Overlooking the not-so-white sandy beaches of Enoshima Island, the Aquarium offers a world-class view of the marine life metropolis that lies just beyond the shores. Enjoyable rain or shine, the Aquarium is fairly crowded on weekends, with families and a lot of young children.
Admission is 2,000 yen for adults, 1,000 yen for elementary school aged children, and 600 yen for preschoolers. Group discount rates are also available.
The modern and spacious facilities feature separate rooms with individual themes such as salt water fish, an amazing collection of jellyfish, and penguins. The breathtaking floor to ceiling glass wall aquarium is brimming with exotic fish, sting rays, sharks, and colorful coral.
There is also a free dolphin show, which is a strange mix of Cirque du Soleil meets Seaworld. The trainers wear colorful costumes, and sing and dance, as the dolphins jump through hoops. The show wasn't as impressive as we hoped, but was still worth the time.
The Aquarium offers food and fresh fruit smoothies and an interesting "cola" flavored ice cream, but I recommend venturing outside the Aquarium and trying one of the restaurants directly across the street. There was a beautiful Hawaiian cafe, decorated with tiki torches and ukele music. The menu is definitely not Hawaiian but the curry is very tasty.
Enoshima Aquarium is a three minute walk from the Katase Enoshima Station on the Odakyu line. For more information, you can check out their website at
www.enosui.com.