This week, to compensate for the lack of science I haven’t done here in Japan, we took a day to visit the Osaka Aquarium, one of largest aquariums in the world. It was also the first time that I have gone anywhere new without an experienced Japan-public transportation rider. Thankfully, we were able to get there in one piece without getting lost, and we also saved a lot of money by getting a pass called the Osaka Kaiyuu Pass which includes unlimited ride on the trains and the entrance ticket to the aquarium, so definitely do your research on where you want to go because you never know what kind of deals you can get.
The aquarium does live up to its hype about being big since it is 8 floors high. There was every possible fish shape, size, and color you can imagine, even non-fish animals like otters and emperor penguins and sea lions were present. The main attraction was the whale shark, which lived in a tank that were about 4 stories high with many other sharks and rays, it was quite a sight. Speaking as a Biology student, the only thing I felt the aquarium was lacking was the educational aspect. There weren’t too much information about the different species or about the area that each tank was supposed to represent so it was more of an amusement place than informative. Nevertheless, I truly enjoyed the aquarium and the harbor around it was also a lovely sight.
