Shibukawa Marine Aquarium

Uruchi, the spotted seal, is the latest addition to the Marine Aquarium.

At Shibukawa Marine Aquarium, you will be greeted by the cute and round spotted seals and the very rare northern fur seals.

It is well-known as a unique facility that combines an aquarium and an exhibition hall. It breeds and exhibits 2,000 marine creatures of 180 species from all over Japan, mainly from the Seto Inland Sea, and the exhibition hall displays many valuable materials that teach about the nature and human phenomena of the inland seas, including stuffed fish and crustaceans, 1,000 shellfish specimens, and ship models.
You can see the northern fur seal, which is designated as an endangered species by the Ministry of the Environment in Japan! There are only four aquariums in the whole country that keep them, and our aquarium is the only one in Western Japan (west of Aichi Prefecture) where you can see this rare fur seal, so please come and see it!

basic information

address: 2-6-1 Shibukawa, Tamano City, Okayama Prefecture

access

train: From Okayama Station (JR Uno Line to Uno Station) 50 minutes to Uno Station. From Uno Station, take the express bus for 20 minutes.
bus: From Okayama Station, take the express bus (bound for Setouchi Marine Hotel) to Setouchi Marine Hotel, approximately 70 minutes
car: About 70 minutes from Okayama city

parking: Fee: 100 yen per hour (maximum 1,000 yen per day) *Discounts are available for museum visitors.

Admission fee: Adults: 800 yen (15 years old and over) (excluding 15-year-old junior high school students)
Children (ages 5 to 15) 400 yen (including 15-year-old junior high school students)

Annual Pass: Adults 2,400 yen Children 1,200 yen Pair 3,200 yen (1 adult and 1 child)

Opening hours: Regular hours: 9:00-17:00 (entry until 16:30)
During swimming season: 8:30-17:30 (entry until 17:00)

Closed Days: Wednesdays *If a public holiday falls on a Wednesday, the museum will be closed the following day.

remarks: Discounts available for general groups, student groups, and others. *For more information, please see the official website.

Representative creatures: Northern fur seals are found in the North Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Okhotsk, and the Bering Sea, and in Japan they can be found in the waters off Hokkaido. However, in the past they were overfished for their fur, which has reduced their numbers. They are now internationally protected, and in Japan they have been designated an endangered species by the Ministry of the Environment, meaning that capture and rearing is restricted.
In 2016, Shibukawa Marine Aquarium was granted special permission from the Ministry of the Environment to keep this rare fur seal. There are only four aquariums in the whole country that keep this rare fur seal, and our aquarium is the only one in western Japan (west of Aichi Prefecture) that you can encounter this rare fur seal.
Males can reach a maximum length of 2.5m and 280kg, while females can reach a maximum length of 1.3m and 65kg. When they reach adulthood, males grow to be approximately four times the weight of females and develop impressive manes.