Aquarium, Aqua World Ōarai (Ōarai)

Information

Aqua World Ōarai is a new type of aquarium introducing methods of exhibition from museums and science museums. The three functions of "display," "popularize," and "research" are linked with its fundamental theme of "the sea and the nature of Ibaraki; the sea of the world and its environment."

Many people from youth to adults can enjoy Aqua World Ōarai by learning, thinking, and exchanging ideas about the environment and living creatures of the sea. There are also restaurants, shops, and areas for conversation for you to enjoy.

Outline of aquarium

• Ferro-concrete structure, 5-story building (7 stories in part)
• Total floor area: About 19,800 m²
• Parking lot: 750 passenger cars/20 large buses

Outline of exhibitions

• Number of exhibition tanks: 60
• Number of displayed living creatures: About 68,000 (580 species)
• Amount of water in the exhibition tank: About 4,100 t (total amount of water: 5,100 t)

Symbol

"Shark" is used as the motif for the symbol. Shark breeding is carried out at Aqua World Ōarai, and the aim is to breed the most different kinds of sharks in the country. Sharks are known as mysterious creatures which have developed from more than 400 million years ago, residing at the top of the sea's food chain. The circles of the symbol signify "Ōarai, Ibaraki and World," "The Japan current, junction between two ocean currents, and the Kurile current," and "Past, Present, and Future."

Access map

Transportation

By train:

• Ueno station---(JR Jōban Line express 80 min.)---Mito station---(Ōarai Kashima Line 15 min.)---Ōarai station---(Ibaraki Kōtsū bus 15 min.)
• Iwaki station---(JR Jōban Line express 75 min.)---Mito station---(Ōarai Kashima Line 15 min.)---Ōarai station---(Ibaraki Kōtsū bus 15 min.)
• Oyama station---(JR Mito Line 80 min.)---Mito station---(Ōarai Kashima Line 15 min.)---Ōarai station---(Ibaraki Kōtsū bus 15 min.)
• Kashima-Jingū station---(Ōarai Kashima Line 60 min.)---Ōarai station---(Ibaraki Kōtsū bus 15 min.)

By car:

• 15 minutes from Mito-Ōarai interchange on Kita-Kantō Expressway,
  *From Tōkyō District---(Jōban Expressway)---Tomobe JCT---(Kita-Kantō Expressway)---Mito-Ōarai interchange---R.51 for Ōarai
• 45 minutes from Hitachi-Minami-Ōta interchange on Jōban Expressway,
  *From Northeast District---(Jōban Expressway)---Hitachi-Minami-Ōta interchange---R.6 for Mito---R.51 for Ōarai

Admission fees

	Standard rate	Groups	Discounted rates
Adults	¥1,800	¥1,400
Elementary & Junior High students	¥900	¥700	¥600
Small children	¥300	¥250	¥200

• Free admission for children under age 3.
• Group rates shown are per person for groups of 20 or more.
• Discounted rates are for school trips of nursery school, kindergarten, elementary, and junior high school students.
• Includes tax

Open

From 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (last admission 4:00 p.m.)

Closed (exact dates for 2009)

• Monday, December 7^th through Friday, December 11^th

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