The Rivers and Rice Fields of Toyama

The Rivers of Toyama

Designed to replicate the rapid streams flowing from the 3,000-meter heights of Toyama's tallest mountains.

Japanese Char

The natural habitat of these fish is in the upper reaches of the Kurobe river; living at altitudes of 2,000 meters or more, the Japanese char lives higher up than any other fish in Japan. Furthermore, they can be found in the lower reaches of the river from winter through early spring.

Cherry Salmon

Known as the "queen of mountain streams" for their beautiful appearance. In Japanese, cherry salmon are known by different names based on whether they live their whole lives in rivers, or if they go down to the sea.

Ninespine Stickleback

These fish live where water plants grow thick.
Near springs, the males create nests using water plants for spawning, and protect their young until they leave the nest - such dedi-cated fathers!

Biodiversity in Rice Fields

This exhibit is based on Toyama's rural plains, with tanks showing the animals that live in Toyama's irrigation canals, rice fields, and reservoirs. As the "biodiversity" in the name suggests, you'll find more than just fish here, including snakes and frogs! The rice field tank even has rice planted in spring and harvested in autumn.

Rice

The staple crop of Japan. The aquarium features a repro-duction of an old-fashioned rural landscape; in spring, rice is planted here, where it grows until the harvest in autumn.

Northern Medaka

These fish are very familiar to the people of Japan, often showing up in picture books and children's songs, because they live in rice fields and the nearby irrigation canals.

Japanese Fire-Bellied Newt

Named for their red underside, these newts live in and aroundrice fields.
During mating season, males will perform a mating dance for females, making very small movements with their tails for the females to see.