Whale Shark at Kagoshima City Aquarium Japan

Kagoshima City Aquarium is one of the top tourist attractions in Kagoshima. I love aquariums! I love scuba diving and when I can’t go scuba diving, the next best experience is visiting an aquarium. I am often disappointed with aquariums but the Kagoshima City Aquarium is definitely worth a visit.

The highlight at Kagoshima City Aquarium is the whale shark! This is the first time I have ever seen a whale shark. I have missed them by a day a few times in Koh Chang Thailand so I was excited to see my first whale shark, even if it was in captivity, it was still special to see this gentle giant.

The whale shark at Kagoshima City Aquarium is a juvenile infant, so still has lots more growing to do. You can see in this pic it is still quite a large animal compared to the people next to the window.

Another attraction at the Kagoshima City Aquarium is the Dolphin show. When you first walk in, just to the left you will find the large open amphitheatre with the large pool where the 4 dolphins perform serveral times a day. The commentary in only in Japanese so you miss out on all the valuable inforamation about the dolphins. The show is still impressive to watch. The dolphins at Kagoshima CIty Aquarium are the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, which are found in the bay around Kagoshima at various times of the year.

There are loads of other marine life to see at Kagoshima City Aquarium. In the main tank there are a number of large stingrays and sharks. The pic below shows the spotted eagle ray.

Spotted Eagle Ray at Kagoshima City Aquarium

Throughout the aquarium complex are smaller tanks showing coral environments with tropical fish. Another highlight for me was this giant Moray Eel. Awesome