Sealion using raised waterways - Sunshine Aquarium Tokyo, February 2016

Photo taken on the 1st February 2016.

Could you please describe exactly what the sea lion exhibit looks like? Is there a single main tank with a donut-shaped waterway adjacent to it? On a side note, can anyone confirm how many aquariums there are in Japan? I remember reading in a zoo publication that there was at least 65 or more spread across the nation.

Of course; sorry that I hadn't previously. The enclosure is effectively three parts: a small sandy/rocky area, a good-sized pool, and from the pool the sealions can climb to the top of a ledge and get into this little perspex canal. The waterway is effectively a doughnut shape, with a strip adjoining it to the other enclosures.
Each section would seem very small on its own, but combined they make a decent sealion exhibit.

The viewing area and windows into the other two sections are visible in the background of this photo, but I'm attaching another clearer shot.

I don't know exactly how many but I wouldn't be surprised if 65 was accurate. Tokyo alone has five major aquaria (I was fortunate enough to visit all of them) but that's without including the greater metropolitan area. If you start to include minor aquaria and the surrounding urban districts then I imagine numbers start to increase rapidly. By chance, my friend and I came across a series of 3 tanks in a department store; impressive collections and nice fish - I imagine a few similar places made it into that 65.

I found out that the JAZA Annual Report of 2012 (sort of like USA's AZA?) lists 86 zoos and 65 aquariums in Japan. That seems to be the official total, but of course there will likely be many non-JAZA facilities as well. I wonder if Japan has a higher percentage of aquariums in relation to zoos than any other nation on Earth?

On a side note, my use of "donut" and devilfish's use of "doughnut" made me chuckle as both are spelled correctly but the difference is amusing.

I am enjoying your pictures from this unusual facility. Not sure how I feel about it all but enjoying seeing it. Thanks

https://youtu.be/Mjsw7XKa23c

Currently 62 Aquariums are accredited by JAZA, but there are so many private-non Jaza-Facilties, what makes it hard to say how many aquariums exist in Japan, but guesses are around 100.

What an odd concept... I like it!