Notojima Aquarium

Notojima Aquarium (のとじま水族館) is located on Notojima Island in Nanao Bay, showcasing the marine life of the Sea of Japan and Noto Peninsula's rich coastal ecosystems. The aquarium's highlight is a 22-meter underwater tunnel through a massive tank containing 20,000 fish including yellowtail, sea bream, stingrays, and sharks — visitors walk through as fish swim overhead and around them. The jellyfish exhibition features 20+ species displayed in illuminated tanks that highlight their translucent, otherworldly beauty.

The facility also includes dolphin and seal shows (4 daily performances), a touch pool where children can handle starfish and sea cucumbers, and a penguin enclosure where Antarctic penguins waddle across artificial snow. The aquarium emphasizes local marine life — exhibits explain traditional Noto fishing methods, display local shellfish and seaweed varieties, and feature the giant Echizen crab (live specimens in winter). The location on Notojima Island (connected to the mainland by bridge) combines the aquarium visit with scenic coastal driving and views of Nanao Bay's oyster rafts and fishing boats.

The aquarium's design leans heavily on natural light and open-air enclosures rather than dim, artificially lit tanks, a choice that lets visitors observe how local species behave under conditions closer to the Sea of Japan itself — schools of fish respond visibly to changing daylight, and the seal and dolphin pools use filtered bay water rather than a fully closed system. This emphasis on the surrounding sea extends into the exhibits' framing: rather than presenting marine life as an abstract global collection, the aquarium consistently ties each species back to Noto's fishing culture, explaining how particular nets, traps, or seasonal timing were developed by local fishing communities over generations to catch them sustainably. For families, the touch pools and shallow-water exhibits are scaled for small children, with staff on hand to explain what is safe to handle, while the underwater tunnel and dolphin stadium tend to hold older visitors' attention longest. Because Notojima Island sits at the end of a scenic coastal approach, many visitors treat the aquarium less as an isolated attraction and more as the anchor point for a broader half-day exploring Nanao Bay's fishing hamlets and oyster-farming inlets.