Skipping Aquamarine and Marine Tower? How a family enjoyed their visit to Onahama, Iwaki City [Fukushima Prefecture]

I wrote in myprevious article, I visited Iwaki City with my family during the Golden Week holidays in May 2026.
During our two-day, one-night stay, we spent the first day at Spa Resort Hawaiians and the second day at the Iwaki Coal and Fossil Museum Horuru until around 2 PM. After a late lunch,to Onahama, home to one of Fukushima Prefecture's largest ports. It was already 4 PM, leaving us with not much time to spare. What kind of activities could we enjoy?

Tohoku Rokken Trivia Media NEFT

Is it suitable for families with children? We visited the Iwaki City Coal and Fossil Museum and Iwaki Yumoto Onsen [Fukushima Prefecture]

https://jp.neft.asia/archives/54155

In early May 2026, I visited Iwaki City in Fukushima Prefecture with my family. This article will share my personal experiences visiting the "Iwaki Coal and Fossil Museum Horuru" and "Iwaki Yumoto Onsen" during our stay. Iwaki City, a former coal mining town, is perhaps best known for its tourist attractions, including Spa Resort Hawaiians. I stayed in Iwaki City for two days and one night, spending the first day at Spa Resort Hawaiians. Several articles about Hawaiians are already available on this media outlet; please see them here: https://jp.neft.asia/archives/24095 From northern Ibaraki Prefecture to southern Hamadori, Fukushima Prefecture….

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A classic spot in Onahama

One of the most representative tourist attractions in the Onahama Port area is probably the Aquamarine Fukushima aquarium

www.aquamarine.or.jp

Aquamarine Fukushima, an "environmental aquarium" | Tourism in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture

https://www.aquamarine.or.jp

Located in Fukushima Prefecture, this is one of Tohoku's largest interactive aquariums, offering a fun and educational experience. It features approximately 800 species of marine life, themed around the convergence of ocean currents. With its natural-looking outdoor areas, fishing experiences, and behind-the-scenes tours, it's a great place for families and groups to enjoy

A major characteristic of the sea off Fukushima is that it is a confluence of the Kuroshio and Oyashio currents. Aquamarine Fukushima is an aquarium that focuses on this confluence as its main theme. The exhibits are not limited to marine life in large tanks. There are also plenty of interactive contents, such as fishing experiences and play equipment that allows visitors to experience the athletic abilities of animals

However, as I mentioned before, it's already 4 PM. And Aquamarine Fukushima closes at 5:30 PM... (It closes at exactly 5 PM in winter).
There's no way my three daughters could fully enjoy one of Tohoku's leading aquariums, which exhibits 800 different species of creatures, in just an hour and a half. The official website alsothat the viewing time is about 1 hour 30 minutes to 3 hours, but if you participate in the interactive exhibits, it will be about 2 hours to half a day.

And there's another problem. There's an outdoor area called " Splashing and Exploring the Sea ." It recreates the natural environment of the seashore, including rocky shores, tidal flats, and beaches, and it's an area where you can get in the water and observe marine life. I think it's a really great area where you can experience the environment in which marine life lives with all your senses... except for the fact that it's the second day of our trip and the kids have already run out of change of clothes !

Therefore, although it is very disappointing, I have decided to give up on visiting Aquamarine Fukushima this time

So,Iwaki Marine Tower? Entry is until 4:30 PM, and it closes at 5:00 PM, so we still have time. However, my daughters have requested souvenirs from our trip, and if we go up to the Marine Tower observation deck, we won't have enough time to buy them. So, we've decided to skip that this time as well.

Iwaki City Hall

Iwaki Marine Tower (Usage Guide) | Iwaki City Hall

https://www.city.iwaki.lg.jp/www/contents/1001000001242/index.html

This will take you to the Iwaki City Hall website

Roadside Station Iwaki La La Mew

So, we decided to first visit " Michi-no-Eki Iwaki La La Mew, " located within "Aquamarine Park," which also houses Aquamarine Fukushima . Our plan was to stock up on souvenirs there. By the way, "Mew" is the nickname for the seagull, the official bird of Iwaki City . It's not a Pokémon.

(Incidentally, "Lucky" has been designated as the "Fukushima Support Pokémon.")

Tohoku Rokken Trivia Media NEFT

[Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture] What is Lucky Park, located in Kaiseiyama Park, a famous cherry blossom spot?

https://jp.neft.asia/archives/20137

Kaiseizan Park is one of the prefecture's leading cherry blossom viewing spots, boasting approximately 1,300 cherry trees. In March 2022, "Lucky Park in Koriyama-shi," a park themed after "Lucky," the Pokémon supporting Fukushima, opened within Kaiseizan Park! During cherry blossom season, Lucky Park offers a beautiful contrast between the pink Lucky and the cherry blossoms. This time, we'll introduce our visit to the newly opened Lucky Park. Supporting Fukushima! The support Pokémon "Lucky" Fukushima Prefecture and The Pokémon Company signed a cooperation agreement in February 2019 regarding recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake. The pink, round...

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Also, La La Mew closes at 6 PM, and there's a line of cars waiting to get into the parking lot (it's May 5th, after all, a major holiday period), so there isn't much time to spare

Iwaki La La Mew is a facility that opened in 1997the Iwaki City Tourism and Local Products Center. The two-story building houses a seafood market, a barbecue zone, souvenir shops, restaurants specializing in seafood cuisine, and a play area for families with children (admission fee: 300 yen per person).

Raw oysters... they look absolutely delicious... (Oysters are my favorite food).
Anyway, both children and adults bought souvenirs, so we achieved our goal.

Since it's a roadside station, most visitors will likely arrive by car, but it is also accessible by bus. You can take a bus from Izumi Station, Yumoto Station, or Iwaki Station on the JR Joban Line and get off at the "AEON Mall Iwaki Onahama" bus stop (you will have to walk a bit, as you will have to go through AEON Mall) to reach it

Misaki Park

It was a little past 5 PM, and we then moved on to Misaki Park , located about 400 meters east of Aquamarine Park . This park covers a vast area of ​​700,000 square meters and features playgrounds, a picnic garden, a barbecue area (free but requires reservations, and you must bring your own food), an outdoor music hall, and walking paths. The Iwaki Marine Tower, which we had given up on visiting earlier, is also located within Misaki Park.

One of the highlights of Misaki Park is the giant 74.8-meter-long roller slide located in the Wanpaku Hiroba (Playful Kids' Square).Like many of Iwaki City's longest slides, it features decorations resembling plesiosaur fossils. My daughters, who can play for hours on end if there's playground equipment, naturally ran around the Wanpaku Hiroba like fish in water.

There was one more place I visited within the park, which was Shiomidaidai, a viewpoint built on a hill near the sea. The view from the top of the platform is nice, but what's unique is that there's also an observation spot that juts out over the sea

Looking down at the Pacific Ocean from this height is truly thrilling..

You can also go to the beach within the park (please, for the love of God, don't get your shoes or clothes wet...)

After this,my previous article, I went to Iwaki Yumoto Onsen, enjoyed the hot springs and dinner, and then returned home.

Conclusion

Due to time constraints, I regret not being able to visit places like Aquamarine Fukushima, but I was still able to enjoy Onahama, Fukushima Prefecture's largest port town. I hope this is helpful.
Onahama has many other attractions as well. Please see the article below for details.

Tohoku Rokken Trivia Media NEFT

[Onahama, Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture] With the opening of the Onahama Marine Bridge, Onahama has regained its vitality

https://jp.neft.asia/archives/17897

Onahama is a port town located in Iwaki City in southern Fukushima Prefecture, home to Onahama Port, the largest port in Fukushima Prefecture. Onahama Port. On the left pier is the "Onahama Fish Market" (left), "Iwaki La La Mew" (right), and on the right pier is "Aquamarine Fukushima." Part of the "Onahama Marine Bridge" is visible in the upper right corner. ©Iwaki City. Originally a small fishing village, Onahama developed as a port town for shipping tax rice during the Edo period, and Onahama Port also functioned as a port for shipping coal discovered nearby in the late Edo period (1855). Onahama Port thrived in the Joban Coalfield...

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Yuto Ono

A former railway engineer and current freelance writer who has loved trains since childhood, his dream is to make train travel his career