Joetsu aquarium (上越市立水族博物館) is a Japanese Public Aquarium owned by Joetsu City and located in Gochi, Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. Its origins date back to 1934, but it reopened in June 2018 under the nickname "Umigatari" (うみがたり). This is an aquarium dedicated to the Sea of Japan, with the concept of discussing the sea.

It is a member of the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums (JAZA), and the aquarium is accredited as a Registered Museum by the Museum Act from Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

It is located on the coast of the Sea of Japan, near the center of the Naoetsu district of Joetsu City. The museum's origins date back to the opening of a private aquarium in 1934, which became a museum in 1953 and was transferred to the municipal government in 1954.

On July 23, 1933, the Nose Aquarium, the first aquarium in the Joetsu region, was opened by Eirokuro Taki, who ran an inn in Nose Town (present-day Itoigawa), Niigata Prefecture.

The facility was designed by Hirata Baozei, who was involved in the Yokohama Aquarium [ja], which opened in 1928, and exhibited about 40 species of freshwater and saltwater fish and crustaceans in 14 aquariums. However, this facility was destroyed by waves in 1934, the following year, while the aquarium was closed for the winter.

On July 21 of the same year, Taki opened the Naoetsu Aquarium in the precincts of Yasaka Shrine in the town of Naoetsu, with a 1-inch (2.54 cm) thick glass aquarium equipped with a circulating filtration system to display local fish species, and a large tank in which giant sea bream and trout were released.

The museum also received a donation of green turtles captured from a fisheries school, etc. In the second year, the tank was expanded, but Taki decided to close the museum due to lack of cooperation from the town of Naoetsu, and as a result of the survival movement and the attraction of the surrounding community, it was decided to build a new building and move to the area near Gochi Kokubunji in Kasuga Village (later incorporated into Takada City, now Joetsu City) The decision was made.

On May 6, 1936, the aquarium moved to Kasuga Village and opened as Gochi Aquarium. The building was in the style of a small light blue movie theater, and although it was very crowded with school excursion students and group tourists, it seems to have closed in 1943 due to the Pacific War.

In March 1949, Shozo Nakata opened the Naoetsu Aquarium (2nd generation) on the sandy beach of Motosunayama, Naoetsu Town, a one-story wooden structure of 86 tsubo (860 m2) with 12 tanks and two reservoirs, with the policy of introducing many fish species and using them as educational resources.

However, in October 1950, Nakata proposed to the town of Naoetsu that the aquarium be sold, and although the transfer to the town did not materialize in the end, it was acquired by volunteers, and on March 1, 1951, the Naoetsu Aquarium Foundation was established with approval from the prefecture.

The museum then applied for registration as a museum due to the fact that two-thirds of its visitors were groups of schools and preschools, and on June 10, 1953, it was approved and the Naoetsu Aquarium Foundation was inaugurated.

On December 8, 1953, the board of directors decided to donate the Aquatic Museum to Naoetsu Town, and the museum was transferred to Naoetsu Town as of the following April 1, 1954. The inauguration of the museum as a public institution took place on June 10, nine days after the inauguration of Naoetsu City, and the Naoetsu Municipal Aquatic Museum was inaugurated.

Due to the aging of the facilities and the problem of wave erosion on the coast, the Aquatic Museum was newly built and relocated to the Seaside Park in 1957.

The museum was equipped with 13 tanks, a fish release tank, and a large flat tank in the center of the exhibition room (a flat tank that visitors could look into from above), and exhibited more than 60 species and over 1,000 items, including fur seals.

There was also an outdoor breeding shed where bears, Japanese macaques, ducks, Indian peacocks, and other birds and animals were kept. Until this time, the Aquarium was not equipped for wintering, and when winter approached, the fish and other species kept there were released into the sea and the museum was closed until spring.

With the establishment of Joetsu City on April 29, 1971, the Aquatic Museum became the Joetsu City Aquatic Museum.

In 1980, the aquarium was opened to compete with Oga Aquarium, the largest aquarium on the Sea of Japan side at the time, due to its aging facilities and inferiority to other aquariums.

The design of the building was based on the motif of dugout boats and shells, which are designated as Important Tangible Folk Cultural Properties of Japan, and the building was constructed of reinforced concrete with 56 tanks on two floors above ground and one below. The facility was repeatedly expanded and renovated, including the installation of "Marine Jumbo(720,000 litres (190,000 US gal))" "Penguin Land," and "Marine Stadium" in 1993, and at the time of its closing in 2017, approximately 400 species and 10,000 exhibits were on display in 74 tanks. The number of species kept at the museum during its opening period amounted to 1,412.

When the museum opened, an elevated cycle monorail was installed around the perimeter of the museum. The monorail was used by about 28,000 visitors per year, but by the end of its life, maintenance costs were equal to the revenue. The building was subsequently demolished and removed.

In 2006, Joetsu City established the "New Aquarium Development Study Committee" to consider reconstruction, but the plan was temporarily suspended in 2007 due to the financial review at that time. In the same year, the 2004 Chūetsu earthquake damaged the "Marine Jumbo," a large water tank, and repair work was carried out.

However, the tank did not meet the earthquake resistance standards, and no major renovations were made. With the Hokuriku Shinkansen bullet train scheduled to open in the spring of 2015, it was necessary to consider the effect on attracting visitors, and in November 2011, work began again on the plan.

Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise]], which operates the Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise, became the designated manager on April 1, 2015, and the new facility, the sixth generation, opened on June 26, 2018, after the transition to a system run by the company.

The 6th Joetsu Aquarium building received the BCS Award from the Japan Federation of Construction Contractors [ja] for its design of the Umigatari tank was evaluated.

The museum's Magellanic Penguin Museum keeps the largest number of Magellanic penguins in the world, with 118 as of June 28, 2018 and 124 as of October 2019.

Breeding activity is very active, with an average of 7 new penguins per year during the old aquarium years and 18 new penguins per year during the 2019 breeding season.

In 2019, Chubut Province, Argentina, the habitat of the Magellanic penguin was designated by the government as Japan's first "ex situ critical breeding site" for Magellanic penguins.

The Sumida Aquarium in Tokyo Skytree provided 10 penguins for the opening of the Sumida Aquarium during the time of the former Aquatic Museum.

This aquarium has an aquarium called Umigatari Tank. The aquarium's large tank is shaped like the seafloor topography off the Sea of japan's seafloor topography 1/10,000, and the topography was read with a 3D tool to reproduce the Sea of Japan with fake rocks.

The 360-degree acrylic shark tunnel at the bottom of the aquarium is designed to resemble the Toyama Deep-sea Hase, which runs along the bottom of the Sea of Japan.

Off the coast of Joetsu, salmon and yellowtail swim together in the aquarium because salmon migrate in the frigid zone and yellowtail migrate in the temperate zone.

Since the sudden death of Sasha, a bottlenose dolphin, shortly after the grand opening, four of the six cetaceans brought into Umigatari have died in just over two years since its opening, including Aruk, the beluga whale Riya, and Sorya.

In response, Joetsu City decided to establish a third-party verification committee of experts. The verification will be conducted from the three perspectives of breeding, construction, and water quality, and a total of five experts from each were selected and organized. Three meetings were held on August 7, 2020, November 29, 2020, and January 23, 2021, and the report was released on February 10.

The report concluded that stress brought to light factors inherent in each individual that led to their deaths.

In addition to the difference in climate between Yokohama and Joetsu, it was assumed that the stress was caused by inadequate body preparation for the season due to the constant water temperature and exposure to the climate in Joetsu, where the effects of low and high temperatures are relatively large, and where there is a large difference in cold temperatures.

In terms of architecture, it was pointed out that the structure of the pool open to the open air, which is its most important feature, may have magnified the effects of the climate. Since the pool is open to the sea, it was thought that strong winter winds blew directly into the pool, adversely affecting the individuals. Sunlight from the open ceiling and snowfall were also considered to have had an effect.

In terms of water quality, the committee concluded that the quality of the rearing water was not considered to have affected the cause of mortality.

This event caused controversy and was strongly criticized by animal rights groups. In light of the above, the Verification Committee recommended that the city renovate the facility and strengthen health management in line with Joetsu's climate, and the city has implemented immediate measures accordingly and is also considering renovating the facility through the new fiscal year budget.

The report made 17 recommendations to prevent a repeat. The aquarium lowered the water level by one meter to counter strong winds to prevent sudden changes in the environment, and also installed a 13-meter-wide awning to reduce the rise in temperature near the water's surface. The effect of the sunshade was evident, with a maximum temperature of 33.5°C recorded, while the difference between sun and shade near the water surface was observed to be up to 3°C. Joetsu City reported at the 2021 council meeting that the two banded dolphins present are in good health.

Subsequently, in an effort to further reduce winter winds, a windbreak net approximately 20 meters wide and 1.7 meters high was installed on the north face of the dolphin pool and a glass windbreak wall was installed on the west face railing. Regarding the effectiveness of the measures, wind speed and temperature on the stage and on the water surface of the dolphin pool are measured daily, and the Education and General Affairs Division of the City Board of Education says, “Based on the measurement results, we will seek advice from experts and take action.

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• Facilities with the same Management
  • Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise
  • Aqua Park Shinagawa
  • Sendai Umino-Mori Aquarium
  • Xpark
  • Itabashi Botanical Garden

• Official Site (in Japanese)
• Official pamphlet (in English)