Celebrating the First Anniversary of Kobe Suma Sea World Ten Lucky Groups Invited to a Special Orca Study Event

Kobe Suma Sea World and its official hotel, Kobe Suma Sea World Hotel, are located on the former site of Suma Aqualife Park KOBE, which was adored by the citizens of Kobe for many years.

Kobe Suma Sea World is an “Edutainment Aquarium to ‘Connect’” through a fusion of "Education" and "Entertainment." It provides opportunities for people of all ages to learn in a fun way while valuing the four main roles of aquariums within society: recreation, education, conservation, and surveys and research.

"Edutainment" is a term that represents leaning while having fun, based on a mixture of the words "Education" and "Entertainment."

The aquarium has experienced great success since it first opened its doors, with people eagerly lining up to enter. The dynamic orca performances at the ORCA STADIUM, which has a capacity of about 2,500, and the BLUE OCEAN ORCA STADIUM restaurant, which offers a close-up view of the orcas, have also become extremely popular. The aquarium continues to bustle with people on a regular basis.

This aquarium is organizing a variety of special programs to celebrate its first anniversary, from commemorative products to limited-edition dishes and social media campaigns, alongside a diverse mix of on-site events to express its gratitude to visitors.

As Head of Sales and Marketing, Hiroyuki Tsukimura has supported operations at the aquarium since before its opening. He says, "We have been firing on all cylinders for a year." At this point, we asked him to look back over the past 12 months and share his ambitions regarding the anniversary events.

Tsukimura has been involved in launching Kobe Suma Sea World since 2022, prior to its opening.
He mentioned, "I was constantly liaising with the aquarium and hotel staffs, as well as people organized in the construction work. I checked the blueprints and design plans while envisioning the ideal status of the site after opening."

He was swept away by a surge of emotion when the aquarium successfully opened after careful preparations. However, he noted that many unexpected events occurred at the time. "There was a flood of inquiries about ticket purchases and the annual passport. At one point, some people could not even get through on the phone because the line was too busy. We continuously improved the reservation system and operations by listening to feedback from customers and staff members."

The aquarium achieved passing over 2 million visitors in May 2025, just before its first anniversary. It had come to be loved by a wide variety of people, including students on school trips, couples going out on dates, and senior citizens, in addition to the initial target demographic of families.

"Some people visit multiple times from faraway locations to see the orcas and penguins. Others come by frequently—it's almost as if it's part of their daily walk." He passionately told us, "Seeing the enjoyment on visitors' faces is immensely motivating us."

Tsukimura also spoke about the commemorative events that began on June 1 to celebrate the aquarium's first anniversary.

"Everyone was coming up with ideas together, particularly the younger staff members at the aquarium and hotel." He described his ambitions for the events, saying, "I hope we can use this opportunity to sincerely thank our visitors."

On June 1, the anniversary date, a special event was held titled "Collaborative Photo Event: First Anniversary Alongside Orcas with #SumaSmile." Following the orca performance at 3:30 PM, a commemorative event was held for photos with the orcas and staff members, during which participants received limited-edition rubber wristbands. A message board was established prior to this photo event, allowing people to share their memories from the aquarium and other messages to be captured on camera as well.

The restaurant served food and drink with an orca motif, as well as other special seafood dishes. The shop selling souvenirs and merchandise offered a "Thank-You Bag" featuring a special anniversary logo, as well as commemorative stamps, medals, and other items.

According to Tsukimura, "Over the past year, we have put all of our work into daily operations so that visitors can have a pleasant time. Going forward, I'd like to organize even better events and activities to bring greater enjoyment to visitors."

Since last winter, the aquarists have organized popular school events for children, during which they educate children about the creatures. Tsukimura said, "Education is a key responsibility of an aquarium, and we are committed to supporting efforts in this regard."

Tsukimura also expressed his enthusiasm for engaging in regional collaboration, saying, "We'd like to go further in fulfilling our role of communicating the appeal of the local area." The aquarium will continue to carry out initiatives to strengthen connections with the local community, such as events focused on road safety, red feather fundraising campaigns, and other similar events, while also actively participating in activities related to cleaning beaches and streets.

Kobe Suma Sea World will continue to take on challenges after reaching this major milestone of its first anniversary, aiming to become an even more cherished in the future.

Kobe Suma Sea World aims to be an aquarium where visitors can interact with animals, experience the warmth of life, and understand the importance of all living things on both mental and physical levels.

GRANVISTA PRESS will hold a special event on Saturday, September 27, titled “Orca Study”, as a unique gift for only 10 groups. We will select granvillage members through a raffle and invite them to a special lesson where they can learn about the ecology of orcas, the kings of the ocean.

Orca trainers will describe in detail the lives of the orcas kept at Kobe Suma Sea World, and visitors will have a chance to take a photo with the orcas. They will also receive a commemorative item to celebrate the anniversary.

Apart from the orca and dolphin performances, visitors are welcome to explore the aquarium such as the AQUALIVE, which offer a glimpse into the diverse lifestyles of aquatic creatures based on the theme "A Life of Water."

Why not take this opportunity to experience Kobe Suma Sea World, an aquarium that brings excitement to people of all ages?

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