Kushimoto Marine Park Aquarium Underwater Observatory

Kushimoto Marine Park Aquarium is an aquarium known for achievements such as being the world’s first to successfully achieve artificial breeding of loggerhead sea turtles, earning recognition awards. While many aquariums feature creatures gathered from around the world, this one is uniquely composed only of marine life that lives in the seas around Kushimoto. In sunlight-filled tanks, you can watch lively fish swimming—an astonishing collection said to include about 500 species and 5,000 individual exhibits. A major highlight is the Underwater Observation Tower. Located 140 meters offshore at a depth of 6.3 meters, it lets you observe the underwater world as if you had dived in, directly through glass—tropical and subtropical fish, corals, and more in the deep blue sea. The aquarium and observation tower are connected, and there are multiple ticket types; to visit the observation tower, you need the "Aquarium & Underwater Observation Tower" ticket. For lunch, there is the "Marine Park Restaurant Pora," where you can enjoy Wakayama specialties like "Wakayama ramen" or seafood rice bowls while looking out at the observation tower area. Access: take the JR Kisei Main Line to "Kushimoto Station," then use the free shuttle bus bound for Kushimoto Marine Park for smooth access.