Wakkanai Aquarium (Wakkanai, Hokkaido): 14 February 2025
The Wakkanai Aquarium is situated at Cape Noshappu, just outside the town of Wakkanai at the northern tip of Hokkaido (it is the northernmost town in Japan). There are buses from Wakkanai every ten to fifteen minutes through the day, and it is only a ten minute ride, so it is easy to visit if in the area. Entry fee was 500 Yen (c. US$3.30, UK£2.50, or 2.90 Euros).
Map of the Wakkanai Aquarium - the three deeper-blue shapes on the right are animal housing - Spotted Seal pool at bottom, Humboldt Penguin pool is the semi-circular shape, and the largest of the three shapes is the aquarium building.
Floor plan of the Aquarium building. Although the second floor has an entry arrow on this plan, I did it the reverse way, entering on the first (ground) level and exiting from the second level which seems to make more sense. The circular area on the right has a long tank for local marine fish curving around the wall.
There is an outdoor pool for Spotted Seals and another for Humboldt Penguins, although on my visit (in winter) the latter was completely covered over in snow and the penguins were being housed indoors because it is too cold for them outside. The indoor penguin area was far too small - this and a small bare tank for a Chinese Softshell Turtle next to it were the only really bad animal areas here.
The aquarium itself is small and feels quite run down but it is still very interesting in that almost all the fish and invertebrate species are local to northern Hokkaido, other than a row of small tanks for tropical marines and a tank for Doctor Fish (a "fish spa"). Highlight of the visit were the Sea Angels Clione elegantissima, which are pelagic shell-less gastropods.
Sea Angels
The signage is almost solely in Japanese so I didn't always know precisely what I was looking at in most tanks. However it was complete and accurate for what was on display, which is unusual in Aquariums in general worldwide (although pleasantly common at Japanese Aquariums), so I took photos of every sign and made the species list below. On most of the signs the identification of each species was given as the common name in Japanese, and underneath that the family name (also in Japanese).
Some examples of the signage:
Photos are currently in the Japan - Other gallery. I'll link to the last one and you can use the left arrow to move through them (Wakkanai Aquarium floor plan - ZooChat), but the easier option is just to put "Wakkanai Aquarium" into the search box when in the Japan - Other gallery and they will all show up together because I have included the name in all the photo titles (Search Results for Query: wakkanai - ZooChat).
MAMMALS:
Spotted Seal Phoca largha
BIRDS:
Humboldt Penguin Spheniscus humboldti
REPTILES:
Chinese Softshell Turtle Pelodiscus sinensis
FISH:
Rajidae:
Mottled Skate Beringraja pulchra
Muraenidae:
Zebra Moray Gymnomuraena zebra
Ribbon Eel Rhinomuraena quaesita
Cyprinidae:
Doctor Fish Garra rufa
Salmonidae:
Sakhalin Taimen / Japanese Huchen Parahucho perryi (Hucho perryi)
Gobiidae:
Yellow Coral Goby Gobiodon okinawae
Paralichthyidae:
Japanese (Olive) Flounder Paralichthys olivaceus
Pleuronectidae:
Barfin Flounder Verasper moseri
Starry Flounder Platichthys stellatus
Stone Flounder Platichthys bicoloratus
Slime Flounder Microstomus achne
Pomacentridae:
Ocellaris Clownfish Amphiprion ocellaris
Pink Skunk Clownfish Amphiprion perideraion
Barrier Reef Clownfish Amphiprion akindynos (signed, not seen)
Three-spot Damselfish Dascyllus trimaculatus
Blue Damselfish Chrysiptera cyanea
Scorpaenidae:
Black Rockfish Sebastes schlegelii
White-edged Rockfish Sebastes taczanowskii
Three-striped Rockfish Sebastes trivittatus
Fox Jacopever (Rockfish) Sebastes vulpes
Redfin Waspfish Paracentropogon rubripinnis
Hexigrammidae:
Okhotsk Atka Mackerel Pleurogrammus azonus
Fat Greenling Hexagrammos otakii
Rock Greenling Hexagrammos lagocephalus
Cyclopteridae:
Spotted Lumpfish Eumicrotremus pacificus
Anarhichadidae:
Bering Wolf-fish Anarhichas orientalis
Stichaeidae:
Japanese Warbonnet Chirolophus japonicus
Forkline Prickleback Stichaeopsis epallax
Long Shanny Dinogunellus grigorjewi (Stichaeus grigorjewi)
Oplegnathidae:
Spotted Knifejaw Oplegnathus punctatus
INVERTEBRATES:
Apart for the Red King Crab and the Sea Angels, all the invertebrates are in a single tank.
Red King Crab Paralithodes camtschaticus
Sea Angel Clione elegantissima
Japanese Spiky Sea Cucumber Apostichopus japonicus
Kinko (Orange-footed) Sea Cucumber Cucumaria frondosa
Plumose Anemone Metridium senile
Itomaki Starfish Asterina pectinifera
Northern Pacific Seastar Asterias amurensis
Japanese Starfish Astropecten sp. (Based on the description - burrowing into sand after shellfish - it is of this genus but I can't find an exact match with the Japanese name used on the signage: the starfish is the picture third down on the left in this photo if anyone from Japan knows to which exact species the name refers: Marine invertebrate signage, Wakkanai Aquarium - ZooChat)
Northern Sea Urchin Strongylocentrotus nudus
Green Sea Urchin Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus
Mussel species (just labeled in Japanese as mussel).
The Wakkanai Aquarium is situated at Cape Noshappu, just outside the town of Wakkanai at the northern tip of Hokkaido (it is the northernmost town in Japan). There are buses from Wakkanai every ten to fifteen minutes through the day, and it is only a ten minute ride, so it is easy to visit if in the area. Entry fee was 500 Yen (c. US$3.30, UK£2.50, or 2.90 Euros).
Map of the Wakkanai Aquarium - the three deeper-blue shapes on the right are animal housing - Spotted Seal pool at bottom, Humboldt Penguin pool is the semi-circular shape, and the largest of the three shapes is the aquarium building.
Floor plan of the Aquarium building. Although the second floor has an entry arrow on this plan, I did it the reverse way, entering on the first (ground) level and exiting from the second level which seems to make more sense. The circular area on the right has a long tank for local marine fish curving around the wall.
There is an outdoor pool for Spotted Seals and another for Humboldt Penguins, although on my visit (in winter) the latter was completely covered over in snow and the penguins were being housed indoors because it is too cold for them outside. The indoor penguin area was far too small - this and a small bare tank for a Chinese Softshell Turtle next to it were the only really bad animal areas here.
The aquarium itself is small and feels quite run down but it is still very interesting in that almost all the fish and invertebrate species are local to northern Hokkaido, other than a row of small tanks for tropical marines and a tank for Doctor Fish (a "fish spa"). Highlight of the visit were the Sea Angels Clione elegantissima, which are pelagic shell-less gastropods.
Sea Angels
The signage is almost solely in Japanese so I didn't always know precisely what I was looking at in most tanks. However it was complete and accurate for what was on display, which is unusual in Aquariums in general worldwide (although pleasantly common at Japanese Aquariums), so I took photos of every sign and made the species list below. On most of the signs the identification of each species was given as the common name in Japanese, and underneath that the family name (also in Japanese).
Some examples of the signage:
Photos are currently in the Japan - Other gallery. I'll link to the last one and you can use the left arrow to move through them (Wakkanai Aquarium floor plan - ZooChat), but the easier option is just to put "Wakkanai Aquarium" into the search box when in the Japan - Other gallery and they will all show up together because I have included the name in all the photo titles (Search Results for Query: wakkanai - ZooChat).
MAMMALS:
Spotted Seal Phoca largha
BIRDS:
Humboldt Penguin Spheniscus humboldti
REPTILES:
Chinese Softshell Turtle Pelodiscus sinensis
FISH:
Rajidae:
Mottled Skate Beringraja pulchra
Muraenidae:
Zebra Moray Gymnomuraena zebra
Ribbon Eel Rhinomuraena quaesita
Cyprinidae:
Doctor Fish Garra rufa
Salmonidae:
Sakhalin Taimen / Japanese Huchen Parahucho perryi (Hucho perryi)
Gobiidae:
Yellow Coral Goby Gobiodon okinawae
Paralichthyidae:
Japanese (Olive) Flounder Paralichthys olivaceus
Pleuronectidae:
Barfin Flounder Verasper moseri
Starry Flounder Platichthys stellatus
Stone Flounder Platichthys bicoloratus
Slime Flounder Microstomus achne
Pomacentridae:
Ocellaris Clownfish Amphiprion ocellaris
Pink Skunk Clownfish Amphiprion perideraion
Barrier Reef Clownfish Amphiprion akindynos (signed, not seen)
Three-spot Damselfish Dascyllus trimaculatus
Blue Damselfish Chrysiptera cyanea
Scorpaenidae:
Black Rockfish Sebastes schlegelii
White-edged Rockfish Sebastes taczanowskii
Three-striped Rockfish Sebastes trivittatus
Fox Jacopever (Rockfish) Sebastes vulpes
Redfin Waspfish Paracentropogon rubripinnis
Hexigrammidae:
Okhotsk Atka Mackerel Pleurogrammus azonus
Fat Greenling Hexagrammos otakii
Rock Greenling Hexagrammos lagocephalus
Cyclopteridae:
Spotted Lumpfish Eumicrotremus pacificus
Anarhichadidae:
Bering Wolf-fish Anarhichas orientalis
Stichaeidae:
Japanese Warbonnet Chirolophus japonicus
Forkline Prickleback Stichaeopsis epallax
Long Shanny Dinogunellus grigorjewi (Stichaeus grigorjewi)
Oplegnathidae:
Spotted Knifejaw Oplegnathus punctatus
INVERTEBRATES:
Apart for the Red King Crab and the Sea Angels, all the invertebrates are in a single tank.
Red King Crab Paralithodes camtschaticus
Sea Angel Clione elegantissima
Japanese Spiky Sea Cucumber Apostichopus japonicus
Kinko (Orange-footed) Sea Cucumber Cucumaria frondosa
Plumose Anemone Metridium senile
Itomaki Starfish Asterina pectinifera
Northern Pacific Seastar Asterias amurensis
Japanese Starfish Astropecten sp. (Based on the description - burrowing into sand after shellfish - it is of this genus but I can't find an exact match with the Japanese name used on the signage: the starfish is the picture third down on the left in this photo if anyone from Japan knows to which exact species the name refers: Marine invertebrate signage, Wakkanai Aquarium - ZooChat)
Northern Sea Urchin Strongylocentrotus nudus
Green Sea Urchin Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus
Mussel species (just labeled in Japanese as mussel).
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