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Visiting the Art Aquarium Museum was one of the last things we had on our list of things to do in Ginza and we’re so glad we made it happen. The Art Aquarium Museum just celebrated its one-year anniversary and it was produced by Hidetomo Kumura who wanted to create a space where people can admire goldfish as living pieces of art.

Tickets

When we arrived at the Mitsukoshi building where the museum was, there was a huge sign at the elevator entrance that tickets were being sold at another location. We definitely weren’t expecting this and weren’t happy to find out that the location to buy the tickets was 10 minutes away.

Art Aquarium 1st Anniversary — One Year Anniversary Banner

We decided it would be faster to purchase the tickets on our mobile device, which took us about 5 minutes. However, to do this, make sure you know how to read Japanese because we weren’t able to locate an English page to purchase tickets online. Once we received an email with a QR code for entry, we headed to the 9th floor.

art aquarium entrance — Art Aquarium Entrance

To our surprise, there were people purchasing tickets at a kiosk. We have no idea why the sign downstairs directs customers to buy tickets at another building when you can actually buy them onsite. In any case, the lesson here is to just ignore the sign.

standing in the entrance line — Standing in line for the Art Aquarium

art aquarium notice — Art Aquarium Rules

Highlights

Ginza Montaro (lanterns)

As soon as you enter the museum, you walk through a silent space surrounded by mysterious lights. The hanging lanterns reminded us of ancient Japan.

Goldfish Corridor

The Goldfish Corridor was our favorite exhibition and the area we spent the most time. The rows of goldfish columns were quite mesmerizing and created a sense of infinite space. At first glance, the columns appear to expand downward to another floor, but it was an illusion created by mirrors.

art aquarium goldfish corridor — Goldfish Corridor in Blue

looking at a goldfish corridor — Goldfish Corridor in Green

Goldfish Collection

We had no idea that so many different kinds of Goldfish species existed. This section focused on the different breeds of Goldfish that are rarely seen.

Goldfish Waterfall

This multi-layered wall of water was beautiful and such a fun and unique way to observe Goldfish. It almost appeared as if the Goldfish were dancing.

waterfall goldfish at art aquarium — Goldfish Swimming in the Waterfall

A Show of Kingyo

This was the only section where you can observe the Goldfish swimming from above. If you are patient, you might get a chance to see them peek out to the surface of the water.

room with many goldfish tanks — Show of Kingyo

looking at goldfish from above — Show of Goldfish

Origamirium

This was a huge fishbowl filled with Goldfish. The fishbowl was surrounded by folded origami, hence the name Origamirium. The name is such a tongue twister that it took us at least five tries to pronounce the word correctly.

goldfish in a large tank — Origamirium Bowl

Chochinrium

The lanterns lined up in this room are based on the theme of “Matsuri Lantern.” Matsuri means festival in Japanese. The sphere of the lantern works as a magnifying glass and makes the goldfish appear larger.

goldfish matsuri lantern — Chochinrium - Matsuri Lanterns

Chochinrium ginza art aquarium — walking through the Chochinrium

art aquarium museum chochinrium — Chochinrium

Goldfish Forest

We had no idea that the water pillars were supposed to resemble rows of bamboo trees. The theme here was to create a space that combined the silence of being in a bamboo forest with the beauty of the swimming Goldfish.

Flowerium

Another tongue twister if you want to try and say Flowerium out loud. This was the final room and it was completed in collaboration with ikebana artist, Shogo Kariyazaki. Ikebana is a centuries-old Japanese art of arranging flowers.

Gift Shop

We recommend stopping by the gift shop where you’ll find original Goldfish goods like mini chocolate goldfish in decorative tin cans that can only be purchased here.

art aquarium manga collaboration — Gift Shop Collab Merchandise

We were also pleasantly surprised to see collaboration products with anime artists and musicians, which are also only available for purchase in-store.

art aquarium gift shop — Art Aquarium Gift Shop

art aquarium snack gifts — Gifts in Gold Tin Cans

art aquarium towel gifts — Japanese Towels with Printed Goldfish

Final Thoughts

This was our first experience at an Art Aquarium and we’re so glad we decided to check it out. Not only was it a fun way to view a variety of goldfish, but it was a unique way to enjoy the traditional beauty of Japan.

colorful goldfish corridor — Colorful Goldfish Corridor

If you are a photographer, it’s also a great space to capture beautiful images. Apparently, there are designated areas throughout the museum with a photo spot mark, which are suggested spots to snag a photo. We somehow missed these photo spot marks but were able to capture beautiful shots regardless.

ART AQUARIUM MUSEUM
ADDRESS: Ginza Mitsukoshi, 4-6-16 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo (MAP)
PHONE: +81 03-3528-6721
TICKETS: ¥2,300