Hakkeijima Sea Paradise is a resort style amusement park here in Yokohama, Japan. Hakkeijima is actually an island, and on this island there is an amusement park with four aquariums and dozens of attractions, such as rides, a roller coaster, a mall, restaurants, and more! Our main goal was to go to the aquarium and watch the dolphin show.
Due to the pandemic, we needed to purchase our tickets online beforehand. Since our daughter is way too tiny to ride any rides, we decided to buy the ticket that allows us to go to all four aquariums (Aqua Museum, Dolphin Fantasy, Umi Farm and Fureai Lagoon). We bought tickets for the 8:30AM time slot and arrived nice and early! We arrived at the park around 9:00am, and headed straight for the aquarium, as we knew it was going to be the main attraction of the day!
Our daughter loved seeing the huge walrus, and the seals were so energetic and happy. The aquarium wasn't too crowded, and Japanese people naturally keep their distance, so we didn't feel uncomfortable at all. We could let our daughter stand in front of the glass and enjoy the scenery up close! Due to corona, they didn't have any touching or interactive exhibits open, but the aquarium was super engaging regardless. There were penguins, a polar bear, and even sharks. There are free events, such as a penguin parade, 50,00 sardines dancing to music, and the dolphin show. And, there are also paid events, such as feeding the otter, capybara, and more. The paid events need a repurchased ticket and reservation. Because our daughter is still only one, we decided to wait to introduce her to the animals, and instead just attended the dolphin show, which she loved!
After that, it was lunch time. We decided to go to the food court since we packed our daughters lunch, but it was really difficult to find a table. Fortunately, we found one outside and had a chilly, but refreshing lunch. After that, it was time for our daughter's nap time.
My husband and I got some ice cream, and walked around while we waited for her to wake up, and once she woke up at like 2pm, we decided to check out the other three areas. Dolphin Fantasy was small but nice because you can see the dolphins swimming above you. After Dolphin fantasy, we headed to Umi no Farm. You can catch your own fish and eat it, but you do need a reservation and prepaid ticket. If you do not, you can still enjoy feeding the fish for 100 yen, which my daughter loved and was very eager to do. We feel like we won't do the fishing until she gets much older!
Finally, we made our way to Fureai Lagoon, which is great if you have prepaid tickets. You'll be able to touch animals and do activities with them. We're glad we skipped on buying any paid service tickets because she was pretty knackered after the morning activities, and she just enjoyed being held and looking at the animals. The fureai lagoon has seals, penguins, dolphins, and belugas.
We ended the day with her eating her packed snack and buying a penguin souvenir and heading home! We were so happy with our trip, and we can't wait to go again another day, especially because it's very accessible for us.
Our daughter is going through a phase now were she doesn't want to walk, so it was nice just keeping her in the stroller and enjoying the environment. The amusement park is very flat, lots of toilets, amenities, and places for respite!
Next time, we might skip the aquarium, and focus more on an experience that we think she can enjoy.
What are your plans for Golden Week or Summer Vacation? Let me know in the comments below!
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