* Cassiopea
*Bolinopsis mikado
* Spirocodon saltator
* Clinging jellyfish
*Thimble jellyfish
*Pelagia (cnidarian)
* South American sea nettle
*Pelagia noctiluca

Other sea creatures

*Rhinobatos schlegelii
*Asian sheepshead wrasse
*Smooth lumpfish

Gallery

Jellyfish

Image:Kamo Aquarium 65.jpg, Kuranetarium Sign (a blendword combining kurage and planetarium)
Image:Kamo Aquarium 64.jpg, Medusarium
Image:Aequorea coerulescens Kamo aquarium.jpg, Shimmering Crystal jelly
Image:Olindias formosa Kamo aquarium.jpg, Flower hat jelly with fluorescent yellow and pink tentacles
Image:Mizukurage.jpg, Moon jellyfish
Image:Nemopilema nomurai Kamo aquarium.jpg, Nomura's jellyfish
Image:Kamo Aquarium 4.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 7.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 8.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 9.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 10.jpg, Glowing jellyfish
Image:Kamo Aquarium 11.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 12.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 13.jpg, Jellyfish farming, difficult to breed in captivity
Image:Kamo Aquarium 14.jpg, Growing baby jellyfish
Image:Kamo Aquarium 15.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 26.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 29.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 30.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 31.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 32.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 33.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 34.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 35.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 36.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 37.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 46.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 47.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 48.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 52.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 59.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 92.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 93.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 81.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 88.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 60.jpg, Educational section with a large lecture hall and a special exhibition section for the growth and development of jellyfish

Other creatures

Image:Kamo Aquarium 1.jpg, Spotty seals
Image:Kamo Aquarium 2.jpg,
Image:Otaria flavescens (3807865982).jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 21.jpg, Octopus
Image:Kamo Aquarium 38.jpg, Sea lion show
Image:Kamo Aquarium 39.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 40.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 41.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 77.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 17.jpg, Sea anemone
Image:Kamo Aquarium 18.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 95.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 20.jpg,
Image:Kamo Aquarium 78.jpg,
Image:Carassius auratus langsdorfii Kamo aquarium1.jpg, Ginbuna
Image:Chelidonichthys spinosus Kamo aquarium1.jpg, Spiny red gurnard
Image:Takifugu rubripes Kamo aquarium1.jpg, Tiger puffer

Restaurant jellyfish menu

*Jellyfish ramen - contains ground cannonball jellyfish.
*Jellyfish sashimi
*Jellyfish icecream

Access

*From JR Tsuruoka Station, 30 minutes by Shōnai Kōtsu bus bound for Yunohama Onsen, adjacent to Kamo Suizokukan stop.

Notes

External links

*
*
*
*

{{Authority control

Aquaria in Japan
Tsuruoka, Yamagata
Tourist attractions in Yamagata Prefecture
Buildings and structures in Yamagata Prefecture
Museums in Yamagata Prefecture