Out and about in Tokyo: Epson Shinagawa water stadium

Conveniently located in central Tokyo at the back of the Shinagawa Prince Hotel (opposite JR Shinagawa Station) is the Epson water stadium. There is no better place to spend a few hours with the children on a rainy day. The aquarium, although small, is very well laid out. One very interesting feature just as you enter is a tunnel through their largest tank which has tuna, large reef fish, a black tip reef shark, very large manta rays and a rare sawfish all swimming around you.

The indoor facility also features an impressive penguin enclosure with four varieties including the large king penguin. The “Penguin continent” on the visitors’ side is completely glass with the water well over head height when standing next to it, which gives a wonderful view of the graceful underwater movements of these birds. Children run alongside the swimming penguins in front of the tank and feeding times are a bustle of activity with the penguins feeding below the surface as well as on dry land.

The sea lion pool is also very entertaining. This smaller arena seats about 300 and it fills up very fast, so be sure to check the times of the performances, and allow for 30 minutes before showtime to get a seat (or just employ the convenient trick of leaving personal items on the seats you want).

The highlight of the aquarium however is the dolphin show. The dolphin pool occupies the majority of the aquarium and can seat 1,350 people. The shows are held four times a day, and featuring four Pacific white-sided dolphins, two Atlantic bottle nose dolphins and a very large false killer whale, all performing harmoniously together. The show itself is very entertaining with unbelievable dolphin acrobatics and flashes of speed (particularly from the smaller Pacific white-sided dolphin). The trainers themselves perform some impressive moves such as dolphin surfing and ridiculously high jumps propelled by the dolphins below them.

A large part of the show is devoted to “splash” time, where the dolphins (and sometime trainers) take large jumps next to the pool edge, sending walls of water over the first few rows. Disposable rain jackets are available to buy for 100 yen each and assistants are on hand with towels for splashed guests. The splash seats are clearly marked with red and yellow tape, but of course there are always a few unsuspecting first-timers who get a little more than they bargained for from the playful dolphins.

A must is the interactive plans: kids and parents can touch the dolphins, pose for photos, feed and help the dolphins. Make sure to book these plans at reception desk as you enter the aquarium, as they are hugely popular and have limited space.

If you would like to spend the whole day there, the venue also boasts other attractions in the same building complex, such as cinema, live music venue, bowling alley, amusement park and restaurants with, of course, the hotel amenities available too.

Adults (16 and older) 1,800 yen Children (7-15) 1,000 yen Kids (4-6) 600 yen Free for children under 4

Rooftop car park has plenty of space, but is expensive. A 3-hour complimentary parking stamp is available if you spend over 5,000 yen, but you need to present your receipts to the ticket counter for validation.

Did you know?

Dolphins have to be conscious to breath. This means that they cannot go into a full deep sleep, because then they would suffocate. Dolphins have "solved" that by letting one half of their brain sleep at a time. This has been determined by doing EEG studies on dolphins. Dolphins sleep about 8 hours day in this fashion.

© Japan Today