Osaka Aquarium, place of wonders

Posted By: Kimberly

So on our first real day exploring Osaka, we went to the MUST SEE place! Not too many piccies of it here, since everyone who goes, will go and get their own, after all. But just a few, for those of you who haven't done it yourself and are curious!

Does your curiosity outclass this sealion who stopped to stare at the children looking in?


Zooming around... with a total slacker on its back! This manta ray is so graceful and lethal looking... quite the lord of its territory, just next door to the main attractions, the whale sharks!


Warring crustaceans! They stand out, because mostly these crabs just stand like statues in their tank...

No pics of the whale sharks, because a little secrecy to their majesty is best preserved! Well, that, and I really want to move on to the lesser attraction, situated right beside the aquarium complex!
It is noteworthy that we found very little food to recommend at this spot. Macs abandoned this area, leaving it to what we felt were overpriced places that weren't quite giving enough bang for the buck!
However, it was a wonderland of curious and interesting things... for those who like their toys, anyway. People should come here to indulge their inner child, it's the only thing to do!
There are actually 2 Hello Kitty shops, one on each floor! But I liked the obiangness of this display outside the one on the ground floor. All types of Hello Kitty paraphernalia can be sourced here.


There is also a petting zoo! But one must pay to get inside. Here, however, we are being cheapo and playing with the "free" testing bit. They put two sheep and a goat outside, with a 100yen feed dispensing machine. Their eyes are perpetually pinned on whoever approaches this machine, and they were voracious when given the food. I feel sad for them, actually, since I doubt they get enough feed, the way they fight for the munchies. It actually got down to headbutting and shoving for the pathetic half handful of pellets that I paid for. Inside the petting zoo, more animals are advertised, including squirrels, chinchillas and even llamas!


Moving on, we found this gem! Sexy stuff eh? This is the greeting mannequin at a ninja-themed shop, selling all sorts of ninja-related stuff! There is even a Naruto section with the usual fanstock. This shop is right beside a Ninja Maze as well, which one can pay to play in. We were tempted, but the need to stick to budget is greater, so we did the free thing and used our eyeballs instead.


More goodies can be had at a Ghibli shop, also located on the upper floor. The tanks in this picture are meant for marimo, and are just one of the many many types of fan merchandise available here! We had fun looking through everything, and there was so much I would have liked to own... Everything here comes with a certificate of authenticity. This, I really LIKE. It's probably a Singaporean fetish, the obsession with certs. o_O

We went to the aquarium twice, once earlier in the day, and then returned later at night. It must be noted that in the daytime, we were jostled and shoved by the hordes of tourists and aggressive mamas who made sure their children were poked into my every camera frame. However, this is also the timing for feeding to take place, and there is fun stuff to be had, watching the animals go into frenzy mode! But I also liked the evening session, when we really had the time to walk around and leisure and there were significantly fewer people so that only 5 people or less were staring at any one display at a time? Except for really cute ones like the beluga whales, but there was still plenty of space. So anyone planning to visit independently should note this option :)

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