aquarium again

Most moms would probably agree that getting to be with your kids on Mother’s Day is the best!  To have the experience be in another country is off the charts!

When we woke up it was raining so we decided to go to the aquarium, which you may recall if you saw my other post, is one of the great aquariums in the world.  By the time we left, it was pouring outside.  It was 64 degrees and not windy, so the rain was coming straight down. Still, even with our umbrellas our socks were soaked through our shoes by the time we made it to the train station.

The train ride to the aquarium is above ground.  You could see how heavy the rain was falling in the thick mist and low clouds hanging over the buildings.  An old lady on the train was sitting across from me next to Priscila.  She rattled off a long sentence in Japanese, with the last word being America.  Priscila smiled and said, “Hai!”  The woman pulled out a bag of candy and gave Todd and Priscila and chocolate caramel, then shook the bag to show it was empty 🙂

We slogged our way in the rain, bumping umbrellas along the sidewalk.  The ticket line was long, but in ever efficient Japanese style, it moved really fast.  Soon we were inside and then WOW!  It seemed that everyone who was gonna take their mom to the rose garden came to the aquarium instead.  It was packed!  Todd saw a man in the bathroom trying to dry his socks and feet under the dryer so he tried it too, haha.

We took the long escalators to the top and started working our way down.  If you remained in the throng of people, eventually you could move into position to see the tanks.  As I talked about before, it is really amazing with so many of the species being new to those of us who live on the Atlantic side of the globe.  

The whale shark is so massive you simply can’t help marveling at him curving his way through the tank–it’s truly hard to take your eyes off him.  Many of the others fish and rays are equally impressive.  As I went to snap a picture of this ray, suddenly a huge eye popped into my viewfinder!

There were areas of the aquarium that were so  crowded we could barely get a peak, like the penguin display.  It was pretty loud with people and children; fortunately it is well ventilated so it wasn’t hot or stuffy.  Everyone made the most of it and we moved in and out of the crowds, trying to make sure we stayed together.

The displays are well designed so you get many viewpoints.  For instance, you could watch this Japanese duck swimming on top of the water like any other duck.  Then he would dive down all the way to the bottom to rummage for food.
Occasionally you could find an open window and appreciate the many colors of sea life.  The display on the Great Barrier Reef is remarkable, even if it’s not captured well in the photo. 

The jellyfish and other deep water displays were fascinating, some with long streamers of tentacles like thread or thick party streamers.  

Everyone lined up to get photos or videos of the captivating way in which they moved forward and back effortlessly. 

We relaxed with some fries at the food court and decided it would be easier to just get home and dry off.  When we left it was still raining pretty hard.  It’s just so different from Florida in that way.  If there’s going to be rain here it may be all day and all night.  It felt pretty good to get home and out of our wet shoes!  One of my favorite authors, Neil Peart from the band Rush, says that sometimes the best part of an adventure is that it is over haha!  I thought how people must feel when they go to Disney on Christmas Day, thinking it won’t be crowded because, after all, it is Christmas, only to find it’s full to capacity.  And they paid double for 1 ticket what we paid for all 3 tickets!  We definitely made the most of it and there was still more to come on this amazing Japan Mother’s Day!

Photo: Todd and Priscila and others photographing jellyfish at aquarium