Shimanto River Gakuyukan Akitsuio Admission Ticket, Kochi

Enter Shimanto River Gakuyukan Akitsuio,
the museum in the Dragonfly Kingdom

Shimanto River Gakuyukan Akitsuio, together with the Shimanto City Dragonfly Nature Park, a dragonfly sanctuary, is known as the "Dragonfly Kingdom (Tombo Okoku)." Its name combines "akitsu," an old word for dragonfly, and "io," from a word meaning fish. It is a museum where you can learn while having fun, made up of two exhibition halls: the Dragonfly Hall (Tombo-kan) and the Fish Hall (Sakana-kan).

Exhibits centered on the Shimanto River explain everyday nature topics in an easy-to-understand way, such as where drinking water comes from, signs of global warming, and the story of nature conservation in the Dragonfly Kingdom.

See dragonfly specimens and ecology at the Dragonfly Hall

The Dragonfly Hall displays learning materials about dragonflies along with a wide range of specimens and ecological photos. Easy-to-understand panels and exhibits introduce dragonfly distribution, habitats, and the features and methods used to tell species apart, so even first-time visitors can enjoy looking around.

Meet the fish of the Shimanto River at the Fish Hall

The Fish Hall keeps and exhibits freshwater and brackish-water fish from around the world, centered on fish living in the Shimanto River. You can see about 120 species and 500 fish from the Shimanto River, as well as fish found in the brackish waters at the river's mouth.

The akame, known as one of Japan's three great monster fish, is a fish whose eyes appear to glow red when light hits them in the dark. You can also see the pirarucu, a giant freshwater fish from the Amazon River basin in South America, which is especially impressive when it feeds.

Take a walk in the Dragonfly Nature Park

The Shimanto City Dragonfly Nature Park, where the museum is located, is a nature reserve of about 50 hectares where 81 species of dragonflies have been recorded so far. More than 700 species of wild plants grow here, so you can observe a variety of plants and animals in every season, and you can enter at any time free of charge.

※ Adult dragonflies are active only in certain seasons depending on the species. The creatures you can observe vary by season and weather.
※ Collecting any plants or animals is prohibited in the nature park. Photography is allowed.