I awoke ruined and a shell of my former self. I suspected a ‘light activity’ was needed, and when I stepped out to get some breakfast the incredibly humidity only affirmed this suspicion. So I went to see some fish!
I visited Maxell Aqua Park in Shinagawa, a district of Tokyo about a half hour south of my hotel. This (not really an?) aquarium has various marine animals on display but is mostly known for its dolphin show. Specific to my situation today, it was entirely indoors and the air conditioning was wonderful!
The usual types of fish and other sea life was to be seen, and most of the displays were creative and clean. They had a wonderful jellyfish section as well as a sort of pseudo amazon environment which had capybara and the biggest arowana I’ve ever seen (bigger than me)!
Unfortunately… some of the enclosures left a lot to be desired. As an entirely indoor facility the question arises whether these animals (such as the capybaras or seal) ever see sunlight, much less plants, and my enjoyment in seeing them was undoubtedly affected by my wish they were free. It’s a difficult quandary of all zoos: it’s fun to see the animals, but is it fun for them?
The above pic shows a penguin repeatedly trying to hop onto the leg of a cleaner. She (the cleaner) had to hold her arm to stop the penguin but once or twice the little bird got through. I think it thought the employee was its mum? It was endearing to watch, and it was obvious the cleaner was tolerant and careful in her handling of the excitable bird. I read online this park is known for the care it shows for its animals; I just wish the enclosures were more natural.
The main attraction was the dolphin show, which was about 20 minutes long and featured five dolphins of different species (one was gigantic… was it even a dolphin?) doing impressive tricks with their trainers. The auditorium was impressive and could seat over 1000, although half or them would be in the splash zone… and these dolphins were relentless about splashing people!
I greatly enjoyed this show. Once again I was hesitant at first since I’d rather they had the entire ocean as their playground, but as performers they were flawless and they seemed to have fun as they jumped to incredible heights and dazzled the crowd with their antics. Maxell Aqua Park wasn’t the biggest aquarium I’ve ever visited, and it certainly wasn’t the best, but the dolphin show alone made it worthwhile.
Shinawaga isn’t too far away by train from a famous covered shopping street, so after the Aqua Park I headed over to the ‘Palm’ arcade for some lunch. At nearly 600m long, this is a once street converted to a pedestrian arcade and now roofed. There’s loads of shops and restaurants, and many are of the ‘mom and pop’ style, so it’s very different from the usual mall.
It also had a ‘Kura Sushi’, which is the sushi conveyor belt restaurant KLS and I ate at in Kyoto earlier this year. This is the place where you get a chance at a prize from a gacha machine for each five plates you eat, and naturally I wanted to try again to win a prize.
Long story short: I didn’t win and walked out stuffed with shrimp tempura sushi! It was fantastically delicious (and very inexpensive) but I still don’t know what’s in the capsules if you win a prize!
It was a low impact but fun day (and I didn’t mention the post-dinner Akiba shopping). I successfully recharged while dodging the heat and humidity, and I’m all set to go go go again tomorrow 🙂
