The Joetsu Aquarium, known by its nickname of “Umigatari,” was reopened after refurbishment on June 2018 and is located in a modern building that looks more like an art gallery than an aquarium. 

The area of the aquarium that is home to approximately 120 Magellanic penguins recreates the environment of Chubut Province in Argentina, which is a major habitat for wild Magellanic penguins. From the second-floor outdoor walkway over this recreated wild environment you can see nesting penguins incubating their eggs, and from the first floor you can see them swimming so fast they almost seem to be flying. Seeing the penguins at such uniquely close quarters enables visitors to see them acting as they would in the wild.

Another popular attraction are the cute beluga whales. On the top floor of the aquarium is an infinity pool that appears to become one with the Sea of Japan, and it is here that you can see bottlenose dolphins performing astounding jumps.