I didn’t do any research before coming to Miyajima in Hiroshima. While wandering aimlessly, I spotted an aquarium and decided to check it out. The admission fee was 1400 yen? It was my first time visiting an aquarium in my life (for a budget traveler like me, zoos, aquariums, and theme parks are all high-cost activities, so I rarely go), so I have no basis for comparison in terms of size. However, as of the day I’m writing this travelogue, I’ve already been to Okinawa’s Churaumi Aquarium. Comparing the two, Miyajima Aquarium isn’t very big, but it was still a very enjoyable experience.
Churaumi Aquarium focuses on showcasing the ecology and species of the Pacific Ocean and the Kuroshio Current, while Miyajima Aquarium displays the creatures of the Seto Inland Sea.
Archerfish—I waited for a while, but they just swam around without shooting water from the surface.
This was my first encounter with ribbon eels, and I thought they were super cute right away.
They were stretching in and out of the sand—so funny. Lots of visitors were filming them.
Whoa, this fish is super ugly. What’s up with that buddy next to it? Haha.
After checking out the fish tanks, I came to see the penguins. I didn’t expect there would be penguins here.
They were all really funny—some were grooming themselves with their beaks, while others were just standing still like that one.
Some were also lying flat on the ground resting, maybe even asleep.
The biggest surprise was being able to get up close and personal with the penguins.
Wow wow, they came super close. Their silly looks were so adorable.
At designated times and spots, you can even reach out and touch them, but...
I got distracted by the neighbor pair of sea otters—they were sleeping stacked on top of each other, which was so heartwarming.
Although some sea otters were lazily sleeping, most of the others were very active, running around and squeezing through everywhere.
They were really so cute. Seeing them was super healing.
Then I moved on to another area. I thought they were dolphins at first, but they’re actually a different species—the finless porpoise. The most obvious difference is that they don’t have long pointed snouts.
After pretty much finishing the aquarium tour, I sat down to rest. The staff calls this area “The Healing Sea.” The beam of light in the water looked really beautiful and soothing. There were all kinds of people coming and going, and observing their different reactions was also relaxing and pleasant.
Before leaving the aquarium, I took a stroll through the gift shop. The stars of the aquarium—ribbon eels, penguins, sea otters, finless porpoises—really are the best at drawing in the cash, haha.
Although it’s not as big as Churaumi Aquarium, seeing penguins and sea otters was totally unexpected for me. If you’re not in a rush to explore Miyajima, stopping by the aquarium for some fun is a great idea.
Miyajima Aquarium official website (Chinese)? http://miyajima-aqua.jp/traditional/
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Having traveled to over 30 countries/regions, lived in Taiwan for a year and a half, traveled and stayed in Japan for several months, worked and traveled in Canada for two months with aurora experiences, travelogues published on U blog, DC fever, likeJapan, now.com, Travel Bar. Open to various forms of collaboration.