Bab-ul Hayat in Osaka

I love this aquarium! Beautiful layout and really fun to visit.

Loved this aquarium!! It's quite a big one and we saw so many fishes and other aquatic animals. I think it's actually the best aquarium I've ever been to. Definitely recommend coming here, we spent half a day here and it's pretty worth it in my opinion. A must see if you're in Osaka

At first I thought every aquarium was just the same: some giant ponds with fishes, sea animals inside and so on - which wouldn’t give me much of the added values for such an expensive trip like my 10 days trip around some cities of JP.But turned out I was totally wrong. I hadn’t ever seen any aquarium like this unique one in Osaka.After spending more than 2hrs here, I think this was one of my best experiences during my stay in JP. Would definitely recommend all of my friends and family to come and visit this place if they ever got a chance to be in Osaka.Totally worth the ticket, the walk and the train fares.

An amazing aquarium. The whale shark tank was absolutely stunning, I could stand there all day just watching the marine life. Would have given 5 stars if it wasn't so packed with rude tourists. It is also very close to a market with great food stalls and shopping.

Best to visit during the early hours to avoid the incoming traffic. Take your time to enjoy the Penguins, dolphins, fish and the main attraction: whale sharks. There are stingrays, otters, and other sea creatures as well. There is information located at every corner to help you identify the different types of area animals and plants. Both flora and fauna look healthy and good. There are helpful arrows to guide your way but they're not necessary as the wound route is straightforward. You can touch stingrays and sharks as well but make sure you keep their restrictions in mind when touching these creatures. There are chairs available at corners in case you get tied and just want to admire the view. This trip is both educational and fun for the whole family.

This was an amazing aquarium! This is the largest aquarium in the world, where you can see whale sharks in the main tank. Exhibits have English to understand the ecosystem the animals come from. At the time, They were doing a special exhibit on jellyfish. There were so many different types of jellyfish, It was truly an amazing sight to see. You can see the handlers feeding the creatures, while giving information about them (only in Japanese). At the end you can pet small sharks and rays or take a selfie with some penguins. The gift shop also has seem good souvenir items at a decent price.

Awesome! Is not very big, but the space is well used. The tanks are deep and you can walk down to see the different creatures living in the different depths of sea. And I love whale sharks. They are huge and gentle. I love the place.

Really nice aquarium. Lots of fun. Try and get ahead of big crowds. The giant circular bit goes a long way down, you don’t need to crowd at the top level.

Fun, full of happy dolphins, seals, sealions. The tanks for some of the animals were surprisingly deep, and we didn’t realize how quickly the path led us downstairs, circling the tanks. The holiday lights outside were very pretty as well. The new jellyfish area is designed beautifully.The Starbucks at the end only takes cash!

Wonderful aquarium! Good narrative of bringing you to see the worlds around the Pacific Rim. The tanks are big & the animals have space. They post on the tanks the feeding times for the sea creatures so it's quite nice to catch it. The English text is not that many so it might be worth getting the English audio guide. The lower floors have seats so you can enjoy the view of the sea creatures comfortably. You can at times see divers cleaning the tanks too. :)

Huge aquarium! The aquarium is beautiful! It took us three hours to see all the exhibits. There is a giant tank in the middle that is four or five stories high, and you never miss a chance to see these cool exhibit. Giant manta rays, whale sharks, and many, other fish and mammals you'd probably only see at this place. The exhibits were awesome and although a bit crowded at times, you can find some spots towards the top where you can just sit and observe, and beautiful classical music plays as the fish swim peacefully in their tanks.

A good Aquarium to visit. There were a lot of different sections of the aquarium. My favourite was the giant tank where I was able to observe 2 whale sharks!

This place is massive! Very entertaining as you can see species you would never be able to see in wild setting. The tradeoff is that the sea creatures live in in their tiny tanks for majority of their lives.It was my first and last visit to an aquarium. If you care about animals, don't support places that put them into captivity.

This review ignores the question of whether or not animals should be held in captivity. I’m just commenting on the attraction itself, which was well put together.The layout is really clever and gives you some great views of the sea life. There is basically one main tank in the middle and you start at the top and the path gradually circles around this tank going down with different view points along the way. On the outside there are also other tanks with other animals in.At the end there is also an area where you can touch rays and small sharks, not my thing but if you had kids with you something I can imagine they would like.

Besides the local food of Osaka, the Osaka Aquarium is Osaka’s greatest attraction. It’s a great place to bring children to learn about aquatic life. There are detailed descriptions in English about each of the displays. I especially appreciate the design of the main tank holding whale sharks, manta rays, and vast array of other species. The entire design seems to focus about this beautiful main tank. The penguin and seal displays are also a must see, especially the seals who vacillate between adorable and ominous effortlessly. There is also special attention to smaller exhibits. I loved the exhibit about fish with strange faces. There is also a nice cafe inside the museum serving delicious soft serve ice cream with Ramune flavor. The exterior of the aquarium is also quite photogenic. If this is your first time in Osaka, make this your number one touring location.

Huge tank in the middle with shark is the main attraction along with other marine life. Also we liked in the end before coming out can touch fishes in the water. It’s great experience to touch few variety of dishes. The whole aquarium is very well designed as you go up all the way in the beginning and eventually come down slowly by watching fishes of all kind.

Osaka aquarium is a huge aquarium with many sea creatures, I had an enjoyable time there amidst the crowd during a November weekday. In terms of crowds, I had to wait a little to see exhibits but nothing overbearing.Their centerpiece is a large 3 stories aquarium filled with sharks, mantas, stingrays and not to forget fishes. You'll get to see the magnificence of these large creatures in front of you. Other interactive activities includes the chance to touch the sea creatures in a shallow pond.

Wonderful place. Went there during the Christmas period. Look out for the ferris wheel in the nights. The lights is wonderful.The Aquarium is different. You will enjoy especially for children and me. Huge place there are few floors. You will have to walk from the top floor going down to the lowest floor.Tips: start as early as possible to avoid crowd! Tend to be crowded once around 10am onwards.So enjoy 😉. I did 🙃

Pretty cool, can easily spend over an hour here just relaxing and taking in the sea life. Came in during feeding time on a weekday and it was pretty cool.

Kaiyukan is very largeMany fish in one big aquariumIt's like the seaThe whale shark is so big and wonderfulWhere to go

Visting was a truly magical experience. I love aquariums and I visit one in each place I visit if I can. This one stood out from the rest. The massive tanks and multilevel exhibits were so breathtaking. I was impressed with the jellyfish exhibit in particular. It was like traveling through a night sky. This was after we spiraled downwards around the main tank, which features a large variety of fish, rays, and sharks; including two massive whale sharks. It was truly memorable and a great experience for all ages.

I can assure you that this place is ideal for the young and the old. They have a plethora of things to see: fishes, carbs, jellyfish, dolphins, and etc... I love the last station where I can go up close and touch the sharks and stingrays. Just remember to wash your hands with soap ONLY after you have touched them. Rinse with normal tap water provided for you before you touch them. And please deactivate your flash when you take pictures. Flashes can create a false sense of anxiety to the fishes causing them to go berserk. So please don't be an idiot, be informed.

Best aquarium you will ever go to. There is so much to see and all the animals and fish seem to have lots of room and be thriving and happy. Highly reccomend. The seals and penguins were the best part.

Best aquarium I’ve ever been to!!! The whole place is a huge eight-floor big fish tank with great marine animals in it.The place is not a simple window display for the animals but an idea-aligned curated show with a deep thoughtful philosophy. Really cool and inspiring. They also have petting zone for stingray and fish. Nice location by the sea, 5 mins to the train station, next to a ferry wheel where you can have a bird view of the city. Definitely a must-go. Loved it.

Visited Osaka for our first trip to Japan with the grandkids. Used the train system to get to the Aquarium. Got to our destination in good time. The place was crowded, but staff controlled lines. The Aquarium itself was very interesting. Walking in a sloped circular path, we viewed ocean life from the surface to the bottom. Lots to see and displays narrated the different sea animals and fish life in English. Enjoyed the Aquarium. Now let's go eat lunch!!

A wonderful place for see a sea creature. Everything is good. A sequence of show is dramatically designed for the best route.You can also touching some sea creatures.But be careful for who sensitive for light and glass please rest your eye for a while otherwise you will be dizzy.

Excellent place to visit with family, friends, children.Central dome of pacific contains Whale shark ( most attractive one), Shark, Sting ray and lots.Peripheral Aquarium contains the fish from different regions and sea.Another one most attractive thing is Antarctica's Penguin. Various Jelly fish stocks are also there.

The Osaka Aquarium was one of our big destinations for our Japan trip. Figuring out ticket prices was easy. You can bundle your aquarium tickets with other attractions nearby. We chose the giant Ferris Wheel with ours. There is also a tour boat. (Lego Land is close by as well!) The attendant that helped us spoke English. Most of the signs inside the aquarium are in multiple languages. The displays are amazing. Don't feel too discouraged if one is a little crowed, keep going and you'll probably end up with a better view of the animals when you walk further in the building. My only advice would be to skip the small gift shop, there is a larger one just before you exit that has a huge selection of things. Great place for people of all ages! Oh and there were several places in the aquarium where a worker would take your picture for FREE (with the option of buying a printed large photo) that was really neat.

This is one the best best aquariums I've been to. Such a simple design so you get to see everything from the top to the bottom of the tank.I do wish the interactive level (petting section) had more variety but it was nice. Sort of similar to the Seattle aquarium but with live sharks and rays.

Incredible aquarium experience. It never felt crowded, and the large main tank in the center of the space kept us mesmerized for a long time. The aquarium is very smartly designed. All exhibits are immaculately clean. They spread out feeding times so that you are pretty much guaranteed to see something being fed, which is fun. In addition to fish, there are many marine mammals as well, like otters, seals, and penguins. Great jellyfish section. We had a ton of fun here. Can't say enough how amazing the huge central tank with giant whale sharks and rays was.

They have a couple big tanks and you will travel down to see those tanks from different angles. They also have side sections consisting of: some interesting sea creatures in jars, varieties of jellyfish (there's one with angel like form), and sea creatures petting area. Recommended place to visit in Osaka.

I was there in 2013 and this Aquarium really does have the Wow Factor and the Japanese certainly know how to present the many and varied Marine species of our planet in a truly majestic way that surpasses expectations. There is a very nice display as a tribute to Australia and the Great Barrier Reef.

The place was worth to visit, but please consider the waiting line take 30 minutes. Buy the ticket in advance whether in Seven 7, or any travel app. Notes for the aquarium management, please build wider place for the dolphin and penguins to let them more room to explore. Also, please be strict with the animal touching area some of the visitors seem to force holding fish fin. Recommend to provide guard in each point of aquarium for the stress-free life of the fish.

Absolutely stunning! Very well organized with the path centered around the star attraction, a whale shark in the middle of the aquarium. A good way to spend 2.5 hours. A "petting zoo" with rays at the end is an interesting experience. Highly recommended.

Wonderful collection of creatures that are surprisingly active. Feeding is worth watching but there is no talk given. Aquarium design is linear so you cannot miss anything, you can loop back to the top (start) if need be. Spiral nature with centeal tanks means you are always looking at something.Only complaint would be lack of seating and water for humans.

7 floors - designed to mimic walking clockwise from Japan around the Pacific's Ring of Fire. And there were 2x Whale Sharks! Good fun for the whole family

A pretty large aquarium, the main attraction is a large tank featuring a myriad of fish and a whale. the aquarium does feel short because of this.

Pros:Good aquarium with a lot to see. Super sized tank. Touched some sharks and rays. Saw some penguins, a bit of mammals and a ton of fish. Not even pricey. Very worth visiting. Cons:The only downside to this wonderful place is the amount of visitors they get.

A nice day out for 2300yen. Wide variety of animals to see! It wasn't too busy when I went on a weekday in winter, so I had a good view of everything. The one thing is if you want to go on the ferris wheel it may be closed in strong wind so be aware of that. I do wish the exhibits were a bit more scientific and informative though.

Definitely a great place to check sea creatures out. Lively animals and I loved that I can see them at ever level with different views. Spent around 1 to 2 hours. Was able to touch sting Rays!Bought from klook.

It's very easy to get to bed transit and also you can't miss it. There's a convenience store inside the same building if you need a snack before hand. The distance you get between the animals is closer than any other aquarium that I've ever been in. It's got a wide variety of species and they keep it interesting.

What an amazing experience. It was my first time visiting a place like this, so I do not have anything to compare it to. It was awe inspiring to say the least. Being able to pet the stingrays and sharks was just absolutely cool. I would definitely come back just to hangout and watch these amazing creatures going about their day. Oh and I wouldn't mind doing that scuba diver's job. Just vacuuming the aquarium floor all afternoon. 🤩

Must see attraction in Osaka. A little far out by train but well worth the visit.Good photo opportunities and LEGO land is next door with a nice food court.Good opportunity to see the variety of rare fish and sea creatures. Can even see penguins and touch the sharks and sting rays! The centre tank is amazing and a must see with the huge sharks and rays. Be careful of missing things, you aren’t allowed to go back to see things you might have missed so take your time.Nice gift shop at the end to get some trinkets. Also has the stamp sites to complete the tour books!

One of my favourite things in Osaka. Great food options in the nearby food hall. Location next to the wheel is a big plus too because it meant we spent nearly the whole day here without wanting for things to do.

Best to come during early hours or early night time to avoid the big crowds. The aquarium is pretty huge with a descending design so you ‘feel’ like you are going deeper into the ocean. There are several seating areas and also a cafe halfway through the aquarium. A large variety of fish and other sea organisms. I spent quite a few hours just watching. Would definitely come again.

Easily the best aquarium I’ve ever been to, and great value for money in my opinion. As it’s relatively huge and will take a good while to go around at a regular pace. It’s often veryyyy busy though as it’s a popular tourist destination. So maybe visiting on a weekday earlier in the day is best. Don’t miss the giant spider crabs!

Large aquarium with various types of sea life wired looking fish and other creatures also they have section for touching sharks and stingrays also you can take close look on the little penguins. The dolphins although the are behind the glass they are very interactive with visitors add some cheerful environment to the visit. Its recommended for kids they will have great fun specially touching sharks.

Highly rated aquarium, but IMO not quite big as expected. In fact, there are no any special shows such as dolphin shows etc. Anyway, they have special feeding times where you can indulge your self with dolphin talents. Amazing light decorations at night. If you are planning to go ferris wheel and aquarium both you can save 100 yen.

Spent a few hours here, was an awesome experience. If you are in Osaka check it out, shopping mall next door has nice food also.

Advertised all over the city so was expecting a crowd and initially it seemed like one. Though once inside it spread quite well. Some tanks are barren, there is nothing in it but fish and gravel, like the main tank. Easy for people to watch the fish though. For the seals and dolphins the tanks are definitely too small. The vertical tanks, which you pass several times on your way down are the highlight. It's the same tank but from completely different angels.Further down you sometimes can sit down and enjoy the serenity of an aquarium. Price is a little high in my opinion, I have seen similar sized aquariums for less or included in a zoo for the same price.