Kagoshima City Aquarium Tickets

Kagoshima City Aquarium, known locally as Io World, faces the ferry port with the smoking cone of Sakurajima directly across the water, and it tells the story of the seas that surround southern Kyushu, from the Kuroshio current to the coral islands running south toward Okinawa. Its most famous residents are the whale sharks that patrol the vast main tank.

The Kuroshio and its giants

The centrepiece Kuroshio tank recreates the great warm current that sweeps past Kagoshima, with a young whale shark cruising among rays and tuna in one of the region’s most impressive displays. The aquarium follows a local rule of raising whale sharks only to a certain size before returning them to the sea, a practice explained in the exhibits. Elsewhere, electric eels, the strange creatures of the deep and the sea life of the Satsunan islands fill out a solid two hour visit, with a dolphin pool connected to open water canals outside.

Pairing with the volcano

The Sakurajima ferry leaves from beside the aquarium around the clock, crossing the bay in fifteen minutes, so the natural plan is aquarium in the morning and volcano in the afternoon, with lunch at the port between.

Getting there

From Kagoshima-Chuo Station, trams and buses run toward the waterfront, with the aquarium a short walk from the Suizokukan-guchi tram stop. The City View sightseeing bus also stops at the aquarium on its harbour loop.

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