I would go back to either the Kyoto Aquarium or Osaka‘s Kaiyukan.
Okay so here’s my quick comparison: I’ve visited both Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan and Kyoto Aquarium and, quite frankly, they is chalk and cheese. The former is a huge world-class aquarium that has some of the largest tanks I have ever seen.
The former is small, quirky, and oh so local. I didn’t really know what to expect from either, but at the end of it I definitely had a clear favorite. And I wrote this mostly because I’m struggling to figure out which one I would want to go back to if given the chance.
My Trip to Kyoto and Osaka Aquariums
Kyoto Aquarium
Maybe this will help you make your decision if you’re stuck on whether to visit Kyoto or Osaka Aquarium. The entire facility was very quiet, which was surprising for a normal weekday. Located outside center of town in Umekoji Park, it required some walking but wasn’t a bad stroll.
The aquarium itself is clean and moddern; nothing flashy here. The lobby is straightforward and brightly lit, and I didn’t have to wait too long to get my ticket.
feeding schedules was posted right near the entrance, which is good because admission wasn’t bad for the type of place this is. Also, I didn’t time my trip to match a show. It’s great to know they offer them, and that I could of timed it if I wanted.
What makes this place special, though, are the giant salamanders. Oh my god, the giant salamander. I watched them swim (or rather, slowly float) through their tanks for much longer then I intended.
These things are huge! Like, bigger-than-me-huge. And they’re slow.
Like, sloooow. They’re also weird-looking up close: I’d never seen one of them before and they look weirder than they do in pictures. While some would just sorta sit there motionless on the floor of their tank, others just paddled lazily around, looking like something out of a prehistoric movie.
There was even a height comparison cutout, because man are they long. It’s pretty wild.
After that we moved on to more freshwater stuff, which included some large carp swimming about in river zone. It was nothing too crazy, but the tanks looked nice and were easy to stare at for a bit.
Next were the seals. They was zipping around their pool having fun. One seal also kept coming right up to the glass and staring at people, which always gets a reaction.
Eventually I saw one glide past the rocks a couple of times and move on.
The main tank was OK but not large. It had schooling fish swimming in circles and light coming through added a nice atmosphere. As I said, I didn’t spend too much time in here as I did with the salamanders so I will admit that.
The penguins was standing around on their rocky setup doing penguin things. Sure, they’re cute. I had not seen anything like that anywhere else, though.
Then there was a small but well-done section of jellyfish. Some moon jellies were drifting along in cylindrical tanks and some orange ones looked a little more dramatic. It was a good spot to pause for a couple of minutes.
There are clownfish tucked into anemones and garden eels poking out of the sand; they are the usual suspects. All fine but all a little standard.
Outdoors is a stadium for dolphins. I didn’t catch a show but I did walk by pool on my way out and it looks like a nice enough setup if you like that sort of thing.
On my way out I passed the gift shop which was piled high with giant salamander plushies and had a big shiny salamander mascot statue. If you like quirky souvenirs this place has them.
Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan
Kaiyukan is located in the heart of downtown Osaka on the waterfront, right next to an enormous Ferris wheel and what seems like half a theme park‘s worth of other attractions. It’s a busy place filled with people and clearly designed to cater to tourists. I saw signs from a few blocks away.
It’s a large building and busy (even mid-week). It is very busy. And that mural of a whale shark on the exterior will give you some indication as to what lies within.
I went in with my head down, checking the crowd notice board and expected it to be jam-packed, which it was.
This place is on a totally different scale. When I walked into the tunnel and saw a whale shark swimming over my head, I knew that right then and there. The main tank is huge here.
A whale shark floats by along with rays and other fish. It’s just objectively impressive. I watched it circling around for longer then I meant to.
That tank alone is worth coming for.
Even though it’s crowded, the ticketing line moved quickly. Outside, there are sculptures and all kinds of info about bay cruises along a whole waterfront promenade. You can do those cruises if you’d like to make a day of it.
The design is sort of like an inner spiral that descends into various types of habitat. They had some indoor forest stuff, then some rocky underwater viewing things, and even a greenhouse exhibit. At one point, I was able to get up close with a seal.
It was literally up close, pushed right against the glass, whiskers and all.
The aquarium also had several marine mammal exhibits with great viewing areas above and below. There was also a touch pool where you can literally get hands-on with some of the creatures. While I’m not typically a fan of touch pools, this one was well-managed and appeared to be enjoyed by all.
There were educational signs about various species, everything from burfish to porcupinefish, and there’s no doubt that Kaiyukan puts a lot of effort into the education side of things.
) Pipefish, seahorses and other small critters in seagrass habitat were all there in the smaller tanks. If you didn’t pause to have a closer look, some of them could be missed! While I was not making note of individual species, I liked that they kept such a varied mix.
I also saw a penguin section during half of a feeding. The dolphin tank was nice to view from a tunnel but more static than the outdoor stadium type at Kyoto.
And then it wound back down, giving you more views of the whale sharks. I continued to stop because there’s always another view of the giant tank. You don’t really appreciate how they have spots across their body until you get close and look at them behind thick glass.
There were also manta rays gliding by; I know they are manta rays from their distinctive markings. And man, was that thing delivering the whole time. It just kept delivering.
There was a darkened, glowing jellyfish tank at the end. It was a nice way to wind down after all that big and intense stuff.
As it got dark, the Ferris wheel was all lit up outside. I didn’t go on it, but the whole area along the waterfront gets this energy to it in the evenings. Would I return to either?
I would absolutely choose Kaiyukan. Kyoto Aquarium has some cool stuff, especially those giant salamanders, and I appreciate what they’ve got going on there. But overall, Kaiyukan is simply larger and has more to see.
Between the many different habitats and the whale shark tank (which is better than anything at Kyoto), there was enough to hold my attention the entire time. While I do think of Kyoto as a nice little local aquarium, which isn’t bad, when given a choice between going back, I’d choose the place where I stopped and stared multiple times. That being said, if you happen to be in Kyoto anyway and want to see some giant salamander, it’s worth a quick trip.
But if you are actualy coming to Japan specifically to go to an aquarium, go to Osaka. Have you been to either of these? What did you think?
Would you skip the aquariums altogether in Japan?
