So after two days in Osaka, I move on to nearby Kyoto (about 45 minutes away on the train). But then new friends tell me about the world-renowned Osaka Aquarium, which even has an elaborate jellyfish exhibit. It’s settled: I will return to Osaka and check it out.

Turns out the aquarium is HUGE and I spend six fascinating hours there. I’m splitting this into two posts because I have so many photos to share — I’ll stick with a variety of sea life today, and tomorrow I’ll show you the jellyfish and whale sharks.

I hang out at the elaborate entrance below for a full half-hour, snapping away at the giant sting rays and hammerhead sharks, before finally going inside.

Baby otters napping on top of each other! My heart melts. I just want to cuddle with them.

This is a Chinese giant salamander. I don’t think I even knew what one looked like before today.

This pirarucu fish looks prehistoric. It’s native to the Amazon river in Brazil and the largest freshwater fish in South America.

This is a capybara, the largest rodent in the world. It’s also native to South America.

Penguins!

The King Penguins are so neat to watch. These guys are found in Antarctica and I’d love to photograph them in their natural environment one day.

I stumble upon the dolphins right at feeding time. This is a Pacific whitesided dolphin:

Thanks to my diving excursions, I am slightly obsessed with weird underwater creatures. Like this dude:

This looks like the nudibranchs I saw while diving in Malaysia (like this guy):

Say hello to these giant Japanese spider crabs:

I believe this is a ringed seal, found in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions:

At the very end of the aquarium, there’s a hands-on exhibit where you can lightly pet sharks and sting rays under the supervision of employees.

I depart the aquarium exhausted, nearly six hours after I arrived. My hands ache from operating my camera all day! Tomorrow I’ll share photos from the jellyfish and GIANT water tank that houses two whale sharks, among other fascinating undersea life.