It's a refreshing trip to Kaiyukan. Very interesting concept as visitors take the escalator to the 8th floor, then take a spiral walk down to the 1st floor.

I was constantly being awed by the variety of mammals and fishes housed at Kaiyukan. The popular ones are the whale sharks, sunfish and dolphins. The special exhibitions are wonderful too. When I visited in June, the special display was the spinetail mobula and penguin chicks.

I could spend 30minutes glued to watching how graceful the spinetail mobula glides across the tank.

It has also been an informative tour as the concept is based on the "Ring of Fire" and "Ring of Life".

The 2,000 yen ticket is definitely well-spent.

Around Kaiyukan, there are other attractions such as the Santa Maria sightseeing cruise and the giant ferris wheel.

As part of our recent visit, we decided to give the Osaka Aquarium a go, and we weren't disappointed. The Aquarium was well worth the money, and beats anything we have in OZ, without getting wet. Hospitality is great, and everyone is made to feel welcome. Mums and Dads as well as the kids are kept in awe as you wander down through the various floors/levels to see everything this facility has to offer....all in air-conditioned comfort, which was much appreciated during the summer months. Evreyone in attendance on the day was respectful of crowds/queues, and happy to saunter along at the same pace.
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Access is quick, and easy, but some aspects need clarification, especially,,,

1. Why are the Penguins searched...? Is it drugs or weapons the attendants are looking for..? (see Pic 1)

2. If the penguins are reluctant to enter the water (which looks damned cold), why is there a need to put the boot in..(Pic 2) ?

Otherwise, a great day out for all the family, and despite some issues (mainly from the Penguin brigade, but a few Otters also voiced concerns) well worth the visit/money.

Highly recommended for a family visit.

This is definitely a touristy place. For an Aquarium, it is a little pricey (2000 Yen). But the concept is pretty interesting.

You enter this tunnel with fish swimming overhead (sounds familiar to us because it resembled the one in Singapore). Then you take an escalator to the top floor and spiral downwards.

This aquarium was unique because it tried to theme the experience around the different regions. The first exhibit is rather elaborate as it is set in a rainforest.

After that you view exhiits through glass panels. My favourite was the penguin exhibit. (See photo) The dolphin exhibit was interesting too because it was feeding time so the trainer was trying to get the dolphin near the glass panel.

The main exhibit of the aquarium is supposed to be the whale shark (see photo). They have touch pools and other little games at the end but i kinda preferred Monterrey's better.

You must really like sea life to enjoy this totally. But if not, it is rather a nice site to wander around in, especially on a rainy day. There is a little shopping centre next to it that you can wander around and it has a huge 100 yen shop.

This aquarium has to be one of the most exciting and interesting buildings anywhere. The work which went into the building of this place and the marine life housed there are well worth visiting and the entry price for what is on show is most reasonable.