Undersea life

Your eye is drawn first to the absolutely immense whale sharks swimming serenely by. There are three of them—a male, called Jinta, is the longest at about 7.5 meters. Next comes the world’s largest manta ray in captivity. It sweeps past, as if gliding on air. It is difficult to keep these species together in the same tank, but the aquarium has succeeded because of its years of experience and the size of the tank. Another world first!

About 80 species of marine life—16,000 specimens in all—live in this tank, including schools of yellowfin tuna and bonito. They are most active at mealtime, of course. You will not want to miss when the whale sharks feed. They come up close to the surface, their bodies vertical, and then open their monster jaws, taking in about 100 liters of water along with a meal that includes tiny creatures called krill.

Coral Reef, a close reproduction of a natural environment for corals, is another must-see. Natural light filters through clean seawater that is continually being replaced. “Every year in June, you can see corals releasing their eggs here. In the future, we’re going to collect them and place them in the sea,” Kinjo says.

The next place on our tour is the 1st floor, a gloomy world for marine life used to living 200 to 1,000 meters below the surface. Longnose dogfish and Japanese spider crabs are just two of the many species moving slowly about. Collecting and caring for these deep sea creatures is not easy—temperature, light and water pressure conditions should be close to their original habitat.

Some of the colorful tropical fish in one section of the aquarium, Tropical Fish Seas. The sunlight filtering down upon the lively fish is a wonder to behold.
Humpback red snapper Red lionfish Spotted parrot fish Hump-headed wrasee Moorish idol.