Oga Aquarium Gao

Oga Aquarium Gao (男鹿水族館ガオ, Oga Suizokukan Gao), officially Akita Prefectural Oga Aquarium, is an aquarium located along Oga Peninsula coast, Oga, Akita Prefecture, Japan. GAO stands for Globe, Aqua and Ocean, and sounds like an Oga-native Namahage shout.^[6]

Oga Aquarium Gao
The aquarium in 2020
39°56′32″N 139°42′16″E
Date opened	1967 (former) 13 July 2004 (current)
Location	Oga, Akita, Japan[1]
No. of animals	10,000[2]
No. of species	400[3]
Volume of largest tank	800,000 litres (211,000 US gal)[4]
Total volume of tanks	1,423,000 litres (376,000 US gal)
Memberships	JAZA[5]
Website	www.gao-aqua.jp

Overview

Overlooking the Sea of Japan, it keeps and displays over 10,000 marine organisms, including those from Akita Prefecture's abundant marine resources and over 400 species of rare aquatic animals from around the world. This is the only tank in Japan where they have Japanese sandfish on display all year round.^[7] They also have a touch pool section where you can handle different sea creatures, such as sea urchin and sea cucumbers.^[8][9] During the New Year’s season, divers dress up as Namahage and feed the fishes in the main tank.^[10][11] The aquarium has appeared in the film "Tsuribaka Nisshi 15".^[12]

History

The former Akita Prefectural Aquarium was founded in 1967, and displayed 300 species including Japanese sandfish, Otters, Penguins and White caimans.^[13]

Exhibits

Main tank – 8 meters deep and 800 tons

• Live sharksucker
• Red seabream
• Takifugu xanthopterus
• Japanese red seaperch
• Pitted stingray
• Green sea turtle
• Japanese poacher
• Stereolepis
• Omobranchus elegans
• Japanese spider crab
• Sea raven
• Japanese tree frog
• Pond loach
• Acheilognathus tabira tohokuensis
• Pungitius
• Japanese fluvial sculpin
• Common carp
• Montane brown frog
• Southern fiddler ray
• Melbourne skate
• Nezumi fugu
• Spotted garden eel
• Green chromis
• Xingu River ray
• Piranha
• Southern rockhopper penguin
• Northern sea nettle
• Earless seals
• Sea lions
• Jellyfish
• Japanese sandfish

Source:[14]

Gallery

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  Opistognathus decorus
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  Electric eel
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  Polar bears
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  Japanese sandfish
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  Hatahata, a prefectural fish
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  Pacific sandfish at Hatahata Museum
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  Spotted seal
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  Pirarucu
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  Longspine snipefish
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  Bluestripe snapper
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  Redtail catfish
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  Gentoo penguins
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  Common jellyfish
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  Spotted jelly
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Parking lot

Satellite view

It can hold 630 cars and vehicles.^[15]

See also

• Oga Quasi-National Park
• Nyūdōzaki Lighthouse