Tokyo Sea Life Park has various departments, including animal care and exhibition staff, and education and outreach staff.

As part of 　the commemorative projects for our 35th anniversary this year, we will be publishing a series of articles titled "The Dreams of Aquarium Leaders," in which leaders from each department will discuss themes such as "the ideal exhibit/aquarium" and "what they want to do and their dreams for their future work."

The first installment: "The thoughts and feelings behind aquarium exhibits"

My family home is in Mitaka City, Tokyo. Around the 1960s and 70s, there were groves of trees and streams around my family home, and springs along the Musashino cliff line, so a wide variety of creatures such as lizards, snakes, Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle, rhinoceros beetles, jewel beetles, praying mantises, and grasshoppers lived nearby.

When I was in elementary school, I often played outside with my friends, staying out until it got completely dark. We would go out to catch animals and bring the ones we caught home to keep as pets. But back then, I wasn't very good at keeping them, and to be honest, I couldn't get them to live very long.

From elementary school through junior high school, I often went fishing. I mainly fished along the Tama River, from around Mukogaoka-Yuen to Koremasa, and with my father's help, I also went to Lake Tsukui, Lake Sagami, and Lake Kawaguchi. When I became a high school student, I started to think a little about my future. What would it be like to work? Before going to university, I thought about what I wanted to be, and finally decided, "That's it, come back salmon!" So I decided to go to the Department of Fisheries Science (at the time).

Because I get seasick easily, from the fall of my third year of university, I started commuting to the Okutama Branch of the Tokyo Metropolitan Fisheries Experiment Station (at the time) in Okutama Town, Tokyo, for my graduation thesis research. I am truly grateful to the many researchers there for their help. I never dreamed at the time that I would later end up working with them. The "Comeback Salmon" project sparked my interest in fish and the ocean at university, and my interests expanded to include marine life and tropical fish of the Amazon.

One day, while working on my graduation thesis, someone from the Fisheries Research Institute told me that they were looking for animal keeper at Tokyo Sea Life Park. I instinctively thought, "This is it!" and rode my motorcycle to Yurakucho, where the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building was located at the time, to get an application form.

I went through a lot, including passing the exam but not being hired, but in April 1991, I started working at the Tokyo Sea Life Park. I still remember the joy I felt when director and animal keeper at the time gave me my name tag that said "animal keeper." More than 30 years have passed since then, and it went by in a flash.

Now, I think the role of aquariums has changed and expanded with the times. Of course, I believe the essential aspects remain the same. I also think that compared to when I was a child, fewer people are interacting with nature, the sea, and living creatures. "Rivers are dangerous, so you shouldn't go near them"—this isn't wrong. There are dangers in rivers, the sea, and other bodies of water, and you really have to be careful. But I also think that if you keep them away, the danger will only increase.

On the other hand, those bodies of water are truly a treasure trove. There are so many different kinds of living things there. Besides fish, there are aquatic plants, frogs, turtles, aquatic insects, and more. Japan is an island nation, surrounded by the sea with varying water temperatures from north to south, and the Kuroshio and Oyashio currents flow through it. These currents change moment by moment, just like living things. It's truly fascinating. My experiences since childhood have led me to want to convey the charm and wonder of these creatures. Furthermore, I want people to know more about the environment in which they live, and I believe that knowing more can make a difference. That is my driving force.

To convey these messages, we create exhibits using aquariums for our visitors to view. We utilize every method available, including necessary explanations, photographs, and videos, to communicate. We raise the fish in order to convey our message through the exhibits.


During my childhood, I spent time interacting with living creatures in the rice paddies and woodlands near my family home. Those experiences are the driving force behind me today.
I hope that people who develop an interest in living creatures at the aquarium will one day go out into the field and see the wonderful scenery and creatures with their own eyes, safely and securely.

Furthermore, I hope people will also take an interest in the environments in which these creatures live. For example, in Japan, clean water comes out of the tap and can be drunk directly. This may seem normal to Japanese people, but I have traveled to about 20 countries for collection purposes, and such countries are quite rare overseas. Water is very precious. The creatures we exhibit in aquariums live through that water. They are connected to us through the water we use every day.

After visiting an aquarium, your feelings (and actions) might change a little. You might open an encyclopedia when you get home. You might talk to someone about the creatures you saw at the aquarium. You might not leave the shower running. These may all be small things, but I have always dreamed of increasing the number of people who do these things, and I will continue to work on this job, both now and in the future, with that dream in mind.

[Takashi Sugino, Deputy director and Head of Animal Care and Exhibition Department Tokyo Sea Life Park]

• Serialized article: 35th Anniversary Project "The Dreams of Aquarium Leaders"
　[1] Thoughts on the exhibits at the aquarium
　[2] The path that aquariums aim for - We want them to always be close to you
　[3] Would you like to get involved in the maintenance and management of the facilities that support the aquarium from behind the scenes?
　[4] Aquariums where you can learn while having fun
　[5] I want to create the ocean
　[6] Aqua Positive
　[7] Aiming for an inclusive aquarium
　[8] The Dreaming Old Man
　[9] The job of a "boatman" at an aquarium - Let's continue the dream together!
　[10] Value hospitality
　[11] What we want to convey from shops and restaurants!! The charm and importance of living things
　[12 (Final Episode)] Thoughts and daily life of the Business Division staff

(April 30, 2024)