For families with toddlers/young kids, which aquarium do you think has the most interactive, hands-on exhibits?
I’ve only been to Sunshine myself, and I remember there was just one section for touching some shellfish and stuff. What about the Aqua Park in Shinagawa?
Edit: needs to be close enough for a few hours-long afternoon jaunt.
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Enoshima aquarium is a little out of Tokyo (but doable for a day trip) and it has a whole section that is interactive for kids, has animal shows, and a shark petting experience. Its really nice for kids and adults
Aqua Park is nice and their dolphin show is fun, but there aren’t any interactive exhibits as far as I remember. Kids love the merry-go-round.
I don’t have kids or pay much mind to the interactive areas so I can’t speak to that directly, but I’ve been to all the aquariums in the Tokyo area and can provide some general advice.
By far the best aquarium in Tokyo is Tokyo Sea Life Park in Kasai-Rinkai Park. It’s probably a bit out of the way for you, but IMO it’s worth it. Unlike Sunshine, Sumida or Aqua Park, Tokyo Sea Life Park is run by the metropolitan government, which makes it not a for-profit operation and it shows. They have more of a focus on education and less on entertainment, and I think the animals are treated better.
If it’s closer to you there is also Shinagawa aquarium that is run by shinagawa ward (not Maxwell aqua park, which is at shinagawa station). It’s smaller and older than sea life park but also has an educational focus.
As for the private aquariums I’d definitely recommend skipping sumida. It seems always crowded because it’s next to skytree. Maxwell aqua park might be better, I recall they have kind of a kid focused area at the beginning.
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All of the interactive hands on stuff were closed during Covid. I’m not sure what’s the status of them these days, but I would definitely check the websites just in case before you go
Yokohama Hakejima sea paradise
That’s the best place for kids if you want interaction
When my son was small, we went to the one in Shinagawa by Oi racetrack. He loved it. He’s 10 now, and asked the other day if he could go back to see the electric eel. We may go Monday since he’s out of school. There’s an Ito Yokado mall near the train station (Oimachi, I believe) with a good choice of food places. If your kid will ride in a stroller, do that because it’s quite a walk.
Tokyo Skytree has lots of penguins and when I was there they had them run through the main room. My little one loved it. Was a few years ago, so not sure if they still do it.
Went to the shinagawa one with my 18 month old în august, it was fun, she enjoyed the dolphin show but not much else for her to do.
Also there’s a food court nearby for lunch but it’s very busy so keep that in mind