Kagoshima City Aquarium (Io World)
An aquarium of 800 species from Kinko Bay to the Nansei Islands, whale shark included.
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Kagoshima City Aquarium (Io World)
SaveAn aquarium of 800 species from Kinko Bay to the Nansei Islands, whale shark included.
Dolphins are also kept in the canal outside the aquarium building.
MoreWhat kind of place
Run by the city's aquarium foundation, the aquarium holds some 10,000 animals from about 800 species, all from the stretch of sea between Kinko Bay and the Nansei Islands.
It is arranged floor by floor: a large tank of open-ocean fish on the second, a deep-sea corner from Kagoshima's own waters on the third, and sawfish and squid on the fourth.
The gift shop's dolphin plush was developed with the keepers and modeled on the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin — a species that also lives in Kinko Bay, right outside.
Sources and evidence (25)
- The loaner strollers are only for children age 2 and under. For a child 3 or older, a wheelchair takes the stroller's place — that is what you push when the child tires of walking, so ask staff for one.source
- There are two types of loaner stroller, A and B; ask staff which type is free when you borrow one.source
- Electric wheelchairs are not available for loan, but you can ask staff if you need to charge one.source
- The nursing rooms have trash bins that also take used diapers.source
- Hot water for making formula is also kept at the information desk on the first floor and at the restaurant on the second.source
- In the facilities chart, the small column counts urinals for boys: 3 to 6 in each men's restroom on floors 1 through 4 of the main building, and one in each women's restroom.source
- Two parking spaces for visitors with disabilities are on the grounds by the group entrance, and when they are full a guard directs you to other spaces on site.source
- Service dogs, hearing dogs, and guide dogs may come in, but other pets cannot enter and cannot be looked after.source
- There is a first-aid room with two beds, stocked with ice, ice pillows, compresses, and antiseptic.source
- AEDs are kept in two places, the first-floor information desk and the fifth-floor observation hall, and staff take basic life support training on a regular schedule.source
- The main entrance has 50 small, 12 medium, and 6 large lockers, and the group entrance has 10 small and 4 extra-large.source
- Free Wi-Fi is available under the network name IOworld, and using it requires email verification or advance registration.source
- Vending machines are at the main entrance, the group entrance, the lawn plaza, the dolphin building entrance, and the observation hall, and all of them take electronic money and can be used from a wheelchair.source
- The gift shop on the first floor sells snacks, plush toys, and keychains, and you need an admission ticket even if you only want to shop.source
- The aquarium has no parking lot of its own, so visitors use three nearby prefectural lots, which give no discount for aquarium visitors.source
- At the prefectural lots, standard cars up to 2.3 m tall park free for the first hour and then pay 200 yen per hour, while large vehicles pay 640 yen per hour and can use only Lot 3.source
- The aquarium displays 800 species and 10,000 animals from Kinko Bay to the Nansei Islands, including a whale shark and Satsuma tube worms.source
- In the main building, the large Kuroshio tank is on the second floor, the sawfish and bigfin reef squid tanks on the fourth, the Kagoshima deep-sea corner on the third, and the seal tank on the first.source
- The first floor has three areas for children: a discovery plaza (Wakuwaku Hakken Hiroba), a play space (Iokko Hiroba), and an observation pool (Wakuwaku Kansatsu Pool).source
- The first floor also has an arapaima tank, a mangrove tank, a seal tank, and the dolphin pool.source
- Dolphins are also on display in the water channel outside the aquarium building.source
- There is a dolphin session called Dolphin Time, and its start times change by day of the week and other factors.source
- Photos and video are allowed inside, but hold off on flash at the large Kuroshio tank on the second floor, the sawfish tank on the fourth, and the seal tank on the first.source
- The fifth floor of the main building has an observation hall where you can rest with a vending-machine drink or ice cream, including the Kagoshima specialty shirokuma.source
- One original product is a lying-down Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin plush developed with the keepers, priced at 3,300 yen, and that dolphin also lives in Kagoshima's Kinko Bay.source
With kidsThe part that matters
If you want one indoor stop that doesn't eat the whole day, you can see this aquarium in about an hour and a half, the length of an average visit.
Kids can watch a whale shark swim past in the big second-floor tank, then step outside and follow the dolphins along the canal.
Strollers are lent free at the entrance for children 2 and under, indoors only, and there are 13 of them on a first-come basis, so asking a staff member as soon as you are in is what gets you one.
Bring a packed lunch to eat on the lawn outside, and keep your ticket stub — it gets you back in later the same day.
Sources and evidence (5)
- Three years on an annual pass: grab a seat 15 min before the dolphin show, then slip downstairs while the crowd exits.source
- A channel outside the building: weekends 11:30, 13:30, 15:00, about 15 min; dolphins surface where the trainer moves.source
- With a 4- and 1-year-old: the restaurant empties during the dolphin show; high chairs have no belt; B2 stays quiet.source
- Off the tram at Suizokukan-guchi, straight to the sea, under 10 min. The dolphin show teaches by experiment, with a Q&A.source
- Golden Week with a 4- and 2-year-old: escalator straight to the whale shark; 1.5 hours with the dolphin channel. Busy.source
By age0-1 / 2-3 / 4-6
- Ages 0-1The 13 loan strollers are free and reserved for children aged 2 and under. You can go round the main building with the stroller, looking up at the seal tank, the pirarucu tank and the mangrove tank on the first floor and the great Kuroshio tank on the second. Dolphins also swim in the channel outside the building, so they can be watched from the open air.Strollers cannot be reserved; they go out in the order visitors arrive, so ask a staff member as soon as you are inside. There are 20 wheelchairs and 13 strollers, in two types, A and B. They may not be taken out of the building, so leave the stroller behind when you go to see the dolphins in the outdoor channel. Two private nursing rooms sit near the group entrance on the first floor of the main building, and men may use them. They have a baby bed, a nursing chair, hot water for formula at about 70C, a sink, a microwave, an air purifier, a bin that also takes diapers, and a digital baby scale. Hot water for formula is also kept at the general information desk on the first floor and at the second-floor restaurant. Each men's and women's restroom on floors 1 to 4 of the main building has one diaper changing table, and floors 1 to 4 have multipurpose restrooms - but the first floor of the Dolphin Hall and the outdoor restrooms do not.
- Ages 2-3The first floor has three areas built for children: the Wakuwaku Discovery Square, the Iokko Square and the Wakuwaku Observation Pool. The seal tank, the mangrove tank and the dolphin pool are all on that same floor, so this age can keep going without changing levels. The whale shark swims in the great Kuroshio tank on the second floor, and the Dolphin Time event moves according to the day of the week.Loan strollers stop at age 2; from 3 the loan becomes a wheelchair. Reckon on about an hour and a half inside. Flash photography is asked to be avoided at the great Kuroshio tank on the second floor, the sawshark tank on the fourth and the seal tank on the first. Packed lunches can be eaten on the outdoor lawn or at the Dolphin Stand indoors, though not at the Stand during Dolphin Time and other events. Re-entry is allowed on the same day only; show the stub of your ticket to a staff member. Baby keeper seats are in the women's restroom on the first floor and in both men's and women's restrooms on floors 2 to 4, and the men's and women's restrooms also have a wide booth that a wheelchair or stroller can go into.
- Ages 4-6Eight hundred species and ten thousand animals from Kinko Bay to the Nansei Islands are on show, and the cast changes with every floor: the whale shark in the great Kuroshio tank on the second, the sawshark and bigfin reef squid tanks on the fourth, the Kagoshima deep-sea corner on the third. The observation hall on the fifth floor is a place to rest with a drink from the vending machine or a Shirokuma ice cream, a Kagoshima specialty. The dolphins in the outdoor channel can be watched from outside the building, and the big-screen commentary at Dolphin Time carries a sign-language inset and subtitles.Admission is 2,000 yen for adults from high school up and 1,000 yen for elementary and junior-high students. Reckon on about an hour and a half inside. The aquarium opens 9:30-18:00 with last entry at 17:00, and on Golden Week, summer-holiday weekends and Obon it runs a Night Aquarium until 21:00. It closes only for four days from the first Monday of December, and stays open as usual over New Year. Some staff can guide in sign language; tell them in advance if you would like that. There is no aquarium car park, so use one of the three prefectural car parks nearby - an ordinary car is free for the first hour, then 200 yen per hour, with no discount for aquarium visitors. Free Wi-Fi is available under SSID IOworld, with email authentication or prior registration.
By weatherRain, heat, cold
- Rainy dayThe main exhibits are indoors: the main building runs from the seal tank on floor 1 to the Kuroshio Tank on floor 2, the Kagoshima deep-sea corner on floor 3, and the sawshark tank on floor 4. Outside are the dolphin channel exhibit, where dolphins swim in the waterway beside the aquarium, and the lawn where you can eat a packed lunch.
- Hot dayNot checked yet
- Cold dayNot checked yet
Time needed1.5 h
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- ElevatorElevator：not checked
- Stroller OKStroller friendly：with conditionsconditions
- RentalStroller rental：with conditionsconditions
- NursingNursing space：with conditionsconditions
- ChangingDiaper changing table：with conditionsconditions
- Diaper binDiaper disposal bin：with conditionsconditions
- Family WCFamily restroom：with conditionsconditions
- Kids' toiletKids' toilet seat & step stool：with conditionsconditions
- Own foodOutside food allowed：with conditionsconditions
- EnglishEnglish support：not checked
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Worth a look before you go
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
Three years on an annual pass: grab a seat 15 min before the dolphin show, then slip downstairs while the crowd exits.
Kagoshima Aquarium: a recommended route, events and discounts
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
A channel outside the building: weekends 11:30, 13:30, 15:00, about 15 min; dolphins surface where the trainer moves.
The dolphin channel alone is worth it — Io World Kagoshima Aquarium
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
With a 4- and 1-year-old: the restaurant empties during the dolphin show; high chairs have no belt; B2 stays quiet.
We went with the kids: the quiet corners of Kagoshima Aquarium, and the restaurant
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
Off the tram at Suizokukan-guchi, straight to the sea, under 10 min. The dolphin show teaches by experiment, with a Q&A.
Taking the children to Io World Kagoshima Aquarium
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
Golden Week with a 4- and 2-year-old: escalator straight to the whale shark; 1.5 hours with the dolphin channel. Busy.
Family trip: the whale shark at Io World Kagoshima Aquarium
Kagoshima City Aquarium (Io World) · Links & reads ▾
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Where to go next
Where it is
3-1 Honkoshinmachi, Kagoshima-shi, Kagoshima 892-0814source
Before you go
- Wheelchairs and strollers are lent free of charge, with no reservations taken; they go to visitors in the order they enter.source
- There are 20 wheelchairs and 13 strollers to borrow, and since the numbers are limited and cannot be reserved, ask a staff member right after you enter.source
- The loaner strollers cannot be taken outside the building.source
- Coin lockers are at the main entrance and the group entrance and take a 100-yen coin that comes back to you, and bags too big for a locker are held free at the information desk.source
- The second-floor restaurant opens at 11:00. On busy days such as Golden Week, the summer holidays, and long weekends, it will not seat you for drinks only between 11:00 and 1:00 p.m. — everyone in the party needs to order food or dessert.source
Basics
- Fee：Adults (high school and up) ¥2,000, children (elementary and junior-high) ¥1,000. Groups of 20 or more get a discount. Kagoshima city residents pay a lower rate but must show proof of address themselves. Admission is free for holders of a disability certificate, with one companion also free. People aged 70 and over living in Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Fukuoka or Kitakyushu pay half. There is no aquarium parking lot; the three prefectural parking lots nearby are free for the first hour, then ¥200 an hour for a carsource
- Hours：9:30-18:00, last admission 17:00. Closed for four days from the first Monday in December for maintenance; open as usual over New Year. During Golden Week, weekends in the summer holidays and Obon it stays open until 21:00 as the 'Night Aquarium'source
- Time to allow：1.5 hsource2
- Booking：An annual passport costs two admissions and covers a year; buying two or more at once for relatives within the third degree gets the family rate. Combined tickets with Hirakawa Zoological Park and the Chiran Peace Museum are also sold. Card and e-money are accepted for admission, but not for combined tickets. Re-entry is allowed on the same day if you keep your ticket stubsourceOfficial booking site ↗
Basics in detail (19)
Hours and closures
- The aquarium is open 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., with last entry at 5:00 p.m.source
- During Golden Week, on weekends in the summer holidays, and around the Obon period, it stays open until 9:00 p.m. for evening hours.source
- It closes for four days starting the first Monday of December, and stays open as usual over the New Year holidays.source
- There is no regular weekly closing day; the only closure is the four-day maintenance break from the first Monday of December.source
Time to allow
- Time spent inside varies from visitor to visitor, but the average is around an hour and a half.source
Other
- It is operated by the Kagoshima City Aquarium Public Corporation, a public-interest foundation.source
- Credit cards and electronic money are accepted for admission, but not for the combination tickets with other facilities.source
- Re-entry is allowed only on the day you paid admission, by showing your ticket stub to a staff member.source
Fees
- Admission is 2,000 yen for adults (high school age and up) and 1,000 yen for elementary and junior high school students. Those are the only two rates given, so for a child younger than elementary school, ask at the counter.source
- Groups of 20 or more get a group discount.source
- To use the Kagoshima City resident rate, you must show proof of address such as a driver's license, My Number card, or digital resident card.source
- Admission is waived for visitors carrying a physical disability, rehabilitation, or mental health welfare certificate, along with one accompanying person.source
- Residents of Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Fukuoka, or Kitakyushu who are 70 or older pay half the admission price.source
- An annual pass costs the price of two admissions and can be used as often as you like for a year, and when two or more relatives within three degrees of kinship buy on the same day, they get the family purchase rate.source
- The annual pass comes with 5% off at the gift shop and one free soft drink at the second-floor restaurant.source
- Combination tickets with Hirakawa Zoological Park and the Chiran Peace Museum are sold here.source
Getting there
Contact
- The address is 3-1 Honko Shinmachi, Kagoshima City, Kagoshima 892-0814, and the phone number is 099-226-2233.
Once you've decided
evidence & sources (9)
- Official: Diaper changing table, Diaper disposal bin, Family restroom
- Official: Stroller friendly, Stroller rental, Nursing space
- Official: main site
The aquarium holds 800 species and 10,000 animals from Kinko Bay out to the Nansei Islands, whale shark included. The Kuroshio tank is on the second floor, deep-sea Kagoshima on the third, sawfish and squid on the fourth. The first floor gathers the children's areas, along with the seal tank, the pirarucu tank and the dolphin pool. Sign language and subtitles are built into the screen commentary at Dolphin Time. The fifth-floor hall is for sitting down with an ice cream, shirokuma included.
| Stroller friendly | Yes | Strollers are lent free — 13 of them, two types, no booking; ask staff as soon as you are in. They are for children of 2 and under (from 3 a wheelchair is lent instead) and may not leave the building. Wide cubicles that take a stroller are in the men's and women's toilets as well as the multi-purpose ones. Twenty wheelchairs are also lent free | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | ioworld.jp |
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| Stroller rental | Yes (13) | Free, 13 available, for children of 2 and under; no booking, ask staff on arrival | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | ioworld.jp |
| Nursing space | Yes (2) | Two private nursing rooms near the group entrance on the 1st floor of the main building, open to fathers too. They have a baby bed, a nursing chair, hot water for formula (about 70C), a sink, a microwave, an air purifier, a bin that also takes diapers, and a baby scale. Hot water for formula is also kept at the 1st-floor information desk and the 2nd-floor restaurant | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | ioworld.jp |
| Diaper changing table | Yes | A fold-down baby seat in every men's and women's toilet on floors 1 to 4 of the main building and in the Dolphin Hall women's toilet, plus a changing board in the women's toilets on floors 2 to 4 | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | ioworld.jp |
| Diaper disposal bin | Yes | The nursing rooms have a bin that also takes used diapers | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | ioworld.jp |
| Family restroom | Yes (4) | Multi-purpose toilets on floors 1 to 4 of the main building; the 1st-floor one has ostomate facilities. A baby keeper seat is fitted in the women's toilet on the 1st floor and in both men's and women's on floors 2 to 4, and washlet seats are standard. The Dolphin Hall and the outdoor toilets have no multi-purpose cubicle | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | ioworld.jp |
| Kids' toilet seat & step stool | Yes | Child-height urinals throughout: three to six in each men's toilet on floors 1 to 4 of the main building, one in each women's toilet, and more in the Dolphin Hall and outdoor toilets | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | ioworld.jp |
| Outside food allowed | Yes | Eat your own food at the outdoor lawn or the indoor dolphin stand — but not at the stand during 'Dolphin Time' and other events, and not in the 5th-floor observation hall, which is for drinks and ice cream from the machines. Eating outside the designated places is against the aquarium's rules. The 2nd-floor restaurant opens 11:00-16:00 on weekdays and 11:00-17:00 on weekends and on holidays | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | ioworld.jp |
| Stroller access notesExtra info — guide only | Yes | Two accessible parking spaces on site by the group entrance; when full, a guard directs you to another space on site. There is no aquarium parking lot otherwise — the three prefectural parking lots nearby are free for the first hour, then ¥200 an hour. From Kagoshima-Chuo Station take the tram (line 2) to Suizokukan-guchi, then walk 8 minutes. Coin lockers at both entrances take a ¥100 coin and give it back; anything too big is minded free at the information desk | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | ioworld.jp |
| Elevator | Not checked yet | ||||
| English support | Not checked yet | ||||
| Indoor / outdoor | Not checked yet |
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