Nagasaki Penguin Aquarium, Nagasaki

An aquarium starring penguins, with 9 of the world's 18 species. Watch them fly through a 4-metre-deep pool, and at weekends relax on a real seaside beach.

A king penguin gliding underwater in the large pool at Nagasaki Penguin Aquarium — Photo: pelican from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A gentoo penguin swimming underwater at Nagasaki Penguin Aquarium — Photo: Ken FUNAKOSHI, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

An aquarium born from whales and penguins

Nagasaki Penguin Aquarium stands by the sea in Shukumachi, in the Higashi-Nagasaki area in the east of Nagasaki city. Its predecessor was Nagasaki Aquarium. Nagasaki's story with penguins began in 1959, when a whaling ship that had been working in the Southern Ocean (the seas around Antarctica) brought back four chinstrap penguins. It is a fitting start for Nagasaki, which had been known as a whaling base since the Edo period.

Nagasaki Aquarium closed in 1998, but in answer to the wishes of local people and penguin fans, Nagasaki Penguin Aquarium opened in 2001 as a hands-on aquarium. Since the days of its predecessor it has been known as a pioneer in penguin breeding, and its techniques were once described in overseas literature as the "Nagasaki method". About 70 per cent of the penguins living here now were born in Nagasaki.

Meet nine kinds of penguin

The aquarium keeps 9 of the 18 penguin species on Earth, so you can compare the differences between them in one place. The Sub-Antarctic Penguin Pool, home to penguins from the islands around Antarctica, is 4 metres deep and holds 200 tonnes of water, one of the largest in Japan. Watching them dart through the water is like watching birds fly through the sky.

There is also an area for penguins from warmer regions, and an enclosure for little penguins, the world's smallest penguin, which came from Australia. The building also displays the stuffed body of Ginkichi, a king penguin who was kept here for over 39 years and set the world record for the longest time in captivity.

Swimming in the open sea at the Fureai Penguin Beach

Right in front of the aquarium is the real sea. At the Fureai Penguin Beach, you can watch penguins swim in the natural sea and rest on the sand. The official website describes it as a world first. It takes place only on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, and is not held in bad weather, during bird flu outbreaks, or during the moulting season (kanuki) when the penguins replace their feathers.

Besides the penguins, there is a Nagasaki Sea tank with fish from the waters around Nagasaki, a touch pool where you can feel starfish, sea cucumbers and sea urchins, and jellyfish tanks. Another highlight is the pla buk (Mekong giant catfish), one of the world's largest freshwater fish, presented to Nagasaki City by the government of Thailand.

Getting there

From the bus stop in front of JR Nagasaki Station (the transport plaza), take a Nagasaki Prefectural Bus bound for Aba or Kasuga Shako-mae. According to Nagasaki City's tourism website, the ride takes about 30 minutes; get off at Penguin Suizokukan-mae and walk for about 5 minutes. A taxi from Nagasaki Station takes about 30 minutes.

By car, it is about 5 minutes from the Nagasaki Susukizuka Interchange on the Nagasaki Expressway. Check the official website for opening hours and admission fees.

Tips

The Fureai Penguin Beach runs only on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, and is cancelled in bad weather (it was cancelled on 26 and 27 September 2026, for example). If it is the main reason for your visit, check the announcements on the official website on the morning of the day.
You cannot eat or drink inside the building, but you can at the outdoor Penguin Plaza and on the lawn park. You can leave and come back in as many times as you like on the same day.
The path from the car park to the aquarium is a biotope recreating a traditional satoyama (the countryside where villages, fields and woods meet), with rice paddies, a stream and a pond. Staff and visitors have built it little by little over more than 10 years.
From late April to late September, kayaking sessions with an instructor are held on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.