before the fishes

We took a couple of pics in the tranquil park before heading in to see the fishes. There were ducks on the lake and fish in the water...so pretty....

Shinagawa Aquarium

When we arrived at the aquarium, we noticed that a Halloween theme has overtaken the place. Besides the decorations on the walls, there were even decorations in some of the tanks. ^^; (Japan celebrates Halloween really early.)

(BTW, most if not all the pics will be blurry since the aquarium as a no flash photography policy. Don't want to blind the fishes. ^-^) We saw a few fish in the tanks before we decided to head to see if we could catch the dolphin show which just started. Unfortunately, we didn't stay for long since we couldn't see much. Over the heads of the crowds, we were able to get a few awesome shots though. ^-^

The above pic show that the trainer just instructed the dolphin to 'throw' the ball to her. ^-^ Next we headed back inside to see schools of fish. (I ask myself, are there any dropout fish? *dies of corniness*

We also saw some anemones...

And octopus. ^.^

One of the main reasons why I chose this aquarium was the tunnel through the water. It was a short tunnel, but still fun to walk through.

We could see the sting rays swim above us as well as the turtles and other sea creatures. To be able to see them so close...is amazing.

This eel looks like it's smiling at us. ^^: Below is a pic of a shell of the Japanese giant crab...

...followed by the real thing.

In my opinion, it looks like giant spider. ^^; There were instant ramen containers behind glass. They were to show what happens to it when it is submerged under a certain level of water.

The lowest one is to see the results of 500 meters of submersion. Basically, it gets really compressed. ^^; We headed to the jellyfish room.

The middle is a pic of the cutest jellyfish ever. The movements are short and somewhat endearing...if a jellyfish can be endearing. ^^; There was a place where people (mostly kids) could touch two types of starfishes. We of course joined in. ^-^

The whiteness in the middle of the starfish is actually a reflection of the light.

Nearby, there was also Halloween costumes (mostly of witches) that kids could put on a have pics taken of them. Nothing to do with sealife...but interesting and fun for them all the same. ^.^

A tank of tropical fish...aka. Nemo and his friends! ^-^

One of Fighter's fav sea creature: sea horses!

The above is one of the weirdest fish: they're called 'garden fish'...I think, but I don't really remember. ^^; Basically, they live in the sand and poke their heads out like snakes. Or wack-a-mole.

Glass fish...and you see why. ^-^ I found the sealion tank and discovered a lone sealion chasing his tail. And possibly for the sole purpose of biting it since that was all the sealion did. He would grab onto his tail, turn in circles, release and then grab it again. ^^; No idea why of the repetition...short term memory perhaps?

We headed to the shark exhibit near the exit of the aquarium.

The above is a pic of a shark (not alive...)

...and here it is alive. ^_^

We headed back to the dolphin area where a sealion show was going on. Still...we couldn't see anything so we headed on to the penguin area. The penguin species that were there are the same as the ones I saw in Boston: Rockhopper and Magellan.

They were feeding the peguins as we left the area. We headed down the stairs and discovered the sealion tanks which also had the tunnels where we could see them swim around us...as well as under us since the floor was glass.

Something that surprised me, was that the male genitalia was literally popping in and out as they were swimming. ^^;

Which makes me wonder...how do they mate? Like sitting on top of the female as penguins do? *does research*

We were getting hungry again, so we decided to leave. We checked out the museum shop that was outside. I found a penguin Hello Kitty cellphone strap which I bought. Fighter bought a cultured clam in a can which would produce a pearl when opened. Items in hand and bag, we headed back to station. We stopped by Yoshinoya for lunch where I had a pork with rice along with a potato salad.

anime reference

Another reason why I chose this particular aquarium was because I thought it might be the one that Usami and Misaki toured in their date in episode 10 of season 2. Unfortunately, I don't think so anymore after my analysis of the place. It's not very big and so it's not the one. However, I'm happy to have visit my first (and only thus far) aquarium in Japan.