TSURUOKA, Japan (Reuters) — With 60 different varieties of jellyfish, Kamo aquarium in Japan’s Yamagata Prefecture houses one of the largest collection of jellyfish species in the world.
Holding two percent of the global 3000 jellyfish varieties, the aquarium receives more than two million visitors every year.
A prominent feature of the exhibit is the Jellyfish Dream Theater, or the Kurage Dream Theater, measuring five meters in diameter, where about 2000 Moon Jellies float.
Many visitors said they were mesmerized by the aquatic creatures’ movements.
“I think they are beautiful. To me, they kinda look like they are dancing in space but except in water,” said Lauren Roseacosta, who was visiting from Miami Florida.
Kamo aquarium also has an active educational program, where jellyfish seminars are held daily by the staff, covering topics such as breeding and the species’ diet.
Kazuya Okuizumi, the aquarium director, said the jellyfish breeding began coincidentally in 1997, when a coral exhibit started producing a type of cassiopeian jellyfish on its own.
The collection began with boats being regularly dispatched to the sea behind Kamo aquarium to catch as many types of jellyfish as possible.
Okuizumi added that he hopes to be able to breed more rare types of deep-sea jellyfish in the future.
Live jellyfish aren’t the only attraction, visitors are able to have a taste of edible jellyfish bits in their ice cream, which are available at the aquarium’s cafe.
“It’s a very strange texture. I’m eating soft cream but there is this very soft texture that tastes very delicious,” said Noriyuki Fujiwara, an aquarium visitor.
