We went to a place called Beach Land in Minami-Chita. It’s a theme park with several shows and attractions related to sea animals that you can enjoy with your friends/family and also a theme park mostly aimed for kids called Omocha no Oukoku.

Arriving there is pretty easy. We went from Nagoya Station by the Meitetsu line to Chitaokuda (approximately one hour). We used a special pack called ビーチランドきっぷ“Beach Land kippu またはticket” (ticket for Beach Land) which costs ¥3,200 (¥1,600 for kids) and includes an all you can ride ticket for any Meitetsu line, the entrance fee for the park, a coupon that you can exchange at the park to get some discounts (5% discount in the shops, ¥1,000 that you can use inside the park…etc.) and also a discount for the Omocha no Oukoku part of the park and for the Sugimoto Art Museum. The entrance fee for the park is normally ¥1,800 for adults, so we were surprised as it is a pretty good deal. You can buy it at the Meitetsu line ticket office until September 30, so buy it before it goes away!

We went there taking the train that arrived at 8:56 am at Kanayama, changed the train for going to Fuki, and then changed the train again there to go to Chitaokuda. There was also a train that can get you directly from Nagoya, but at the time we departed we couldn’t get it, so we went with that option. Although for returning home we did manage to take the direct one to Nagoya.

When you arrive at Chitaokuda, getting to the station is pretty easy, there is a map which leads you to the park at the station and a big sign telling you where to go, but really, just going to the Ferris wheel that you can see from far away will take you to the park (it’s just at the entrance of it).

There are a lot of activities that you can see and experience at the park. The best one is maybe the sea lion and dolphin show. It was our first time going to a dolphin show so we didn’t really know what to expect there, but it was surprisingly cool! It lasted half an hour more or less and it included activities with a super cute and well-trained sea lion and a show with a lot of dolphins. Definitely, we want to see it again!

Apart from that, there are some events called Fureai carnival at specific hours in which you can touch sea lions, seals and dolphins or giving food to penguins, as well as seeing how they give food to some sea animals. For that, you need to go through the aquarium and pass the rear entrance.

That’s for the Beach Land part in the park, but there is another one called Omocha no Oukoku, which is mostly aimed for kids and has a lot of attractions.. Of course, you have to pay to get into the attractions, but with the discount buying the Meitetsu pack you can get the all-you-can-ride ticket by ¥1000 (normally it’s ¥2000), which is the price for riding three attractions, more or less. The walkway for Omocha no Oukoku is right next to the restaurant “The Beach” after the Dolphin hall.

For eating inside the park there are 4 places: Restaurant “The Beach”, Kaiyoutei, Snack Plaza and the BBQ spot. For lunch, we went to Kaiyoutei, which is a restaurant that serves seafood. They have a selection of dishes with rice and others with noodles to accompany the seafood. Each dish had a distinctive flavor and smell that makes you drool, even when you are just waiting for it! Kaiyoutei is located after the entrance on the right side, next to the Whale Shop.

For a snack, we went to the restaurant “The Beach”, which also serves desserts, although near Kaiyoutei there is also an ice cream shop just in case you want one! The sweets selection is not as wide as the main courses, but being the orange roll or the Tapioca cafe, they are a delight for your mouth, especially when the sun is high and the heat is on. The Beach is located at the back of the Fureai Zone, after walking up the stone stairs before the walkway to the Omocha no Oukoku.

We couldn’t go to the other ones because of the time, but the ones we went had a reasonable price for being a restaurant inside a park and the flavor was pretty good!

There are several spots apart from the main attractions such as two aquariums (one of them in the same building as Kaiyoutei in which you can give food to the fish there), a Ferris wheel (which has a discount for 3 or 4 people), a place to see dolphins swimming and some places for funny photos!

If you need a gathering place in the park when going with your friends or family, then, the Dolphin plaza is the perfect spot. It is located right after you pass through the entrance and from there, you have a 360 view of the main buildings of the park, including both souvenir shops, the aquarium, and the places to take funny pictures that we mentioned before.

The Ferris wheel is the perfect attraction to see the entire park. It is located on the left side right after the entrance by walking a small pathway next to the Dolphin Shop. You can get one ride for 400 or you can get a small discount if you pay for more rides. We took one ticket for the four of us, paying ¥1,500 for the ride. The height may be uncomfortable for some people, but you are rewarded with a beautiful view of the sea and the whole place.

In the aquarium, there are two places that receive you right at the entrance in which you can buy a lot of things related to both the aquarium and sea animals: Whale Shop and Dolphin Shop. Each one has its own special things that make them memorable. The Dolphin Shop is the smallest one. Here, you can find mostly souvenirs to carry with you such as keychains, mini-figures, plushies, and puppets. There is also a special raffle outside that you can take part in for ¥1,000 to be able to win an otter or a dolphin.

The next store is the Whale Shop. There are more products that can be purchased for souvenirs, including big plushies, snacks, mini-towels, and purses! One of the main attractions in this store is the big squid in one of the corners that you can take a photo with.

Prices are reasonable in both stores and it’s the perfect chance for you to take a memory with you for the way back home.

In summary, this park, although it isn’t super big, it has enough attractions to have fun there and an incredible show of sea lions and dolphins. The food and sweets that you can get are worth the visit, plus the reasonably priced shops from which you can get a good souvenir (like the cute little otter!) or food for your pet fish are filled with small surprises for anyone who visits them. This is a place that is amusing for both families with children or friends who want to spend a different day outside the bustling city, and so, we recommend you all to visit it at least once!