is an
aquarium
An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...
in
Uozu,
Toyama Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Toyama Prefecture has a population of 993,848 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,247.61 km2 (1,640.01 sq mi). Toyama Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the ...
,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
.
Opened on the 21st of September 1913, it claims to be the oldest aquarium in Japan still open.
The aquarium is accredited as a Registered Museum by the
Museum Act from
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
The , also known as MEXT, is one of the eleven ministries of Japan that compose part of the executive branch of the government of Japan.
History
The Meiji period, Meiji government created the first Ministry of Education in 1871. In January 2001 ...
.
History
The aquarium was established as a venue for the 1913 Eight Prefectures Exhibition in what was then Uozu town of Shimoniikawa District, and was officially opened on the 21st of September, 1913, making it the first aquarium to open on the coast of the
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...
.
In May 1914 it would be sold to Uozu town. Due to the
Pacific War
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...
, the aquarium closed in March 1944 to be used as a fish processing plant.
In 1914, a loss of power lead to the discovery that the
Japanese pineapplefish contains luminescent bacteria on each side of its jaw.
In 1953, for the Toyama Industrial Exposition, the decision was made to re-establish an aquarium on the site. Despite opposition from the fishing industry in the area, and several other areas submitting bids to host the aquarium, construction on the original site began in September 1953 and was finished by April 1954.
The current aquarium was opened on the 10th of April, 1981. Also in 1981, the building, designed by the Uozu City Environmental Design Office, won an architectural award, presented by the Toyama Society of Architects and Building Engineers.
Shark Tunnel
Uozu Aquarium features the first
shark tunnel
A shark tunnel (or aquarium tunnel, acrylic tunnel and exhibit tunnel) is an underwater tunnel that passes through an aquarium, typically with sharks and related aquatic life.
They are usually made of thick acrylic glass. The first aquarium tunne ...
to be built in Japan.
It runs through the length of the Toyama Bay Giant Tank.
In 2013, in the 100th anniversary of an aquarium on the site, a sign was placed at the entrances to the tunnel proclaiming it as the first such acrylic glass aquarium tunnel in the world.
Exhibits
*The Rivers of Toyama
*Biodiversity in Rice Fields
*Toyama Bay Deep Sea
*Toyama Bay Surface Layer
*Toyama Bay Giant Tank
*Jungle Ecosystem
*Coral Reef Area
*Penguin Pool
Facilities
*Uosui Famirium
*Backstage Corner
*Touch Pool
References
External links
Official Site(in English)
Official Site(in Japanese)
YouTube channel
{{Authority control
Animal theme parks
Aquaria in Japan
Toyama Prefecture
1913 establishments in Japan