Miyajima Island

Miyajima Island in Hiroshima Prefecture is one of three places in Japan where I have encountered “wild” deer upclose.  (The other two places being Nara Park in Nara Prefecture and Shiretoko National Park in Hokkaido Prefecture.)  Miyajima is sometimes also referred to as Itsukushima Island and is the location of World Heritage site Itsukushima Shrine.  Itsukushima Shrine is famous for its large “torii” gate which is located in the middle of the bay in front of the shrine.

Itsukushima shrine is partly built over the water, and the bay is subject to a tidal difference of about 1 meter.  Below is a photo of the shrine at high tide.

Next is a photo of the shrine only about 4 hours later.  The tide has receded so far that visitors are walking on the sand.

Miyajima is a picturesque location and there are thousands of visitors every day. I visited on a holiday weekend, and the island was crowded with both domestic and international tourists.

Miyajima is accessed by a ferry that takes about 10 minutes to make the crossing from the mainland.  The one way ticket was 180 yen.

After landing on Miyajima and exiting the harbor building,

visitors will see a row of small souvenir shops and restaurants.

Almost immediately, visitors will encounter the local deer.  According to the Miyajima Tourist Association homepage, there are about 500 deer living on the island, and about 200 living within the town. 

Although the deer are “wild”, they do not run away when tourists approach to take selfie photographs.  And although the deer are quite tame, signs posted around the island remind visitors that the deer are “wild animals”, and that visitors should not touch or feed the deer.

Because visitors do not feed the deer on Miyajima, the deer are not as aggressive towards tourists as the deer in Nara Park. 

Here are photographs of various deer spotted around the island.

If you like deer, this is definitely a place to visit. 

(Note: All photos in this post were taken during a visit made on November 24, 2018.  The comments in this post are based on observations made at that time.  Conditions may have since changed.  Please check it out for yourself!)

Aquaria KLCC (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

Aquaria KLCC is located in the basement of the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.  Built totally underground, exhibits are arranged on two levels. It seemed to have been built like the Siam Ocean World in Bangkok, except on a smaller scale.

Educational Displays ・Signage

Upon entering the facility, the visitor encounters many large and colorful explanatory signs.  One gets the strong impression that this aquarium would be a useful destination for school excursions.  One of the first large signs I encountered was a call to action regarding the shark finning problem.

The next set of colorful signs and the first live exhibit featured South American piranhas.

This type of educational signage continues throughout the facility:

Electric eels exhibit

Sign regarding survival of animals

Sign explaining characteristics and habitat of Raccoon Butterflyfish

Other signage

Exhibit regarding sharks and shark finning problem

Close Encounters with Animals

Besides the educational signage, there were interactive exhibits that appeared to be especially aimed at young visitors.  The first of these was a touch tank located immediately after the piranha exhibit near the entrance.  

Freshwater fishes

The below photographs depict the area surrounding the large tubular tank located at the beginning of the “Freshwater Journey” section. 

Ocean Fishes

The following photographs show various salt-water fish exhibits.

Shark Tank

Located on the lowest level 2 was the exhibit for Sand Tiger Sharks.  It featured an area where visitors rode upon a moving conveyor belt through an underwater tunnel.

I found that the slow moving conveyor walkway made me feel a little nauseous, so I walked along the non-moving area adjoining the conveyor belt.

Souvenirs

Just as much as promoting educational messages, the sale of souvenir trinkets appeared to be an important priority of this facility.  There was a sales desk located midway through the exhibit course near the shark tanks featuring small items.  Closer to the exit, there was a fully stocked souvenir store which even included fairly pricey jewelry. The large size of this store seemed disproportionately large when compared to the relatively small scale of the aquarium facility as a whole. 

Getting There

As mentioned earlier, Aquaria KLCC is located in the basement of the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center.  The convention center is within walking distance from many downtown hotels and is located near to the world famous Petronas Twin Towers.

Entering the convention center from the south entrance, visitors will see stairs and escalators going down to the basement.

Once downstairs, the entrance to the aquarium should be easily seen.

Admission for foreigner adults was 65 ringgits.

(Note: All photos in this post were taken during a visit made on September 4, 2018.  The comments in this post are based on observations made at that time.  Conditions may have since changed.  Please check it out for yourself!)