When I asked John what his favorite part of our time in Osaka was, he said the aquarium. It's one of the largest in the world and perfect for winter sight seeing because really, what is an aquarium but an indoor zoo? Also because there weren't just fish there. Check out these cute (and somewhat vicious) otters, for instance:
We got to watch these capybaras have a snack. They're the largest living rodents in the world making them essentially giant guinea pigs.
The penguins couldn't stop looking at themselves in the mirror.
The giant spider crabs were amazing.
This crazy sting ray was giving another fish a piggy back ride.
The fish were THIS close.
Eels are so weird....
The real stars of the show were the jellyfish though.
These pictures are especially for our friend Carrie Ann who loves 'em! We hope these make you smile CA and that you have better luck in the rest of 2011 :)
Here's video of one of our favorites.
There were also turtles, every kind of fish imaginable, sea lions and dolphins, etc. Because it's Japan there was ridiculous music playing throughout the aquarium. There were also tons of kids and everyone was saying "sugoi" and "subarashi". When the aquarium workers were finished feeding the animals they bowed at the crowd. Bet you don't see that at the Shedd Aquarium!
The aquarium at Yokohama is great too. Very much the same kind of creatures, big and small. I had an excellent time there though.
ReplyDeleteCool - thanks for the tip! We're kind of zoo dorks when we travel so in the winter aquariums are a good alternative. I've heard Nagoya has a good one too. Figures for an island country, I guess :)
ReplyDeleteThat's a manta ray! I loooove them! Want to see one while diving at least once =)
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