Shimonoseki Marine Science Museum “KAIKYOKAN”

⚠️Temporarily closed from February 1st to 29th, 2024. Kaikyokan is located facing the Kanmon Strait, which connects the Sea of Japan and the Seto Inland Sea, and one of its features is the Kanmon Strait tidal tank, which reproduces the eddies and currents of the Kanmon Strait that you can see right in front of you. In addition, Shimonoseki is famous for puffer fish, so in addition to exhibiting over 100 species of puffer fish from all over the world, such as tiger puffers and sunfish, there are also shows featuring dolphins and sea lions, which are very rare in Japan, and small whales. There are many exhibitions and events, including a performance of bubble rings made by the finless porpoise, a member of the finless porpoise family. Furthermore, the Penguin Village, one of the largest penguin exhibit facilities in Japan, exhibits approximately 140 penguins of five different types that live in two climate areas: sub-Antarctic and temperate. In the Subantarctic zone, there is an acrylic tunnel in a large aquarium with a water capacity of approximately 700 tons and a maximum depth of 6 meters, where you can observe penguins swimming lively from various angles. The temperate zone is an area that recreates the habitat of Chile in South America, where you can see penguins digging holes for nesting and raising their chicks in their natural state. In addition, the entire skeleton of a blue whale (estimated to be 26 meters long when alive), one of only a few remaining in the world, is on display in its complete form, and its scale is astounding. Kaikyokan is an attractive aquarium packed with many features not found in other aquariums.