Respite From the Rain at Shinagawa Aqua Stadium

Our first morning back in Tokyo from Shimoda was a late one. My husband wanted to watch the World Cup Final on TV so we had a late breakfast (the live telecast was at 3am but they rerun at a more decent time 7am or so). By the time we got out the door it started to rain. And it wasn’t just rain, there was a lot of wind too. Stormy weather! We asked the concierge for kid friendly indoor fun suggestions and she mentioned the Aqua Stadium. It’s an indoor amusement center in Shinagawa with an aquarium.

Although we had just visited an aquarium in Shimoda, there really wasn’t anything else that we could think of doing. We have exhausted nearly all the major museums in Tokyo and our kids were not in the mood for any more of them. They wouldn’t have minded going to Kidzania again but that wasn’t going to happen. If we had not gotten a late start Disney Sea might have been a remote possibility since we have never visited (my husband is pretty anti-Disney amusement parks, hence remote). The rain would certainly have kept the crowd away. Kids were done walking and shopping too.

Aqua Stadium is located right across from the Shinagawa station. The Shimoda aquarium, although much older, has a nicer feel. The shows at Shimoda had a very heavy educational and environmental bent to it, not at Aqua Stadium. We saw a sea lion and a dolphin show. The dolphin show was a lot of fun with lots of jumps and splashes. My husband was on of the volunteers at the sea lion show to throw a ring to the sea lion. That was funny but he had a great throw! The feeding of the manta rays and sawtooth shark and other fish in the Ray Submarine Tunnel was fascinating. Other than that, there wasn’t much else to the aquarium. I don’t know that I would recommend this aquarium…only if you are looking for something to do on a rainy day that is within easy reach and not too taxing.

By late afternoon, the sky had cleared and we had glorious weather. Wonderful evening for our last night in Tokyo.

http://www.princehotels.co.jp/shinagawa/aquastadium/e/