The Panda in Kobe

Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

In 2011, when Ueno Zoo in Tokyo received two new pandas from China, “Ri-ri” and “Shin-shin”, the predominantly Tokyo-based news media made a great fuss.  It had been 3 years since the previous resident panda Rin-rin had died at the age of 22 years, and the Tokyo media decided to go into hype-up overdrive. On the day that Ri-ri and Shin-shin were first publicly displayed, it was even reported that some enthusiastic panda fans had been standing in line from the previous day.  Watching the young television news announcers become giddy and excited about seeing a panda for the first time, I thought that the circus in Tokyo was ridiculously comic because there were already pandas living at Adventure World in Wakayama and at Kobe Oji Zoo in Hyogo.  If anyone had really wanted to see a panda that desperately, all they had to do was buy a Shinkansen train ticket and come west.

Since January 12 (Monday) was the “Coming of Age Day” holiday in Japan, I took advantage of the day off to visit “Tan Tan” (female), the resident panda at Kobe Oji Zoo.  Tan Tan was born at a panda research facility in China on September 16, 1995, and will turn twenty years old this year.  Although Japanese young people are deemed to “come of age” and become adults when they reach the age of 20, pandas of that age are considered to be senior citizens.  Pandas in the wild are thought to have an average life span of 15 years.  And while pandas in captivity frequently live into their 20’s, they rarely reach 30.

Below is a photo of the outdoor portion of Tan Tan’s enclosure.  She also has an indoor area that is almost the same size.

Tan Tan lunching on bamboo leaves:

Here is a video version:

Food and Souvenirs

For Panda lovers, a vendor in Kobe Oji Zoo offers panda-shaped Chinese pork buns for 250 yen each.

As for a gift or souvenir, the cute plush panda below was 1300 yen.

And last of all, a photo of the Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens styani).  Not related to the Giant Panda, but since it’s such a cutie, I thought I’d include a photo.

Very cute.

(Note: All photos taken in this post were taken during a visit on January 12, 2015.  The comments in this post are based on observations made on that day.  Conditions may have since changed.  Please check it out for yourself!)

Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan

The Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, referred to in Japanese simply as the “Kaiyukan”, is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Osaka, receiving mostly positive reviews on internet social media sites.  Impressive in terms of its large scale and the large variety of animals it has on display, it is often on the “must see” list of visitors, both domestic and from other countries.  Over the years, I have taken about two dozen guests to the Kaiyukan, and all of them went home impressed.

A Grand Entrance

The Kaiyukan is most notable for its huge size.  The entrance gates are located on what is designated as the 3^rd of 8 floors.  (Interestingly, the aquarium building itself doesn’t have a “1^st floor” – the floor designations are shared with the shopping mall next door.  Apparently there is a “1^st floor” there.)  Upon entering the Kaiyukan, you first walk through an aquarium arcade tunnel with tropical fish swimming overhead and to your sides.

After exiting the tunnel, you ride an escalator up the equivalent of 5 floors to the 8^th floor.  This escalator ride itself was quite a thrill the first time I experienced it.  At the top, you find yourself in what the aquarium pamphlet describes as a Japanese forest.  (Each section of the aquarium is intended to represent a specific environment in a different part of the Pacific Ocean Rim.)

This area has an artificial waterfall and artificial trees that look so realistic that it is hard to distinguish the real flora from the fake.

The first enclosure in this “Japanese forest” is designed to look like a rocky riverside and is home to a group of Asian small clawed otters (Amblonyx cinereus).  A small sign posted at this enclosure explains that these animals are actually native to Southeast Asia and not Japan, but if you cannot read Japanese, that fact would elude you.  In the photo below, a staff member is feeding small fish to the otters.

After descending from the 8^th floor to the 7^th floor, you can see the underwater part of the otters’ enclosure.  Since the otters are so captivating and this is one of the first exhibits, visitors tend to accumulate here, and the crowd can get so thick that even adults have a hard time seeing the animals.  From here, the route is a spiraling downward slope until you eventually reach the 4^th floor.  On a weekend or holiday, the overcrowded conditions generally persist until about the 6^th floor.  From that point on, it becomes a little easier to relax and get a good look at the exhibits.

Marine Mammals and Birds

After the “Japanese Forest”, the next exhibits house what are labeled as Harbor seals (Phoca largha) (should these be labeled as “spotted seals”?) and California sealions (Zalophus californianus). 

Separated from visitors by only an acrylic wall, the animals seem to be close enough to touch.  It is quite an impressive visual effect.

The way that the water within the enclosure comes to the level of visitors’ ankles, and in some cases eye-level, creates an exciting effect. You almost feel that you are standing in the water with the animal.

Although the water in the exhibits for the seals and the Pacific whitesided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) appeared to be quite deep, the exhibits seemed to be rather narrow from front to back and from left to right.  I got the impression that the animals could swim up and down quite a bit, but couldn’t really swim very far in a lateral direction.  Perhaps this is an illusion created by the distortion effect of the water or the curve of the thick acrylic wall.  I guess that the only way to find out for sure is to take a backyard tour and see the other side of the glass.  Although it was quite impressive to see these creatures right in front of my face, it was a bit distressing to think that they might be living in very cramped quarters.

Below is the exhibit for the Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris).  Somehow this exhibit struck me as being similar to a diorama in a department store show window.  It was creatively decorated to resemble a natural environment, but since the overall space was fairly small and there was only artificial lighting, it had a slightly drab and artificial atmosphere.

Can you see the capybara?

Below is the “Antartica” section, the enclosure for the Adelie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae), Gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua), and King penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus).  The exhibit featured a snow machine which showered ice shavings down upon the birds.

Unfortunately, the temperature difference between the cold environment inside the enclosure and the warm air outside causes condensation on the exhibit windows.  Consequently, it is hard to get a clear sharp photograph of the birds.

The Fish Tanks

Without question, the most impressive exhibits in the Kaiyukan are the large fish tanks, especially the huge one in the center representing the Pacific Ocean. 

The center tank is 3 stories tall and so large that it houses large sharks, rays, and even a whale shark.  This first photo shows the center tank as seen from the 6^th floor.

This is a large sunfish – it was larger than a pizza pan.

Thousands of sardines and anchovies.

This is the center tank as seen from the 5^th floor.

The Great Barrier Reef section.

The center tank as seen from the 4^th floor, the lowest floor for this tank.

The below photo is of the deep sea creatures’ exhibit.

The big star of the center tank is the whale shark (Rhincodon typus).  It is the most impressive creature in the center tank, and it makes a huge impression on visitors. In fact, the whale shark is so popular that the Kaiyukan uses a whale shark as one of its mascot characters, and there are even whale shark plush dolls in the gift shops.

Although I recognize that these huge creatures are show stoppers that bring in a lot of visitors, I am somewhat concerned about whether whale sharks can be successfully kept alive in the aquarium environment for long periods of time. Although not much is known about their life history, it is thought that whale sharks in the wild can grow as large as 15 meters long (one specimen caught off Taiwan was reported to be 20 meters long and to weigh 34 tons), and estimates of the whale shark lifespan vary from 60 years to as high as 100 years.  In comparison, whale sharks kept at the Kaiyukan seem to last only a few years.

The present whale shark, a female named “Yuu-chan”, is about 5 meters long, and estimated to be 7 to 8 years old.  According to information on the Kaiyukan website, she was caught in Japanese waters on July 17, 2014 and moved to the Kaiyukan on August 25, 2014.  I thought it was interesting that this particular whale shark was given the same name as a previous whale shark that had died only a month earlier.  (Perhaps there were too many remaining promotional materials and original goods plastered with the name “Yuu-chan”.)

According to internet news articles, the previous whale shark “Yuu-chan” (female) was brought to the Kaiyukan in July 2011 but died July 16, 2014, after being in the Kaiyukan for only 3 years.  She was caught in the waters off of Kochi Prefecture, and it was estimated that she was 7 to 8 years old.  “Ten-chan”, another female whale shark that had been exhibited along with “Yuu-chan” had died the previous week (July 13, 2014) after only 1 year at the Kaiyukan. Ten-chan was caught in August 2012, brought to the Kaiyukan in June 2013, and was estimated to be 5 to 6 years old.  (Coincidentally, another whale shark kept at an aquarium in Yokohama had died July 11, 2014 after 4 years in captivity.)

Whale sharks are very valuable animals. On the IUCN red list of threatened species, they have been assessed to be “vulnerable”, meaning that the species faces a risk of extinction in the wild.  They are also listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, and the international trade of them is subject to strict regulation.  Although the whale sharks displayed at the Kaiyukan were domestically caught in Japanese waters, considering how rare and valuable these animals are, perhaps it would be wiser to leave them in the ocean until more is known about them.

Educational Efforts

Besides the small signs and name plates located near each exhibit, the Kaiyukan also has two special exhibit rooms and a lecture hall.   The theme of this particular temporary exhibit had to do with fish body parts – I think.  (Can you tell I rushed through this area without paying full attention?) 

Floating Aliens?

After completing the spiraling route to the lowest level of the center tank, you take an escalator to the 3^rd floor to an area featuring tanks full of various jellyfishes.  The lighting in this area is subdued, and since the movements of the jellies are slow and gentle, it makes for a very relaxing atmosphere. If they had seats in this area (they don’t) I don’t think visitors would ever leave. If you have ever stared at a lava lamp, I think you will know what I mean.

Opportunities for Close Animal Encounters

The last part of the Kaiyukan tour leads to a newly extended area that was constructed over the previously existing entrance gate area.  The theme of this area is “Shintaikan” which translates to “new bodily experience”, and the exhibits in this area promise to get you much closer to the resident animals.  The first section represents the Arctic Sea, and it features a group of spotted seals.  As you can see from the below photo, visitors can peer over the acrylic wall and look directly at the seals only 2 or 3 meters away.  While it was nice to get such a close look at the animals, I think some visitors might consider the enclosure to be too small for the resident animals.

The below photo shows a pool which represents the Maldive Islands.  Visitors are allowed to touch the sharks and rays in the pool.  While the fishes were basically docile and motionless, there were about 3 aquarium staff members frantically repeating instructions to visitors to not touch certain parts of the animals such as their mouths or the tails of the rays.  (Which leads to a question - if there is any possible danger of injury at all, why even allow such contact in the first place?) There were also basins and disinfectant dispensers for visitors to wash their hands before and after touching the animals.

Immediately next to the touching pool was a display representing the Falkland Islands.  As you can see in the below photo, visitors are separated from the birds by only an acrylic wall and about 1 or 2 meters of distance.

Food and Souvenirs

There was a coffee shop and a restaurant within the aquarium, but since I did not eat there, I am unable to report on what kind of food they serve.  With respect to shopping, there was a souvenir shop area located immediately inside of the entrance and an even larger museum shop located just outside of the exit.  I would recommend shopping in the museum shop after exiting the aquarium area because the floor space is about 4 times as large as the shop near the entrance, and it has a greater selection of goods including t-shirts, keychains, foods, toys, plush dolls, plastic figures of the animals and fish in the aquarium, etc.  There is also a museum corner with books, rock and mineral samples, jewelry, and genuine fossil samples such as prehistoric sharks’ teeth.

Getting There

The nearest train station is the “Osakako” station of the Chuo Subway Line, which at the location of the Osakako station, is actually elevated two stories above ground.  Upon exiting the station, you should be able to see the giant ferris wheel which is located at the Tenpozan Marketplace next to the aquarium.  As you get closer to the ferris wheel, you will see the aquarium building with its distinctive blue and red walls and mural.  Admission is 2300 yen for adults, 1200 yen for students in intermediate school and elementary school, and 600 yen for children 4 years or older who are not yet in school.  Although it is not explicitly written in the pamphlet, I presume that children 3 and under will get in free.

(Note: All photos taken in this post were taken during a visit on December 14, 2014.  The comments in this post are based on observations made on that day.  Conditions may have since changed.  Please check it out for yourself!)

New Year’s Day 2015 at Tennoji Zoo

New Year’s Day might be an unusual day to go to a zoo, but since Tennoji Zoo in Osaka announced it would be open on January 1^st to start the celebrations of its 100^th anniversary, I thought I would go to see how the animals greeted the start of 2015.  (In usual years, the zoo is closed from December 29^th to January 1^st in observance of the New Year’s holiday.)

Predictably, there were congratulatory decorations, signs, banners, and a few commemorative goods for sale.  There were also a number of special events, and even free commemorative calendars for the first 1000 visitors through the gate. 

Despite the very cold temperature, there were a surprising good number of visitors in the zoo.  One of the crowd stoppers was the pair of young Jaguars (Panthera onca) that were born last August 9^th. 

The window of the exhibit was a bit dirty, so it was impossible to get a sharply focused photograph of the baby Jaguars.

Even if the photo isn’t sharp, they’re still very cute.

If only the exhibit was larger… and nicer… and had more natural elements…

Perhaps the biggest crowd of the day was the approximately 150 people gathered to watch ten visitors play a game of “tug-of-war” against Kojiro, the young male Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica).

They tied one end of the rope to a large bone that still had some meat on it.

When Kojiro grabbed the bone, the participants pulled on the rope - not with all their might, but with just enough resistance to give Kojiro some exercise.

There were a lot of video cameramen and photographers.  I think they were from the television stations and newspapers.  At least two of the video cameramen had armbands with the “NHK” television logo on it.

After about 10 minutes, Kojiro was allowed to enjoy his afternoon snack.

(Note: All photos taken in this post were taken during a visit on January 1, 2015.  The comments in this post are based on observations made on that day.  Conditions may have since changed.  Please check it out for yourself!)