Epson Aqua Park Shinagawa

This place is a combination of aquarium, theme park and technology. If you’re expecting to learn about jelly fish or different types of water life, you’re in the wrong place. If you want to see dolphin’s dance to Bruno Mar’s songs and ride a big ass pirate ship, Epson is the place for you. The admission is pretty high considering there is not a lot to do here. When you first come in, you have the option to purchase your tickets from a worker or buy it from a vending machine yourself. The lines move faster in the self serve area. You walk in and start off in the «amusement park» area which includes a carousel and then a pirate ship. Both cost money. So yes, you’re paying for the Aquarium and individual rides. After you pass that area, you walk through the interactive fish tank hallway. Lots of people all wanting to touch the screens. Yes, it’s touch screen and somewhere behind those bright interactive photos are some fish. The fish is secondary. My son’s eyes lit up and I could care less if he wasn’t learning anything, the place as pretty cool. After this you walk past a few more fish tanks that have plants — that was a waste of space. Then you find the jelly fish/​night club area. The bright lights combined with the black light and music will make you feel like you’re in a rave. After your eyes get adjusted and your ears stop hurting you walk into another set of fish tanks but these are bigger. Somewhere along those lines we figured out the dolphin show time and sat and waited around for that. Gem bought us some special beer which consisted of frozen draft beer combined with some red sugary substance which made the beer taste horrible. The dolphin show as the greatest thing I’ve ever seen and they also had a wedding happen the same time we were there so it was like two shows in one! After the dolphin show we headed out to see the otters and then the penguins and walked through the steam room also known as their reptilian area. Over all this place was cool for what it was, my son and Gem loved it.

What in the??? I’m giving this place two stars for the friendly staff and the cool rides in the beginning. Also the lighting is crazy and pretty amazing.
Which brings me to my next point: this place is a venue, not an aquarium. We walked through totally confused at what we were seeing. They advertise for weddings like crazy. The room with the jelly fish looked like Studio 54.
The sad, sad animals looked just that. There was a sea lion that just broke my heart in an indoor space with hardly any room, let alone swim. No natural light. There even seemed to be too many fish and sea turtles in the aquariums. Not to mention EIGHT whales, dolphins and porpoises performing all at once in a tank with maybe a 30′ radius. The tank they stay in when not performing was probably an ¹⁄₈^th of that size.
I also saw a Chameleon with a bleeding and swollen shut eye, a tortoise eat the Capybara’s poop it was in the same cage with, amongst other strange and sad things.
Now, I know, I know. It’s Japan and it’s an aquarium. This was just so strange and disappointing. They should set the animals free and make it into a museum or something.
PASS.

Even though you are in a town like Shinagawa, you can still enjoy a real aquarium.
This is one of my favorite aquariums. The aquarium is relatively small, but it’s very beautiful. There are so many kinds of fish swimming in the same water tank.
The illumination is also fascinating. They charge less at night time, so it’s good for a date. The road to the aquarium is beautiful at night too.
The last time I went there, I could see the dolphins being fed and washed during the interval of the shows. Dolphins… they are so cute!

Epson Aqua Stadium is not only a nice aquarium but also a good date spot.
It’s close to Shinagawa station, a 5-​minute-​walk distance. Easy access and late hours until 10pm, so if you want a romantic date in an aquarium but without kids gasping around, this is the right place to come on weekday evenings. New and fancy ambience; a good place for couples cuddling in fornt of mysterious tanks/​water tunnel. And the dolphin show here is more entertaining than educational, not with a lot of quiz or educational introduction.
Though its not a big aquarium, its still a nice one for kids since its small enough to keep your kids around, and no need to rush from tanks to tanks. Also, there are several options of dining near Epson Aqua Stadium, some good family American-​style restaurants, like TGIF and outback.
Just the entrance fee is a bit pricey comparing with other aquariums in Tokyo, and there are some attractions like carosoul needs extra fee. But a fancy nice aquarium!