Kyoto Aquarium
Kyoto, Japan is known as a place of tradition and history, with decades old temples, kimono clad geisha, and reverent tea ceremonies. Few would venture into the historic capital to seek out penguins. This would be their loss.
Sitting on the edge of Umekoji park, the Kyoto Aquarium with its sleek architecture feels a bit out of place. At first glance it looks more like a modern art museum than an aquarium, with only a handful of stone sea life sculptures to hint at what lies inside. One step into the gift shop and you feel reassured. Surrounded by plush penguins, colorful glass fish and plastic sea lion toys, you know you've come to the right place.
I visited on a Monday afternoon and the crowd was pleasantly small. I made my way to the penguins, led by signs and a pattern of penguin footprints on the ground. Creative displays led up to the penguin habitat: a wall gridded with measurements to compare your own height to that of the penguins; an illustrated narrative of penguin life; even a table with rubber stamps representing the footprints of various penguin species. The crowning display, however, is one that has made the Kyoto Aquarium well known-- an elaborate relationship chart detailing the love lives and drama of the resident African penguins. (If such penguin romances intrigue you, you can even buy said chart in the gift store!)
In the penguin habitat that afternoon everyone seemed to be getting along. Feeding time having passed, many birds were settled down in their dens while their mates stood guard. When one shifted, I was able to get a glimpse of the egg beneath. With any luck, the Kyoto Aquarium will be seeing baby penguins soon!
If penguin watching has made you peckish, don't forget to check out the several cafes scattered throughout the aquarium. Each features different animal themed goodies, from adorable baked goods to ice cream floats with penguin shaped ice.
Overall, the Kyoto Aquarium isn't particularly large, nor does it have a wide variety of animals; but there's a cozy intimacy that makes it uniquely enjoyable. Most information is presented in Japanese but is supplemented by plenty of visuals. It's worth a trip, if nothing else, to catch up on the latest Penguin Gossip.