REVIEW OF SUNSHINE INTERNATIONAL AQUARIUM TOKIO In Summer 2010, I've visited during my 5 weeks Trip to Japan some of the most famous and biggest aquariums in this country. But Japan also have a lot of much smaller aquariums, which are very nice and worth to visit them. The Sunshine International Aquarium in Ikeburuo, a part of Tokio, is one these aquariums. Because its a very interesting and unusal aquarium, its worth to introduce it in a Review.Tokio with his more than 12 Million people has not less than four zoos and four aquariums, so it is no question, Tokio is a Must-See-City for all zoofans, which are traveling to Japan. The Sunshine City Aquarium, opened in 1978, isn't the biggest aquarium ( but also not the smallest ) in Tokio, but it is defenitely the most unuasal aquarium I've ever seen and probably the most unuasal aquarium in japan, because it is located in the 10th floor of a skysraper , the World Import Mart Building, which is part of Sunshine City, a big complex with shopping centers, shops and a hotel. I'm sure, this aquarium might be the highest aquarium in the world ! It can be reached by public transport, so by the Yurakucho Line of the Tokyo Metro or by trains of diffrent lines going to Ikebukuro Station. Altough its just 1o minutes walk from this station or a five minutes walk from the Metro Station Sunshine City, the aquarium isn't easy to find, so the best way to find it, ask the people. After going through a huge shopping center, I've found the elevator to the aquarium. Unfortunately, I had no choice, so I had to visit the aquarium on a sunday, so of course it was overcrowded. The Business hours are from 10 to 6 on weekdays, on weekends and hoildays, closing time is 6:30. The entree fee is, like almost all the other aquariums in japan, expensive, so it 1,800 yen for adults, 900 yen for children. Most japenese aquariums are private, thats why they have very high entree fees. The Tokyo Sealife Park, a much bigger aquarium in the same city, is much cheaper, only 600 yen for adults, because it is owned by the city of Tokyo. After leaving the elevator, the people come to the ticket counters and the entrance to the aquarium. Its not only a pure aquarium, the outdoor part on the sun terraces does also contains a small zoo with a little"Zoo-House", and a few exhibits with some smaller mammals. So don't worry, they don't have elphants on a roof ! The outdoor area is called"Zoo-Zoo plaza". The indoor aquarium itselfs is located on two floors, the first level has the name"The Wilderness of the Sea" Floor" and is home to ocean animals, but not only saltwater fishes are kept on this level. Not only fishes, two mammal species are also kept here, one of them is living in feshwaters.The second floor is home to mostly freshwater animals, but also some coral fishes are live on that floor, which is called"Nature in every respect"Floor. The Aquarium is keeping more than 750 diffrent species, in an total area of 7765 square meters. In 2009, 706,755 people have visited the Sunshine International Aquarium, which is quite impressive for a small aquarium. 94 people are working here, including 22 keepers. The journey through "Wilderness of the Sea" starts with a small indoor cage for tamanduas, a species not often found in an aquarium...This cage is not natural and looks like a cage more for rabbits or guinea pigs, than for tamanduas. Nevertheless, the pair has bred and raised sucessfully a young. This cage is located in the little entrance lobby. Here people can take the map, in english or japanese language and can clean their hands with desinfection liquid. I've seen this in many petting zoos, but for the first time in an aquarium before entering it.... The first look into the aquarium hall is impressive, I was very surprised, it looks very modern and much bigger than I've thought.The room isn't very high, because of its location, so also the tanks are not high. The first fishes visitors meet are japanese sardines in a tube tank, of course a really big school of a a few hundreds. Many visitors pass this tank quickly,because all the tanks are very close to each other, which is natural for an aquarium, and so the people can see the biggest tank in the Sunshine Aquarium on the left side acoss of the Sardine tank immediatly they have enterd the hall. This tank,the"Sunshine coral reef" is one of the main attractions with hundreds of colourful coral fishes, no wonder, all the people prefer to watch them instead of boring sardines....It is the same effect, if a zoo is keeping duikers close to elephants....Its the biggest tank in the Aquarium with 133 000 liters of water.80 species are live in here, so both species of garden eels, which are extremly popular in japan, I've seen them, all the time both species together, in every of the aquariums I've been in japan. But most aquariums are keeping garden eels for their own, Sunshine International Aquarium is keeping them in a big coral tank, which is very nice to see. The People love it to watch them looking out of the sand floor...In this tank, they don't keeping big fishes, most species are butterfly fishes and other little coral fishes. It was not all the time a coral reef tank, before they remodeld this tank in what it is today, it was used for commerson dolphins, harbor seals and a dugong together...Unbelivable, but true. I don't know what happend to this animals, if they passed away or were send to other places, but I try to find it out. The second largest exhibit is the "Subtropical Sea"Tank with 124 000 liters, its home to some shark and Ray species, so for spotted Eagle Rays, Black Tip Reef Sharks and Nurse Sharks. Moray Lovers can see here 5 diffrent species of morays, and a Tiger snake eel ( Myrichthy maculosus ), which can be seen not often in aquariums. Some species of schooling fishes can be found also in this tank. A dive show is running at this tank every hour, a diver is going into the tank and shows the people the animals and give them explanations. This dive shows are very popular in japanese aquariums and most of them have a dive show. Right next to this big tanks are four little aquariums with very special animals, two of them I've seen them here for the first time, and I've seen them just in the Sunshine International Aquarium, so the Paintpot Cuttlefish ( metaspepia tullbergi ), a fascinating, maginifcant and very colurful , strange looking species, and one Indonesian Mimic Octopus ( Thaumoctocpus mimicus ), which was descriped for the first time in 2001 ! The other two small tanks are home to another cuttlefish species, Sepia latimanus and Seahorses. The next tank is home to a pair of Baikal Seals, outside of russia, they are extremly rare in zoos, but I have seen them in several aquariums in japan. Not in zoos, only in aquariums. Japanese Zoos are not a good place for pinnipeds, mosty, they keep harbour seals or californian sealions, but the aquariums have often magnificent collections of diffrent pinnipeds, Toba Aquarium is keeping 8 diffrent species ! Some aquariums in japan have bred Baikal Seals, Sunshine Internatuional Aquarium has had two stillborn pups in 1997, thats it. The tank for them is very small,too small for them. But they doing very well. In europe or in the USA, nobody would accept a seal tank of that little size, but in japan, the people don't care and don't think about that. The Aquarium is also keeping californian sealions,but they can be seen only in a show in the outdoor area. Three tube aquariums are follow the Seal tank, they are home to fish species out of the Tokyo Area, a big , dark Tank, called"The Deep Sea" is home to japanese giant spider crabs, really every aquarium in japan has them. The next tank contains 24 000 liters of fresh water and is called "Large Fresh water Fish from around the world" Its a really nice tank with a good enviroment and some living plants in the back. The next animals are beloved by all zoovistors, so most bigger aquariums in japan are keeping them-seaotters. Altough they are common in japanese aquariums, just a handful of them are breeding seaotters, but not here. The exhibit has a good size with a big, deep pool. The show feeding is, of course, one of the main attractions of all shows at the aquarium. A jellyfish tank, another"to be seen in every aquarium" species ( in this case moon jellies ), and a tank for a third cuttlefish species ( unfortunately, with no name sign ) are closing the lower level. The second level,"The nature in every respect"Floor starts with a probably three meters south amercian river tank , called "Water plant Aquarium"with all the well known fish and plants from home aquariums. Its open at the top, but nobody is trying to touch the fishes or plants. The first view into this tropical area floor is really nice, two big artifical tree are lying on the floor, surrounded by a few living plants and some little terrariums on the floor and open at the top. They are home to little species like tomato frogs, crabs or axolotl. The tanks are around of the trees on just one side, so " The Amazon River" tank with fish and turtles from south america, but not too big species, because this tanks are not big enough for pacu or arapaimas. This tank contains 14 000 liters of water, the two next tanks,"Congo River" and"Mekong River" are smaller with almost 6000 liters of water. All this themed tanks are beautyful and in an excellent welfare condition. The top of the"Mekong"tank is also home to Prevost's Squirls, but I couldn't spot them, so I don't know, if they are still in there. Pig nosesd turtles also live in this exhibit. Some reptile exhibits follows, for snakes and tortoises, but they are all to small. One of this exhibits is home to one giant tortoise and some smaller species, but they have no room to move, and nobody cares about it. I can't understand it, but this is, unfortunately, japanese style....The next exhibit is much better, because its home to one of the most famous native animals, the japanse salamander, they can be found in every aquarium in japan. The Sunshine International aquarium has one of the biggest and most beautyful Mangrove Exhibits I've ever seen, altough the plants are articfical.This tank is connected to the "Coral reef Lagoon", but of course, seperated by a glass window between the water parts. The Lagoon is looking phantastic with hundreds of younger coral fish species. The following four tanks with around of 9000 liters of water are also Coral Tanks with many beautyful fish and living, but also artificial corals. A nice gallery with strang looking fishes and poison darts frogs are closing this level, with a little restaurant and the gift shop at its end. From here, vistors can go back or can enter the outdoor area,"Zoo-Zoo Plaza " The people can enter the inside aquarium at every time again from Zoo-Zoo Plaza. The Outddor Area on a sunshine Terrace high over the streets on the 10th floor has one little building, the"Zoo-Zoo-House" You can forget it complete, its like a indoor petting zoo, very small with tiny, open exhibits, made for the people and not for the visitors, without ANY hiding oppurtunities, natural ground or plants. Its home to maras, guinea pigs, hedgehogs, kinkajou and tamandua ( they have sleeping boxes, which are open to the visitors side, so people can see them ), ring tailed lemurs together with hairy armadillos and some birds like scarlet ibis and macaws. Altough we people from western countries can't understand such bad and poor exhibits, its common in japan and the reality for the japanese people.( and for the animals ) But we should never forget, we can find such exhibits in every western country, a good example and a good compare are the childrens zoos in the USA, they are in the same style like the"Zoo-Zoo-House"at Sunshine International Aquarium. The"Otter-Village" can be seen from outside or from the Doki-Doki Tunnel, and is home to small claws otters and squrirl monkeys. A little penguin exhibt for black footed penguins, a really strange and tiny pelican pond,called "Pelican Hill"and the tank for two Ocaen Sun fish are further exhibts here. The Sunfish tank is also small and completly empty, and the two sunfishes are living behind a plastic hull to protect them of the window. I've seen this in some other aquariums, but most japanese aquariums are keeping sunfish in their biggest tanks. Not to forget the stage for the sealion show, but I've missed this show, but I've seen sealion shwos in many other aquariums. The Indoor aquarium is much better than the Outdoor area, so I would say, its not necessary to keep non aquatic mammals in an aquarium, it would be better to use this outdoor area also for more aquariums. Aquariums are more popular to japanese people than zoos, so I can't imagine, Sunshine is keeping the mammals just to get more visitors. They are there for the poeple of course, I mean, the Aquarium wouldn't loss visitors, if they would not keep the monkeys or the animals in the"Zoo-Zoohouse". Next year, the Aquarium is opening its biggest tank with 240 000 liters of water, for sharks, rays and big schools of other fishes, I think, they will build it on the place of the current otter village, but I'm not sure, my japanese isn't that good, I've seen a big commerical at the entrance of the aquarium for this new tank. Altough the Zoo-Zoo Plaza isn't that good, I can recommend a visit of this aquarium in this unusal location. Unfortuantely, they don't have a guidebook, only a leaflet with map.
thanks very much for that review, it was most informative. I'm hoping you're going to be doing reviews for some of the other aquariums and zoos you visited in Japan as well.
@chlidonias. I've started today my next review, but I need a couple of days for it, so please be patient !
that's good news. The Japanese facilities fascinate me in their old-school postage stamp way, like the European collections of old when nobody needed to be PC about showing animals
Penguins now show you the way to the Aquarium ! : Japanese aquarium uses penguins to make the best AR app ever | Apps and Software | Geek.com
I visited this Aquarium in 1995. Nice review. I was very happy for the oppurtunity to view the Baikal Seals.
Despite a temporary closure a few years ago, I hadn't realised just how much this aquarium had changed until looking at Tarsius' map. Here's a link to the current map (albeit in Japanese): http://www.sunshinecity.co.jp/aquarium/pdf/pamphlet.pdf
Another review of this Aquarium : https://www.internationalzooaquariu...RD5VKJURQeWBsNMKm_-SPp_9B-XoD2ZjOAPRkU6Ii_9CE
I visited this Aquarium in May and, although the overall impresión is positive, some enclosures are absolutely unacceptable. Without a doubt, the worst is the Baikal seals' exhibit: it is Little more than a bathtub. It can't be accepted that any animal lives like this. The outdoor facilities in general seem suitable for the animals, even though they have artistic and weird structures. I think the animals don't care about this, I doubt that this is important for their well-being. I think the worst enclosure in this área is the sea lions's exhibit, but not because of its structure, but because of its small size. The rest of the animals in the aquarium, in general, live in acceptable facilities in my opinion. But especially the tank for the Baikal seals should be changed yes or yes.
