Kaiyukan (Osaka Aquarium), Osaka

Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan

We spend a morning at the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, which is one of the biggest aquariums around based on fish tank size. The setup was a bit unique where you head up to the top floor and walk in a large spiral down towards the bottom floor, while checking out some of the larger tanks in the middle from multiple floors/angles. The highlight is a massive Whale Shark and some huge Manta Rays.

There were some penguins, seals, jellyfish and a good variety of local shrimps and crabs too. The collection was pretty impressive and the large schools of fish in the main tank were pretty mesmerizing.

I felt the spiral concept was interesting at first, but then felt a little flat as you end up seeing the same set of fish like 10 times. It also meant the upper floors were crowded, and then much less dense as you head lower since everyone’s attention span crashes after a few sightings of the same fish. There also felt a lack of variety in terms of interactive elements, so our daughter seemed to lose interest about half way through. It’s a shame cause the place has some impressively huge tanks, but I wouldn’t rate it terribly high in terms of aquariums. The one in Toba, Mie was more entertaining for kids, due to the various shows. I also was spoiled growing up near the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, which is a high bar for aquariums to beat.

It’s worth checking out if you spend some time in Osaka, but it won’t be high on the list for repeat attractions while we live here.

Lunch at Tempozan Shopping Center

We had lunch at the food court in the Tempozan shopping area. I had a forgettable pork donburi while the wife/daughter had a decent tsukemen. If you haven’t had a tsukemen, it is like ramen, but instead of the noodles in a bowl of soup/broth, the noodles are separate and you dip the noodles into a soup/broth as you eat. I would describe it as a deconstructed ramen.

As we were walking out of the shopping center, there was a whole other dining area tucked away from the food court. WTF! The food looked way better in this area, with some street food and many other tasty looking choices. Oh well, stupid pork donburi, it wasn’t so bad, but compared to what could have been.

Tempozan Ferris Wheel

Interestingly, the Osaka Legoland Discovery Center is next door to the shopping center, so we will be back to check this place out in the future. It is like a mini Legoland?! Not sure, the building was several stories and about the size of the aquarium, so definitely worth checking out. And to top all this off, there is a rather large ferris wheel which is luckily air conditioned. You also get a choice of see-through floor or standard for the same price. Of course, we took the see-through floor. The views were quite awesome, we could check out the Osaka sky line and out towards the bay. It must be even better at night. We also saw Universal Studios across the river, which is funny cause that’s where we’re going next!