Aquarium Near Me in Ikebukuro: Sunshine Aquarium's Rooftop Penguins in the Sky

Sunshine Aquarium sits on the roof and top floors of the World Import Mart Building at 3-1 Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, and this autumn it opens 10am to 6pm on weekdays and 9:30am to 6pm on weekends and holidays, with last entry 30 minutes before closing. Adult tickets cost ¥2,600–¥3,200 depending on the date. For anyone in Ikebukuro searching aquarium near me, this is the rooftop where African penguins swim above office towers.

The aquarium opened in October 1978 as Sunshine International Aquarium, closed on September 1, 2010 for a year-long rebuild, and reopened under its current name on August 4, 2011. The outdoor Marine Garden was remade in July 2017, and a jellyfish zone followed in July 2020. On January 13, 2026 it welcomed its 20 millionth visitor since the 2011 reopening, a milestone that took 5,277 days.

You step out of the elevator onto the roof among palm trees. The signature tank, Penguins in the Sky, is an overhanging tank about 12 meters wide, so when you stand underneath, African penguins seem to fly over the skyline. Fewer birds are on show from about 10:30am to 11:30am and 3:15pm to 4:15pm while they are fed, so time photos around those windows.

Next door, Penguins in the Grassland has nesting holes where pairs raise chicks, Asian small-clawed otters run around Otters on the Waterfront, and great white pelicans preen along Sky Path. At Sparkling Fountain, fish leap clear of the water for bait at feeding time. From 4pm the garden lights shift through sky colors, with mist every 20 minutes. Parts of the roof are uncovered and no umbrellas are lent, so bring one.

The Sunshine Aqua Ring, the overhead tank where you look up at sea lions' bellies and flippers against the Sunshine 60 tower, is closed for maintenance from September 24 to November 4, 2026. Sea lions stay on view at the Sea Lion Beach tank in Marine Garden, and their performance still runs on the open-air stage. Even after reopening, it is a daytime sight, since sea lions leave it by 4pm.

Our honest call: if sea lions overhead are why you are coming, skip late October and book from November 5. Skip the night session too if penguins are the priority. During the special night hours running to November 3, Penguins in the Sky stops showing birds at 7pm, pelicans leave at 6:30pm and the Baikal seals at 6pm, so an after-dark ticket mostly buys jellyfish and lit palms.

Indoors, the first-floor Ocean Journey opens on Sunshine Lagoon, a 240-tonne shallow coral reef designed by the staff, with a white sand bar where large rays glide over small reef fish. A school of sardines fills The Force of Life, a Cold Sea zone covers deep and high-latitude water, and the jellyfish area tunes flow, light and sound so you seem to drift in a dark sea.

Cutlassfish, or tachiuo, are on permanent display, and the aquarium registered November 11 as Cutlassfish Day with the Japan Anniversary Association. An event running October 9 to November 15, 2026 explains how they are collected. On November 7 and November 11, from 10:30am to 11:15am, a cutlassfish talk with the fish educator Kawachan and a special sea lion performance take over the Marine Garden stage.

Elementary and junior high students pay ¥1,300, children four and older ¥800, and under-fours enter free. Prices follow an A to D calendar, and for weekends, holidays and B, C and D days the aquarium recommends a timed web ticket on asoview!, sold two months ahead. The counter still sells same-day tickets, but when crowds build, entry is capped and only timed ticket holders get in at their slot. Re-entry is not allowed.

Strollers are allowed, but staff suggest parking them in the storage area by the main entrance at busy times, and none are lent here. Alpa, the Sunshine City mall, lends them. Coin lockers sit by the entrance, and the second-floor baby room has hot water. Personal photos are welcome, but flash is barred in some zones, and tripods and long stays at one tank are discouraged.

Two paid extras cost ¥1,000 each and need a same-day admission ticket. The 40-minute guided expedition takes you into back areas twice a day, three times on weekends and holidays, meeting at the guest room by the entrance. The 20-minute Sunshine Lagoon Premium Feeding Activity runs once a day from the top of the big tank. The counter takes Suica, PayPay, Alipay and major cards.

Families with strollers are common enough that the aquarium publishes a separate guide for them. A September 2026 reviewer on Good Luck Trip called it as good for a date as for kids, and an October 2026 reviewer liked it as a calm break after shopping and caught the Detective Conan collaboration. For the quietest visit, arrive at the 10am weekday opening and go straight up to the penguins before their 10:30am feeding.

Plan B: if your weekend slot sells out or bad weather closes Marine Garden, buy the Aquarium and Sunshine 60 Observatory Tenbou-Park combo ticket and do the deck first. The FAQ puts a full aquarium visit at about an hour, so both fit one afternoon. Note the two full closure days, November 12, 2026 and January 14, 2027.

From Ikebukuro Station, take exit 35 and walk Sunshine 60 Street to Sunshine City, about eight minutes. On rainy days, ride the Yurakucho Line to Higashi-Ikebukuro Station, where exits 6 and 7 link underground to the complex. In the World Import Mart Building, the Elevator to Aquarium on the first floor goes straight to the 10th-floor roof. Escalators from inside MUJI stop at the ninth floor, leaving one flight of stairs.

Afterwards, ride the Toden Arakawa Line, the Tokyo Sakura Tram, from Higashi-Ikebukuro-yonchome to Kishibojinmae. Three minutes away, Zoshigaya Kishimojin-do at 3-15-20 Zoshigaya was built in 1664 and is the oldest building in Toshima Ward. Its zelkova-lined approach passes Kamikawaguchiya, a candy shop founded in 1781, where kids fresh from the penguins can pick out old-fashioned sweets.

Sunshine Aquarium is on the rooftop of the World Import Mart Building, Sunshine City, 3-1 Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo. Call the Sunshine City information counter on 03-3989-3331 and press 9 for an operator. Through December, hours are 10am to 6pm on weekdays and 9:30am to 6pm on weekends and holidays. Night hours, 6:15pm to 9pm, run until November 3. Ask Karpo in the Karpo APP for more Ikebukuro plans.