Ishikawa, Mar 25 (News On Japan) –
After being severely broken within the Noto Peninsula earthquake, the Notojima Aquarium in Nanao City has totally reopened for the primary time in roughly 15 months, marking a symbolic step within the area’s restoration.
During the reopening weekend, guests had been welcomed by energetic dolphin performances that drew enthusiastic applause. Popular anime characters additionally made appearances on the celebratory occasion, including to the festive environment.
Following the January 1st, 2024 earthquake, which recorded a most seismic depth of seven, the aquarium suffered in depth injury. The ceiling collapsed, and water ranges in the principle tanks dropped to lower than half. Tragically, about 3,400 sea creatures, together with the favored whale sharks “Hachibee” and “Haku,” perished.
Despite the devastation, the aquarium partially reopened in July 2024, steadily rebuilding its operations. In October, a brand new whale shark named “Momo” joined the ability. By January 2025, the favored penguin stroll returned, exhibiting regular progress towards restoration. In December, eleven dolphins that had been relocated to Fukui and Kanagawa prefectures additionally returned, finishing preparations for the complete reopening.
The aquarium’s workers additionally took half within the reopening efforts, with announcers practising their scripts prematurely.
On March twenty second, the Notojima Aquarium formally resumed full operations. Tetsuya Matsuoka, marine animal supervisor, stated, “It felt like we were finally able to say, ‘Thanks for waiting.’ I was truly happy. We did everything we could in the limited time we had, but we’re not satisfied yet. We want to keep improving.”
Meanwhile, the return to common admission pricing drew consideration on-line. General grownup admission was raised from a short lived discounted charge of 1,000 yen again to 1,890 yen, whereas kids’s admission returned from free to 510 yen. Surprisingly, social media was crammed with celebratory reactions, equivalent to “Congratulations!” and “So happy to hear about the price increase,” as many noticed it as an indication of restoration.
Kazuya Yanagi, who oversees the dolphin and sea lion displays, defined, “Rather than calling it a price hike, it’s more of a return to normal.” He additionally famous that attendance seems to be rising.
While full restoration for the disaster-hit area continues to be a protracted street forward, the reopening of the aquarium stands as a strong image of resilience and hope for Noto.
Official Website: https://www.notoaqua.jp/global/english/
Source: FNN