A little of each town’s story

Kushimoto Marine Park (aquarium and underwater observatory)

From: A house in the forest and a southern sea: a day in Kushimoto

The underwater observatory at the end of a red bridge

An aquarium that recreates the sea of Kushimoto with seawater and creatures from the waters right in front of it. The keepers dive themselves to survey, collect, raise and breed the animals, and the park was the first in the world to breed loggerhead turtles to the second and third generation. In the sea turtle park you can feed large turtles. The underwater observatory stands 140 meters offshore on the seabed at a depth of 6.3 meters, with portholes giving a 360-degree view; in season more than seventy species of fish can be seen.

1157 Arida, Kushimoto, Higashimuro District, Wakayama

Sources: kushimoto.co.jp

This moment in the journey

An underwater observatory like a submarine

At the end of a red bridge stands the underwater observatory, which looks just like a submarine. It was built 140 meters offshore, on the seabed at a depth of 6.3 meters.

Down the spiral stairs, round windows line the wall. Beyond them is the real underwater world where the fish live. I strolled from window to window at my own pace. Back on the surface, looking down at the water, I wondered if that was the spot I had just been peering into.

Watch this scene on YouTube3:59

Read this scene in the full journey