SENDAI UMINOMORI AQUARIUM, a facility built around creating new connections between people and the sea, is holding "Umino-mori Summer Research" from Saturday, July 18 through Sunday, August 23, 2026. The event covers a wide range of topics, from ocean mysteries to the lives of marine creatures, and doubles as material for kids' jiyu kenkyu — the independent-study project Japanese elementary schoolers take on over summer break.
Back again this year is the popular Q&A corner, where keepers who specialize in marine life answer visitors' everyday questions about the ocean. New this year, a selection of the keepers' favorite Q&As will be posted for guests to vote on, with the most "interesting" or "eye-opening" answers crowned "Best of Q&A."
The lineup also includes "Morning Aquarium," where visitors can learn about a keeper's morning routine, and a first-time lecture series featuring guest speakers active in the local community. Between learning and hands-on experiences, there's plenty on offer to make the most of summer break.
Fun for All Ages: Keepers Answer Ocean Questions in the "Q&A Corner"
This popular annual feature invites guests to submit questions, which keepers then answer in their own distinctive style, making it a fun way to learn about the mysteries of the sea.
During the event, guests can jot down ocean questions they don't usually get to ask on special forms set up around the aquarium. Keepers who specialize in marine life then take the time to write thoughtful answers, which are posted throughout the facility. Questions range from the dolphins, penguins, and other creatures on display to behind-the-scenes details about how the aquarium runs, each paired with an answer full of personality. Simply reading through other visitors' questions and answers is its own way to pick up new ocean knowledge. One example already on display asks how penguins sleep — the keeper's answer explains that some sleep standing up while others lie belly-down, and pairs sometimes even sleep side by side.
After the entry period ends, keepers will select their favorite Q&As to display, and guests can vote for the ones they find most "interesting" or "eye-opening" to crown the "Best of Q&A." Don't miss finding out which questions and answers make the cut.
Image for illustrative purposes only.
Period: Saturday, July 18 to Sunday, August 16
Location: 1st floor, Umino-mori Fishing Port
Otaria Friendly Time Gets a Cool Summer Makeover
"Otaria Friendly Time," featuring performances by Otaria — a member of the sea lion family also known as the South American sea lion — showing off balance tricks and other skills in front of guests, gets a summer makeover this season.
In the summer version, the sea lion uses its nose to shoot a water gun, and a lucky selected guest gets to feel the force of the spray from behind an umbrella. Keeper commentary throughout the show offers a fun way to learn about the animal's biology. There's also a photo corner where guests can touch the sea lion's back while taking a picture, a chance to feel its texture firsthand and take home a keepsake.
Date and time: July 18 (Sat) to August 7 (Fri) at 12:00 PM and 3:00 PM; August 17 (Mon) to August 23 (Sun) at 3:00 PM
*From August 17 (Mon) to August 23 (Sun), the 12:00 PM slot is planned as a special late-summer greeting performance.
Fee: Free to watch (photos are available for purchase)
August 1 Only: A Special Morning at the Aquarium With "Morning Aquarium"
On Saturday, August 1, the aquarium opens a little earlier than usual for a special event called "Morning Aquarium."
Guests can watch keepers' morning routines, which aren't normally open to view, and join staff for a round of radio calisthenics. Everyone who joins "Morning Aquarium" receives a copy of the "Umino-mori Morning Work Book," which explains what keepers do first thing in the morning.
Date: Saturday, August 1
Time: Doors open at 8:30 AM
Admission: Adult ¥2,400 (tax included); senior (65 and older) ¥1,800 (tax included); junior/senior high school student ¥1,700 (tax included); elementary school student ¥1,200 (tax included); preschooler (4 and older) ¥700 (tax included)
*Annual passports can be used for this event, though they cannot be renewed or purchased that day.
*Admission tickets go on sale at the ticket counter starting 8:15 AM.
Program: Radio calisthenics starts at 8:40 AM. After the event, guests can enjoy the aquarium as usual for the rest of the day.
July 29–30 and August 5–6 Only: A Night to Observe Marine Life Up Close With Parents and Kids
After closing on July 29 (Wed) to 30 (Thu) and August 5 (Wed) to 6 (Thu), the aquarium opens its doors for a special evening event where parents and kids can freely explore and observe how the creatures behave at night.
A night spent in front of the large tank is sure to become an unforgettable memory. Advance ticket purchase is required.
Dates: (1) July 29 (Wed) to 30 (Thu); (2) August 5 (Wed) to 6 (Thu)
Time: 7:30 PM to 8:30 AM the next day (check-in 7:00 PM to 7:20 PM)
Fee: Adult (junior high school student and older) ¥9,000 (tax included); elementary school student ¥6,000 (tax included)
*Tickets are sold only through the official website; no tickets are sold at the ticket counter.
*The fee includes aquarium admission (regular viewing is available the next day as well).
*Children younger than elementary school age cannot take part in this event.
Capacity: 40 people per session
Program: See the official website for the detailed schedule.
Rare Lecture Events With Local Experts on the Ocean Environment and Marine Life
A series of new lecture events invites people active in the local community to share their firsthand knowledge of the sea, offering a rare chance to learn directly from local experts.
July 25 Only: Learn About Eelgrass and the Creatures of Matsushima Bay — Take Your Lesson Home on a Pencil Board
Eelgrass beds are known as the "cradle of the sea," serving as both a hiding place for small creatures and a spawning ground that carries life to the next generation. This event introduces the activities of NPO Environmental Ecological Engineering Research Institute (E-TEC), which has been researching the eelgrass lost to the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake tsunami, along with the eelgrass beds and the creatures that live in them. Participants can also make their own original pencil board summarizing their personal discoveries — a sample board features illustrated entries on local species such as the finless porpoise, ghost shrimp, crab, and sea slug, each labeled with its Japanese name, scientific name, and habitat. It's a hands-on way to explain ocean environmental issues to kids in an easy-to-understand way.
Date: Saturday, July 25
Time: 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM, 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM
Who can join: Everyone
Fee: Free
Cooperation: NPO Environmental Ecological Engineering Research Institute (E-TEC)
Location: SENDAI UMINOMORI AQUARIUM, 1st floor Lecture Room
August 1 Only: A Local Fisherman Shares the Realities of Fishing Today and Everyday Rope-Work Skills
The event welcomes Yudai Kamata of the fishing boat 寒風沢悦芳丸 (えほうまる), who fishes on Kanpuzawa Island, a remote island in Shiogama City, Miyagi Prefecture. Alongside fishing, he draws on experience from Japan's local revitalization cooperation corps program to run fishing experience activities, workshops, and food education programs that help revitalize Kanpuzawa Island and the Shiogama and Urato Islands area. He'll talk about the distinctive fishing methods used around Kanpuzawa Island along with stories from his work. In the second half, guests can handle some fishing gear and try rope-work skills essential to fishing, such as safely mooring a boat, learning knots that are also useful in everyday life as Kamata explains each step.
Image for illustrative purposes only.
Date: Saturday, August 1
Time: 10:30 AM / 11:45 AM (about 30 minutes each)
Who can join: Elementary school age and older
Capacity: First 20 guests
Fee: Free
Location: 2nd floor Large Conference Room
August 22 Only: The Mystery of a Fish's Tiny Bone — Try Finding a Fish's Age From Its Otolith
The aquarium welcomes Professor Satoshi Katayama of Tohoku University's Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Division of Fisheries Resource Ecology, who researches fishery resources and the marine environment, for a lecture about otoliths, the tiny bones that reveal a fish's age.
Inside the semicircular canals of a fish's inner ear are small bones called otoliths, marked with growth rings much like tree rings. In this event, guests can actually remove and observe an otolith for themselves, learning how this small bone can reveal a fish's age and much more.
Otoliths from (left to right) Ezo mebaru (Sebastes taczanowskii), mako garei (marbled flounder), and shirogisu (Japanese whiting).
Date: Saturday, August 22
Time: 10:30 AM / 1:30 PM (about 40 minutes each)
Capacity: First 20 guests
Who can join: Elementary school age and older
Fee: Free
Location: 2nd floor Large Conference Room
Hours During the Event Period
Aquarium hours vary across the event period, as follows:
| Dates | Hours |
|---|---|
| July 18–20 | 9:00 AM–6:30 PM (last entry 6:00 PM) |
| July 21–23 | 9:00 AM–5:30 PM (last entry 5:00 PM) |
| July 24–Aug 7, Aug 17–23 | 9:00 AM–6:00 PM (last entry 5:30 PM) |
| Aug 8–16 | 8:00 AM–6:00 PM (last entry 5:30 PM) |
New This Year: Nights Too! Summer Night Aquarium "Dolphin Carnival"
This year, after closing on July 25 (Sat) to August 23 (Sun), 2026, and again during the Silver Week holidays from September 19 (Sat) to 23 (Wed, holiday), the aquarium is holding its first-ever Summer Night Aquarium event, "Dolphin Carnival," to heat up summer nights.
