Churaumi Aquarium

Wow. I cannot believe how huge whale sharks are. And that aquarium was definitely the best one I've ever visited. And I've been to the one in Monterey Bay, the one in Baltimore, and a few others; this one takes the cake! They actually BREED whale sharks there. It's the only tank in the world big enough that those & giant manta rays can swim around. Fascinating stuff. Here are a few highlights- no, not scanned from the brochure - it really is THIS big and blue with this good a view of the sea life. Fantastic day! We're going to get a membership.


The entrance to the aquarium - this whale shark is actual-size.
From the front - gorgeous water in the background.

Inside, you enter from the 4th floor and take an escalator down; this is the view.

The biggest acrylic panel in the world is in this tank that houses Mama Whale Shark (seen here with her baby riding on her back) - it's 22.5m wide, 8.2m high, and 60cm (2 feet) thick.
Here you can see the scale of the size of that ray compared to the people standing below. There is stadium seating in front of this panel - Mia and Craig and I could've sat there for hours.

The bull shark that lives in the shark tank next door is 3m long and weighs 300kg. He has lived in the aquarium for 27 years as of 2005, swimming at 2km/h constantly. The total distance he has swam in that time has been 481,000km - that equals 12 times around the earth! (very cool stuff in the brochure)


Here's one of the sea turtles - these also breed at the aquarium.
Here's the link to the whole lot.