It was a rather hot summer day, around 23C when I decided to visit the Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise. Billed as a new generation style amusement park, the island combines amusement rides, an aquarium, a marina and a hotel. I had to admit that I was amused by an amusement park and aquarium combination, so it was with some expectation that I made the trip, not so much to experience the rides, but more to see the aquarium.
From Yokohama Station I took the JR Negishi Line to Shin-Suguita station and from there boarded the Seaside Line to Hakkeijima Station. The Seaside Line passed through the outskirts of Yokohama to the tip of Yokohama Bay; along the line were miles and miles of factories and industrial units, as befit a nation that ranks as one of the top 5 manufacturing countries in the world.
When I alighted at the Hakkeijima Station, I had to figure out which direction to go, since the signposting was not immediately clear. When I saw the bridge, I knew that there was only one way to go.
I was willing to be thrilled by the aquarium, but it failed to live up to expectation. Or maybe I was suffering from aquarium fatigue. The aquarium itself rises to three floors, and so ranks as one of the largest in Japan. There is a underwater viewing tunnel leading from the ground floor to the first floor, but alas it only goes one way. If I had my way I would be going up and down the escalator to enjoy the experience.
Needless to say there were shows but not one for timing myself from show to show, I just took what came along. I was awarded with one of the best shows I've ever seen: a walrus with his trainer. The walrus could clap his flippers, take a bow, blow fish through a tube, and do some other clever things. Truly amusing. I also saw a very bored polar bear slumped on the rocks, and felt very sorry for the poor beast. There were other instances of the trainers with their creatures: two of them are captured below.
My heart however lies with the smaller sea creatures: fish, jelly fish, sea anemones, and the vibrant corals. There were hundreds of thousands of these sea creatures and if I had the time, I could easily spend a whole day there.
As I walked from building to building, from the Aqua Museum to the Dolphin Fantasy, to Unifarm and to the Fureal Lagoon, I saw families eating and drinking at the restaurants near the marina. For the first time I saw BBQ stoves (Japanese style) used for grilling sea food and on close examination, the food portions were tiny. I hardly ever see Japanese eating big portions of food. No wonder relatively few Japanese are obese.
On my way back to Yokohama Station, I realized that this would be probably my last trip within Japan for some time. The time has come to finish my assignment in this beautiful country and head for some other hostile environment where I have to be vigilant 100% of the time.
From Yokohama Station I took the JR Negishi Line to Shin-Suguita station and from there boarded the Seaside Line to Hakkeijima Station. The Seaside Line passed through the outskirts of Yokohama to the tip of Yokohama Bay; along the line were miles and miles of factories and industrial units, as befit a nation that ranks as one of the top 5 manufacturing countries in the world.
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| The bridge leading to Sea Paradise from Hakkeijima Station |
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| A grainy aerial view of Yokohama Sea Paradise, courtesy of its own website |
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| A walrus with his trainer |
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| A porpoise playing with the trainer |
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| A penguin show. Later, children were invited to touch the penguin, which provided the ideal photo opportunity |
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| Fish that look almost like plastic fish swimming in a tank at the entrance to the aquarium |
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| My favourite sea creature, the jelly fish |
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| This sea creature took my breath away. |
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| Gorgeous sea anemones |
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| BBQ for sea food. Note: A lot of Japanese women love their LV handbags. |
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| The Aqua Museum seen from the Fureal Lagoon |
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| Sea Paradise Island at dusk. The tall structure is the vertical amusement ride. I could hear the screaming every time the ride comes down. |
On my way back to Yokohama Station, I realized that this would be probably my last trip within Japan for some time. The time has come to finish my assignment in this beautiful country and head for some other hostile environment where I have to be vigilant 100% of the time.
