Io World Kagoshima — city aquarium

photo by Totti · CC BY-SA 4.0

photo by At by At · CC BY-SA 3.0

The whale sharks are called Yuyu: they go back to the sea at 5.5 metres with a transmitter.

In the 1,500-tonne main tank some twenty different species swim together; separately, the aquarium has raised its own whale sharks (all named ‘Yuyu’) since 2000, and releases them into the sea when they reach 5.5 metres, trained with a method of its own (the ‘Kagoshima method’) and fitted with a satellite transmitter to track their movements. In 2017 it hosted the world's first display of deep-sea amagasa jellyfish, and it was the first facility in Japan to display the Satsuma giant tubeworm.

Opened on 30 May 1997 on the waterfront of Kagoshima port, opposite the pier for the Sakurajima ferries, on five floors plus two below ground. It is the main aquarium in southern Kyūshū and is among the attractions discounted with the city's tourist passes, alongside Sengan-en and the Ishin Furusato-kan.

ℹ️ Address: 〒892-0814 鹿児島市本港新町3-1. Open 9:30–18:00 (last entry 17:00). Tickets: adults ¥1,500, children ¥750, children aged 4 and over ¥350. Access: 15 minutes by bus from Kagoshima-Chūō, 8 minutes’ walk from the ‘Suizokukan-guchi’ tram stop, 15 minutes’ walk from JR Kagoshima Station.

🚉 Kagoshima · 16 min walk

Sources: ja.wikipedia.org

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