Gregory Owain

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Shinagawa Aquarium

Dolphin shows were an entirely new experience for me as they have long been defunct in the UK. Their intelligence, power and finesse is something to behold. 1/1000s 50mm F1.8 ISO 200.

After a trip to the zoo, it was time to explore life under the sea and given that Japan is an island nation obsessed with sea food it should come as no surprise that there are plenty of aquariums in Tokyo. They are often a lot bigger than the ones back home as many hold something that hasn’t been seen in captivity in the UK since 1993 – dolphins. But more on that later. Given the choices available I decided to visit Shinagawa Aquarium on the western side of Tokyo, closer to where I live. It’s far from the biggest but has a good cross section of underwater fauna, including species that live in and around Japan as well as those from places more exotic.

When I first arrived I was amused to see kids watching an employee clean the glass from the inside. 1/250s 50mm F1.8 ISO 1000.

A yamame land locked salmon. I love the simplicity of these freshwater river displays. 1/80s 50mm F1.8 ISO 800.

There’s a good mixture of freshwater and saltwater displays, this group of pufferfish dance around the surface. 1/320s 50mm F1.8 ISO 10000.

The aquarium is split over two different floors with some exhibitions spanning both. The ground floor, starting from the entrance, has exhibits on the freshwater and saltwater life of Japan. I was particularly fond of the river exhibition with numerous trout, salmon and char species, reminding me of the gravel streams back home. The rest is dedicated to marine life and the stand-out here was the tank of schooling sardines. Seeing fish like this in large numbers up close is pretty unusual and it made me realise these fish are actually much bigger than I thought, even if overall they are still small. You can also appreciate their flashing colours which don’t quite get when you open the tin full of tomato sauce.

The Japanese spider crab is the largest invertebrate in the world. 1/100s 50mm F1.8 ISO 2500.

Seeing a shoal of sardines at head height was surprisingly interesting experience. 1/500s 50mm F1.8 ISO 1000.

Archer fish have always been one of my favourites for the unique hunting abilities. 1/320s 50mm F1.8 ISO 1600.

A critically endangered South China Giant Salamander. Many of these game to Japan in the 1970s when they became a popular delicacy. 1/320s 50mm F1.8 ISO 1000.

The basement floor mostly covers fish from other parts of the world, including tropical species like clown fish which were always popular even before Finding Nemo. Though there are also tanks dedicated to tropical freshwater fish such as the electric eel and the archer fish, one of my favourites since I was a kid. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see a feeding session but there was a video on loop next to the tank which showed them shoot down their prey with jets of water.

The seals were another mammalian addition to the aquarium. 1/500s 50mm F1.8 ISO 800.

They have as much character as they do hunger. 1/500s 50mm F1.8 ISO 500.

A dolphin comes to greet the crowd. 1/640s 50mm F1.8 ISO 160.

But by far the biggest attraction was of course the dolphin and sea lion stadium where visitors could watch these impressive marine mammals perform tricks with their trainers. While the sea lion disappeared into the back after each performance the dolphins were left to swim around their tank for visitors to enjoy on both floors. I watched the first performances of the day, and I am glad that I did as the later ones were much busier, there wasn’t even standing room outside.

It’s astonishing how high they can jump. 1/800s 50mm F2.8 ISO 160.

Each dolphin show was crowded, even at the first one in the morning. 1/800s 50mm F3.2 ISO 500.

The afternoon show was so busy I had to stand inside to watch it. 1/1000s 50mm F1.8 ISO 200.

The resident sea lion also had plenty of tricks to keep the crowds entertained. 1/800s 50mm F2.8 ISO 320.

There’s certainly a lot of ethical questions raised about keeping animals like dolphins in captivity, not only do you need a lot of space to keep them but given their intelligence can you really say they are living fully enriched lives? This doesn’t seem to be a question on the minds of the Japanese given how they are in aquariums up and down the country and Sea World in Chiba even has killer whales. However, seeing these creatures up close for the first time really gave me an idea of just how powerful and intelligent these creatures are. The shear speed they can move at was simply incredible, as were the heights they could jump. The fact they know how to perform all of these tricks also shows just how good their memories are. Even if it is better that they be released into the wild, I hope the ones in captivity can at least provide a great deal of inspiration to the children of Japan to take care of the natural world.

On the basement floor there’s a large aqua tunnel where you can enjoy fish and turtles swimming over your head. 1/200s 50mm F1.8 ISO 1600.

Admiring the fish. 1/200s 50mm F1.8 ISO 1600.

Framing this up backlit I got this shot which is normally reserved for drivers of this eagle ray. 1/200s 50mm F1.8 ISO 500.

There were two other shows I was able to see; seal feeding (they are much more relaxed than the sea lions), and the other was the diver show. In the basement they had my favourite feature for an aquarium, an underwater tunnel. I just love these as you can walk through and have huge turtles and rays swim over your head, it’s just so much more immersive than a regular fish tank. The crowds gathered and the diver entered the tank to swim around, wave at the children and feed the fish. She was also wearing a mask that allowed her to communicate with the assistant on the other side of the glass. The aforementioned children loved it.

The diver show was also popular and it was fun to see her handfeed the fish. 1/320s 50mm F1.8 ISO 5000.

A mother and child enjoy the show. 1/320s 50mm F1.8 ISO 5000.

When going abroad we often look to the starkly different contrasts in culture but for me it is often the subtle differences that interest me the most. Aquariums and zoos are something ubiquitous the world over and yet every country will do and present things in their own way. I have also visited the Maxell Aqua Park with its gorgeous autumn displays, emphasis on the changing seasons is something very Japanese and goes far behind putting up a few decorations for Christmas. Perhaps that is one I can write about in a future blog. In the meantime, I look forward to what other small surprises the Japanese have in store for me on my next day out.

As an added bonus the aquarium also has penguins. Just don’t expect them to do too many tricks. 1/160s 50mm F1.8 ISO 320.

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