Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium, Aichi

A large aquarium on Nagoya Port's Garden Pier with orcas, belugas, dolphins and penguins. The dolphin performances in its huge pool are a favourite.

Penguins standing on icy rocks in the Antarctic exhibit of the Nagoya aquarium — Photo: 経済特区, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The aquarium's plaza and domed south building at Garden Pier in Nagoya — Photo: Tomio344456, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Two buildings: the North and South Buildings

The Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium stands on Garden Pier at the Port of Nagoya, in Minato Ward, Nagoya. The South Building opened in October 1992 and the North Building was added in November 2001. Its main pool holds about 13,400 tonnes of water, one of the largest in Japan, and in total water volume it is also one of Japan's largest aquariums.

The North Building's theme is "A 3.5-billion-year journey". It traces the evolution of mammals that returned from land to the sea, with orcas, dolphins, belugas (white whales) and more. The South Building's theme is "Journey to Antarctica", introducing creatures from five seas as if travelling the length of the globe, from the seas of Japan through equatorial waters to the Antarctic Ocean.

Highlights

On the 3rd floor of the North Building, a stadium surrounds the 60 m long, 30 m wide main pool, and dolphin performances are held several times a day, each lasting about 20 minutes. For the orcas, you can watch public training sessions with their trainers.

In the South Building's Antarctic Ocean zone you can see four species of penguin that live around Antarctica, including the emperor penguin, the largest penguin in the world. In the Japanese Seas zone, the big Kuroshio tank is famous for its Sardine Tornado, a huge shoal of Japanese sardines swimming in a swirl. There is also a coral reef tank spanning three floors.

Getting there

It is a short walk from Nagoyako Station, the last stop on the Meiko subway line. The area gets crowded at weekends and on public holidays, so the aquarium recommends using public transport.

Opening hours, prices and performance times may change, so check the calendar on the official website.

Tips

Check the dolphin performance times first and plan your route through the aquarium around them to see everything efficiently.
From 1 August to 30 November 2026, because of the Asian Games (Aichi-Nagoya), some facilities on Garden Pier (the Nagoya Port Building, the Antarctic research ship Fuji and the Port House) are not available. The aquarium itself is open. Parking arrangements have also changed, so going by train or subway is recommended.