The Tokyo Zoological Society will implement a unique venue project at the Kasai Rinkai Aquarium. “Unique venues” are venues that offer memorable special experiences by organizing conferences, receptions and events in historic buildings, cultural facilities, public spaces, etc.
Kasai Rinkai Aquarium is an aquarium located in 6-2-3, Rinkai-cho, Edogawa-ku, Tokyo. The park opened on October 10, 1989. Designed by architect Yoshio Taniguchi. The director is Naoki Tabata (from April 2014). It was under the jurisdiction of the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Construction, but its management has been taken over by the Tokyo Zoo Association, a designated interest management system.
Overview
Located in Kasai Rinkai Park in Edogawa-ku, Tokyo, the park also has a Kasai Rinkai Bird Park. About 650 species of animals are bred in 47 aquariums, including tuna migrating in large donut-shaped aquariums.
It is the most popular aquarium in East Japan since its opening, and the annual number of visitors in the first year of its opening was 3.55 million, far exceeding the Japanese record at that time (2.4 million in the Kobe City Suma Beach Aquarium: 1987).
It is the world’s first successful nursery fish display. In addition, many of the displayed creatures are directly collected locally by the breeding and exhibition section researcher, and rare creatures can be seen especially in polar water tanks. However, common creatures rely on purchases from vendors.
Breeding seawater is transported by truck off Hachijojima. The vessels that carry seawater are not dedicated, but are carried on cargo routes to Aogashima and Mikurajima, taking advantage of the empty space on the way back. Approximately 3,000 tons of seawater is used a month, and most of it is used for large tanks such as shark tanks and tuna tanks. However, seabird and penguin water and backwash water for the filter tank are filtered from Tokyo Bay water in front of the aquarium, and are not seawater but brackish water.
The breeding staff is divided into an environmental team and a breeding team. The environmental team is further divided into the Tokyo Sea Team and the Penguin / Seabird Team, and the breeding team is divided into the Tuna / Deep Sea Team and the World Sea Team. The back of the aquarium has a facility called a breeding center for stocking of creatures and breeding experiments. Staff are divided into exhibitors and breeding centers. There are no veterinarians, and a veterinarian from Onishi Ueno Zoo has visited us. The Education Promotion Section is in charge of supporting the activities of volunteers belonging to Tokyo Sea Life Volunteers and accepting trainees.
The bait used in the garden is basically krill, prawns, gokai, horse mackerel, squid, and peeled clams. Temporary staff prepares food according to the size of the creature’s mouth. Organisms that only eat live food (such as nursery fish, sea dragons, and seahorses) are fed live live shrimp and live thistle.
Exhibition
The hall is large and has many exhibits. It takes a considerable amount of time to look closely. The display method is very simple, with little decoration. Many aquariums only show fish names and figures, but there are also pictorial books for searching and rooms with specialized staff. Sea animals such as dolphins, sea otters, sea lions and seals are not on display. The exhibits are popular for “ocean navigators” and “penguin ecology”, but some of the highlights include unusual fish near Australia and rare Antarctic and Arctic fish. In addition, many fish from Tokyo Bay and the waters around Japan are on display, and you can see familiar fish that are usually displayed on dining tables. In addition, there are some fish that seem at first glance but have unusual ecology, and there are many places to see.
In May 2011, a commentary using a digital photo frame panel was added beside the aquarium as a service improvement.
Main building
Second floor
“Ocean Navigator” (displays a group of sharks, rays, and sardines, such as red hammerhead sharks and blacktip reef sharks. It used to also display black sharks.)
First floor
“Ocean Navigator” (Donut-shaped 2,200 t aquarium. A huge aquarium connected to the second floor, but a separate aquarium from which sharks are displayed. (A tiger shark was exhibited. A blue shark, a blue shark, a sunfish, a cochinaga and a bigeye were also displayed before. The space named Aqua Theater has seats so you can watch it calmly.)
“Seas of the World” (Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean, Deep Sea, Arctic Ocean and Antarctic Ocean.
“Beach creatures” (mullet, red sea bream, octopus, sea turtle, etc. In the touching pool, in addition to starfish, sea urchins, etc., if various conditions are met, you will also touch sharks such as cat sharks)
“Ecology of penguins” (Humboldt penguins, Osama penguins, rockhopper penguins, and fairy penguins are bred outdoors. (Bred indoors, not open to the public)
“Seaweed Forest” (Exhibition focusing on giant kelp)
“The Sea of Tokyo” (Ogasawara Islands, Izu-Nanashima, and Tokyo Bay are exhibited separately. Tamakaeruo, Hobo, etc.)
“Seabird ecology” (sea turtles, etopirica, etc.)
Freshwater Biological Museum
Exhibits creatures that live in Japan’s fresh water, such as Oika, char, yamame, medaka etc.