Sunshine Aquarium
Sunshine Aquarium
4
9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Thursday
9:30 AM - 9:00 PM
Friday
9:30 AM - 9:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
About
Duration: 1-2 hours
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Ikebukuro
Ikebukuro is an area of massive development. Several thousand tenants occupy two giant department stores and shopping malls, where all sorts of shopping and gourmet foods can be enjoyed. The 60-story building at the east entrance of the station, Sunshine City, is a landmark within Ikebukuro and features an aquarium, planetarium, theme park as well as an observation platform. The popular name for the western side of this area is "Otome Road" (Maiden Road) and there are many shops selling products related to anime with a female theme. It has rapidly become the worldwide headquarters for ‘otaku’ or geek culture.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
728 reviews
Excellent
189
Very good
355
Average
147
Poor
26
Terrible
11
Julie S
mossley344 contributions
Apr 2024 • Friends
I really didn't enjoy my visit here as some of the animals were in tanks far too small for them including an octopus, sealion and pelicans. They looked well cared for but if you are an animal lover it will make you feel sad to see they have little room to move around. The sealion just kept swimming round and round his little tank like a goldfish.
Written May 17, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
GoldGeo
39 contributions
Apr 2024 • Couples
The quality of the displays was fantastic. But the size of them made m uncomfortable. The seals and sea lions did not have enough space.
The inside exhibits with the fish were beautiful, but I feel some suffered from the same problem.
It was just over 2k yen to enter. Which for the size felt right. You will be around it in an hour.
The inside exhibits with the fish were beautiful, but I feel some suffered from the same problem.
It was just over 2k yen to enter. Which for the size felt right. You will be around it in an hour.
Written April 15, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Josh D
New York City, NY877 contributions
Mar 2024 • Friends
I happen to be a very big fan of jellyfish and also apes and they are my two favorite animals!! I don’t believe I would ever see a chimp or an orangutan swimming in the ocean or a jellyfish being in the middle of the woods!! I went to the Ueno Zoo a few weeks ago and saw a gorilla and I will go see the new Planet of the Apes movie when it comes out!! I went here today with two dudes who I’ve been hanging out with!! We had to get tickets online when we got in and I happen to not plan things out sometimes and I didn’t know we had to buy the tickets before online!! We got the tickets standing there and went to see the fish and the jellyfish and the crabs!! It was crowded in some of the areas so I had to look at the back of peoples heads but once they moved I could see the fish!! It was a good time and the tickets were only 18 dollars!!
Written March 16, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LW v
1 contribution
Aug 2023
By far not enough attention for animal welfare. Some of the basins are nice and big, others way too small for the type of animal living in it. Painful to see. Not ok for children.
Written August 6, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mahaliah
Lethbridge, Canada67 contributions
Jun 2023 • Couples
The aquarium is located in the Sunshine city mall. You need to book tickets online in advance on weekends, which we didn’t know until seeing a small sign in the elevator. After realizing this, we booked tickets online for later that day and that worked great to avoid queuing to purchase tickets.
The aquarium is a bit hard to find- make sure to follow the signs in the mall and get on an elevator ASAP as that appears to be the only way to access the aquarium.
It was extremely busy on a Sunday mid-day. It seems to be very popular with children and families. Many tanks indoors were so crowded with people around them that we couldn’t really see the fish. I recommend going on a weekday if possible.
The inside part of the aquarium is overall nice. I particularly liked the jellyfish exhibit and seeing many species native to Japan. They also have a gift shop, a cafe, and nice bathrooms.
I was very concerned about the conditions the seals and the penguins were kept in. These animals are kept in the outdoor portion of the aquarium, which is on the rooftop of a high-rise building. It was over 30 degrees Celsius in direct sun when we visited. I felt so bad for the seals penguins who were outside during this weather. The seals indoors seemed more content but the size of their tank enclosure was small.
Overall, I would not recommend visiting this place if you are concerned about the conditions animals are kept in. Sure, the penguins and seals are cute and it’s cool to see them, but they need to be kept in a more appropriate environment with more space and a cooler temperature.
The aquarium is a bit hard to find- make sure to follow the signs in the mall and get on an elevator ASAP as that appears to be the only way to access the aquarium.
It was extremely busy on a Sunday mid-day. It seems to be very popular with children and families. Many tanks indoors were so crowded with people around them that we couldn’t really see the fish. I recommend going on a weekday if possible.
The inside part of the aquarium is overall nice. I particularly liked the jellyfish exhibit and seeing many species native to Japan. They also have a gift shop, a cafe, and nice bathrooms.
I was very concerned about the conditions the seals and the penguins were kept in. These animals are kept in the outdoor portion of the aquarium, which is on the rooftop of a high-rise building. It was over 30 degrees Celsius in direct sun when we visited. I felt so bad for the seals penguins who were outside during this weather. The seals indoors seemed more content but the size of their tank enclosure was small.
Overall, I would not recommend visiting this place if you are concerned about the conditions animals are kept in. Sure, the penguins and seals are cute and it’s cool to see them, but they need to be kept in a more appropriate environment with more space and a cooler temperature.
Written June 25, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Chris
Texas Gulf Coast, TX14 contributions
Mar 2023 • Friends
Very nice Aquarium, but hard to find without help.Had great display tanks with slot of unusual animals like sea dragons. A lot of stuff I have never seen in aquariums in the US or Thiland. Hard to find as it's in an upper floor of a big building and you have to navigate elevators and escalators to find it. But it's well worth the effort.
Written April 29, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Timber
1 contribution
Apr 2023 • Friends
nice animals but very little space for the animals in my opinion and the animals don't look really happy either. I wish they had a little more space. best always go to parks where the animals are free
Written April 26, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Iris G
Sweden133 contributions
Sept 2019 • Couples
A cool location for an aquarium and lots of different animals, both fishes and mamals. We visited in the evening which was nice because we were almost alone there, staff exepted.
Written March 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Pho
Calgary, Canada11 contributions
Apr 2019
We have stopped by the Sunshine Aquarium in Ikubukuro a few times as family & with friends from out of country. The staff are always warm and welcoming to foreigners and try their best to help us in English. While it is not as large as other aquariums, there's always a lot to see making it a great experience for the kids. We can't wait to go back again!
Written March 5, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kristen B
Shibuya, Japan14 contributions
Mar 2020 • Family
If you’ve been to an aquarium before, and are not with children or close by you may want to skip this. I’ve been to a couple aquariums before and this was not the best. My father and I had a good time however we barely spend 1 hour here. We were in the area so I do not regret going, but would not make the 30-40 minute travel from our hotel just for the aquarium. It was very sad seeing the penguins and seals as their spaces seemed so small. If you are in the area or with children I would say it’s worth the 2200 yen entrance fee.
For travellers there is mostly English translation for the names, however a Mobile phone is needed to scan a QR code for any more English description of the sea life on display.
For travellers there is mostly English translation for the names, however a Mobile phone is needed to scan a QR code for any more English description of the sea life on display.
Written March 2, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Can tourists enjoy student discount, if yes, do they have to show anything to proof it?
コペ母
Tokyo Prefecture, Japan93 contributions
Admission fee is 2 patten for student. Elementary and junior high school student =1200.
adult(include highschool,college,technical college student)=2200
My child is a elementary student have no school ID card,nothing to show when buy ticket.
Japanese student usually have student ID(from school),now 2/15/2019-3/31/2019 social
canpeign for high school,college&technical college student ,so if students are go there this season and enter discount fee ,they have to have a student ID card(we call it Gaku Seishou ).
How much time is needed to spend here to enjoy all of Aquarium?
tessatravelsplaces
New Zealand30 contributions
I would say at least an hour and a half to two hours. There is quite a bit to see here!
sol m
2 contributions
hi! is there any Belugas ? thanks
Aura_S_Elizondo
Cuautitlan Izcalli, Mexico64 contributions
i didn't saw Belugas, sorry
Hi,
Is there an email address I can contact the aquarium on please? I would really like to know more about the Panguin Navi app they had but can'f find a suitable way to contact them.
Thanks
AnnaH
Finland28 contributions
Hi,
I don't think so, they normally publish phone numbers and no email :/
Aloha. Will you be open on 12/25/2016 (Christmas Day)? If yes what will be your hours? Arigato.
ASvR
Geneva, Switzerland265 contributions
I'm just a visitor, check their website.
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