| One day in IBARAKI |
Under the Sea
Elysse Hurtado
If you've never been to Oarai's Aquaworld, you're in for a treat. With
numerous different kinds of activities under one roof, including interactive
displays and touchable marine life, you can enjoy yourself for hours no
matter what your age. Not to mention, this is a great way to beat the summer
heat without spending all your money or sitting around indoors. But for
those who don't speak much Japanese, the icing on the cake is the new guidance
system they've introduced in 4 languages, allowing foreign visitors a chance
to enjoy and understand the many exhibits freely. All in all, there's something
for the kid in all of us.
I have to admit, before arriving I had been worried that the experience
would be a little dry. After all, aquariums are usually aimed at the younger
set and have a school trip kind of image. At the entrance to the building
is a large 'free zone' where you can enter without paying admission; this
is where the gigantic gift shops sits, overflowing with rainbow-hued plush
animals and other marine-themed goods. Meanwhile, next door is the food
court, managed by local eateries and serving, you guessed it, quite a bit
of seafood. But once inside the actual aquarium gates I was quite surprised
to find how interesting and intriguing everything was.
Large, round plexiglass drums as tall as an average adult filled with glistening,
silvery schools of fish were the first to catch my eye. Forget the rest
of the building, I would have been quite content to spend a few minutes
watching the coalescence and dissolution of various shapes caused by the
darting, gliding, hive-minded fish. But it was necessary to move quickly
in order to catch the early dolphin and sea lion show. The show is held
in a large, atrium-type room with a huge pool in the middle and waterproof
spectator seats lining one wall. The other wall, the stage, is one giant
window reaching up to the ceiling, allowing the background of the show
to be the beautiful blend of sea and sky of Oarai's coast. For those who
prefer to know what's going on beneath the surface there is also an underground
viewing area where you can watch what's going on below, or visit with the
dolphins (who apparently love to come up close to the glass to see people)
when the show is over.
The show itself was highly engaging, with the clever sea lion Pudding doing
handstands and even giving CPR. But the highlight was, of course, the agile
and powerful dolphins. In order to give them so downtime before the heavy
schedule of shows this summer there were only two dolphins today, a smaller
dolphin and a false killer whale, but they did their utmost to wow (and
soak) the crowd. Leaping over twenty feet into the air, doing massive flips
and jumps, tossing beach balls at the audience, even waving goodbye with
their flippers at the end! Most impressive of all was when they launched
their trainer out of the water like a rocket (would love to try that).
According to Mr. Otsu, the vice director of the aquarium, the training
of the dolphins is not really training as such; it's not about telling
the dolphins what to do, it's about finding the things they do in their
own play and encouraging them to do it again on request. In this way the
dolphins are not so much being used by the aquarium but rather displaying
their abilities, and getting a decent meal out of it too. The dolphins
themselves are shared between other aquariums from time to time, in order
to encourage breeding and to avoid needing more from the wild, and there
is a vet on hand to make sure they are always happy and healthy.
Later I got a chance to speak to one of the sea lion trainers, and according
to her it takes roughly a month to encourage the sea lions to take up a
new skill. Not to mention, just like cats and dogs, they all have their
own differing personalities, which can make it difficult at times; some
are extremely quick to adopt new tricks, while others get bored easily
and end up messing around - a lot like children. Just like the dolphins,
their total caloric needs are calculated and the food is divided up between
regular feeding times and the food they are given as part of the training
or shows. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask who names them.
Next we moved on to the giant tank housing various specious of shark, ray,
and other sea life. You wouldn't know to look at it, but the glass on these
windows is 50 centimeters thick! Made by special craftsmen who layer 10
centimeter slabs in such a way as to preserve the transparency of the material,
these walls are so strong that even in the 3/11 earthquakes they didn't
even budge. Inside they have diving shows a couple times a day, where a
diver enters the tank to interact with the creatures and narrates for the
audience. You can also watch them feed the sharks at one of the nearby
tanks, or stare in wonder at the humorous sunfish bobbing around close
by. Each enclosure is specially designed with the particular inhabitant's
needs in mind, such as transparent plastic curtains lining the inside of
the sunfish tank so that they don't injure themselves from bumping into
the walls. Not to mention, sunfish food has to be specially prepared from
a slurry of shrimp and other crustaceans, frozen into a tofu-like form,
and cut into gelatinous slabs to mimic the jellyfish they normally eat.
Each section of the aquarium has different attractions, covering deep-sea dwelling fish such as the anglerfish, jellyfish, crabs, but especially sharks. Aquaworld has roughly 50 varieties of sharks, ranging from the large, vicious-looking giant sharks to the tiny bottom-feeders, one of the biggest collections in the world. There are even displays where you can touch the different kinds of shark eggs (after hatching of course); did you know some sharks lay eggs that look like giant screws? Another section is a veritable oceanic petting-zoo, where you can reach in and handle some shallow-dwelling creatures such as starfish, sea cucumbers, and, of course, even a tiny shark. Nearby they give short educational talks about various creatures, and there are hands-on displays such as different penguin calls and the bubble- net certain whales use to trap fish.
For those who prefer a bit more land-based fun there are penguins, puffins,
and, for a limited time, capybara on display. Part of the habitat is outdoors
overlooking the beautiful ocean coastline, and above is a cafe with a terrace
so that you can enjoy a snack with your view. Nearby is a kids' treehouse,
so you can let the sprouts burn off some energy before moving on.
One important thing to mention is, nearly all of the creatures on display
at Aquaworld are local. The original reason for putting an aquarium in
Oarai, in addition to the beautiful scenery, was because it sits at the
forks of the Nakagawa river and the Pacific ocean, a meeting place of warm
and cold ocean currents and fresh and salt-water species. Aquaworld usually
gets their specimens from local fishermen who bring them in when they find
something unusual or interesting, but sometimes they will go out with the
fishermen in search of something specific as well. This helps fulfill Aquaworld's
mandate to show the beauty of the surrounding area while educating people
about it.
However, the most recent addition is the most exciting. As of this month
Aquaworld has implemented a guidance system in 4 languages (Japanese, English,
Korean, Chinese) that is accessible via the Nintendo DS. Upon entering
the building you can choose to download the files, and each exhibit has
a corresponding number that you enter to hear a short description in the
language of your choice. For now you must bring your own (on the first
day there was a man who had brought his son's DS to use...but not his son!),
but as of September 3rd they will be offered for rental within the building.
Due to time constraints my tour was a little rushed, but I am certain that
this would have been a great way to spend the day if I'd had more time
(and not been working). Whether you enjoy watching sharks devour small
fish or the hypnotic movement of pilchard, whether you like to watch dolphins
fly or handle starfish, there is something here for everyone, and now it's
accessible to many more. If you've never been, I highly recommend it; if
you've already been, bring your DS and enjoy the added dimension that the
new guide gives you. Either way, this is a great way to enjoy a day at
the beach without worrying about the weather.