Dolphins, Dugongs, and Indoor Diving
The dolphin pool at the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium. (C)Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium
An artificial beach for sea turtles to lay their eggs on. (C)Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium
The male and female dugongs at the Toba Aquarium. Jun'ichi, the male, is on the right. (C)TOBA AQUARIUM
The Coral Reef Diving area gives visitors the feeling that they are actually standing in the middle of the ocean. (C)TOBA AQUARIUM
One of the best places to enjoy a dolphin show is the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium in Nagoya. Bottlenose dolphins swim in a pool that has one of the biggest viewing windows in the world. Visitors can watch the dolphins in action and observe their natural behavior. The aquarium also works to protect sea turtles, which are threatened with extinction. An artificial beach has been created for the female sea turtles to lay their eggs on. Connected to the beach is a huge round tank shaped like a donut. A big window in the middle of the tank lets people watch the turtles at close quarters as they swim.
Not far from Nagoya, at the Toba Aquarium in Mie Prefecture, visitors have a chance to see the dugong, a marine mammal that some people think may have been the basis for mermaid legends. The aquarium has one male and one female dugong. The male, named Jun'ichi, has set a new world record as the dugong that has lived out of the wild for the longest time. Another popular attraction is the Coral Reef Diving area, where visitors can take their time enjoying the colorful fish that live in and around a coral reef. The ceiling and three of the walls are made out of glass, giving you the feeling that you are actually standing inside the ocean.