Joetsu Aquarium Umigatari in Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture, will hold a special exhibition titled 「見て・さわって・考えよう！アザラシたちのハッピーライフ」 (roughly, "See, Touch, and Think! The Happy Lives of the Seals") from Saturday, November 21, 2026 to Monday, January 11, 2027 (a national holiday).
The exhibition looks beyond the "cuteness" of spotted seals and focuses on how they live. Visitors can learn about the biology and individual traits of spotted seals and see how each of the six seals living at the aquarium differs from the others. Along the way, the exhibition explains in an easy-to-understand way the idea of "animal welfare" (helping animals live healthy in both mind and body), which Umigatari takes seriously. Visitors of all ages, especially families with elementary school children, can deepen their understanding of animals while having fun.
Learning About Animal Welfare Through Spotted Seals
Umigatari values animal welfare so that every animal it keeps can live healthy in both mind and body. As one example of this approach, the exhibition focuses on the six distinctive spotted seals kept at the aquarium. It starts with the basics of what kind of animal a spotted seal is and then introduces the characteristics of each of the six seals. Explanatory panels and a hands-on corner also cover animal welfare and enrichment (efforts to enrich the animals' environment).
Explanatory Panels
The panels use plenty of images to explain each topic clearly. There is also a hands-on display where visitors can touch the materials of toys the seals actually use.
Hands-On Corner
Through origami, quizzes and a personality quiz, visitors can notice the differences among the six seals. The corner also gives a glimpse of the daily care the seals receive while introducing their charms.
- Seal origami: Original origami that shows the characteristics of each of the six seals.
- Let's think up a toy: A corner where visitors draw their ideal toy, using the enrichment toys introduced in the exhibition as a reference.
- Q&A corner: Visitors write their questions about spotted seals on a sheet of paper. Keepers will post their answers at a later date.
- Umigatari seal personality quiz: An original Yes/No chart that helps visitors find the Umigatari seal most like themselves.
The hands-on corner is located in the Event Hall on the 1st floor.
Spotted Seal Underwater Feeding (Weekends and Holidays Only)
This underwater event takes place on weekends and holidays during the exhibition period, as well as over the New Year holidays. A device containing food (a feeder) is placed in the water, and a keeper explains how the seals swim and eat. The keeper also covers the body features and care measures that the act of eating reveals, along with the aquarium's approach to animal welfare.
The seals can be seen pushing their faces into the device, nudging it with their noses and touching it with their front flippers, using many different approaches to get the food.
- Dates: Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from November 21, 2026 to January 11, 2027. The event is held daily from December 26 to January 3, 2027.
- Time: 1:30 PM
- Location: 2nd floor, Friend Pool (ふれんどプール)
Admission Tickets With a Spotted Seal Photo Card
To go with the special exhibition, the aquarium will sell admission tickets that come with a bromide (a photo card) of one of its seals. Visitors can choose from four types of photos taken by the staff.
- Sale period: November 20, 2026 (Fri) to January 17, 2027 (Sun), until 4:00 PM
- Valid for: November 20, 2026 (Fri) to March 31, 2027 (Wed)
- Where to buy: Seven Ticket, listed as 「上越市立水族博物館 うみがたり【ゴマフアザラシブロマイド付第2弾】」
- Note: The bromide is printed at the Seven-Eleven where the ticket was purchased, until March 30, 2027.
| Category | Admission fee |
|---|---|
| Adult (18 and over) | ¥2,200 |
| High school student | ¥1,400 |
| Elementary / junior high school student | ¥1,200 |
| Child (4 and over) | ¥800 |
| Senior (65 and over) | ¥1,900 |
Joetsu Aquarium Umigatari
- Regular hours: 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Admission fees
| Category | Individual | Disability certificate holder / one caregiver | Annual passport |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult (18 and over) | ¥2,000 | ¥1,000 | ¥4,400 |
| High school student | ¥1,200 | ¥600 | ¥2,600 |
| Elementary / junior high school student | ¥1,000 | ¥500 | ¥2,200 |
| Child (4 and over) | ¥600 | ¥300 | ¥1,300 |
| Senior (65 and over) | ¥1,700 | ¥850 | ¥3,700 |
- Holders of a physical disability certificate, a rehabilitation certificate or a mental health and welfare certificate (all grades) receive 50% off the individual fee. One caregiver per eligible person also receives 50% off the individual fee. The disability certificate app "Mirairo ID" is also accepted.
- A photo of the passport holder is taken when an annual passport is made, so the person who will hold the passport must visit in person.
- No identification documents are needed to buy an annual passport.
- No documents to verify age are needed when buying other admission tickets.
Access
- By train: Take the JR Hokuriku Shinkansen to Joetsu-Myoko Station (about 1 hour 50 minutes from Tokyo, about 20 minutes from Nagano, about 1 hour from Kanazawa). Transfer to the Echigo Tokimeki Railway Myoko Haneuma Line and ride about 15 minutes to Naoetsu Station. From Niigata, the JR Shin'etsu Main Line takes about 2 hours to Naoetsu Station.
- From Naoetsu Station: About 4 minutes by taxi, or about 15 minutes on foot. By bus, ride about 4 minutes to Naoetsu Shopping Center and walk about 7 minutes.
- By car: About 15 minutes from Joetsu IC (Hokuriku Expressway), about 30 minutes from Joetsu-Takada IC (Joshin-etsu Expressway), or about 30 minutes from Nadachi-Tanihama IC (Hokuriku Expressway).
