Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan (海遊館)
The lunch at the food court in the Aeon mall Kyoto was the last thing I did in Kyoto and as you could have read in this blog post, we arrived at the Nikko hotel Osaka without troubles. The first thing on our To-do list in Osaka was visiting the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan.
Start at Osaka (Umeda) station on the subway Midosuji line (red) -> Yodoyabashi station -> Hommachi station, where you get out and switch to the subway Chuo line (green) -> Bentencho station -> Osakako station.
You can either take exit 1 or 2 (both are on the right side) of the Osakako station. At the back of the station (exit 4), there are two small supermarkets, Lawson 100 yen store and Familymart. On the way to Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, there is also a 7-Eleven convenience store and the Super National Chikko supermarket on the left side of the road.
It takes about 30 minutes to reach Osakako station and from there, it is about a 5 min. walk to the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan. Or so it says... I think it took me about 20-30 minutes to get there by foot. I remember a lot of staircases from the walking bridge, exiting the Osakako station, and the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan was at the very end of the street, when we turned left. Walk towards this building, as it is also where you can find the entrance to the amusement complex Tempozan Harbor village of which the Osaka Aquarium is part of.
How to reach Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan
Start at Osaka (Umeda) station on the subway Midosuji line (red) -> Yodoyabashi station -> Hommachi station, where you get out and switch to the subway Chuo line (green) -> Bentencho station -> Osakako station.
You can either take exit 1 or 2 (both are on the right side) of the Osakako station. At the back of the station (exit 4), there are two small supermarkets, Lawson 100 yen store and Familymart. On the way to Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, there is also a 7-Eleven convenience store and the Super National Chikko supermarket on the left side of the road.
It takes about 30 minutes to reach Osakako station and from there, it is about a 5 min. walk to the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan. Or so it says... I think it took me about 20-30 minutes to get there by foot. I remember a lot of staircases from the walking bridge, exiting the Osakako station, and the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan was at the very end of the street, when we turned left. Walk towards this building, as it is also where you can find the entrance to the amusement complex Tempozan Harbor village of which the Osaka Aquarium is part of.
About Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan
In the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, you can find aquatic animals of the Pacific rim such as otters, sea lions, penguins, dolphins, rays, and jellyfish in an environment resembling their natural habitat. The highlight is the whale shark - the largest fish in the world - in the Pacific Ocean water tank, which is 9 m deep and 34 m long. It would take about 2.5 hours to explore the whole aquarium (30,000 creatures and 620 species), spiraling down from the 8th floor to the 4th floor. You can rent an audio guide at the information counter (500 yen) to make the most out of this experience. It is available in Japanese, English, Chinese, and Korean. If you prefer to take a lunch break in between, you can visit the Service counter near the exit to get a stamp on the back of your hand, with which you can re-enter the aquarium in the same day.
This ticket was bought in 2010, so it still has the old admission fee of 2,000 yen.
Blog posts about Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan:
Osaka Aquarium KaiyukanAdmission fee: 2,300 yen (older than 16 years old), 2,000 yen (over 60), 1,200 yen (age between 7-15), 600 yen (age between 4-6), and free for children under the age of 3.Opening hours: 10:00-20:00 (last admission 19:00)Opening hours may vary and on some days, it may be closed. Check the official website to make sure.
