Living Museum Nifure

NIFREL, the “living museum,” is an experiential museum produced by the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, based on the concept of “touching sensibility.” By blending elements of an aquarium, zoo, and art museum, it offers exhibits that let visitors intuitively enjoy the diversity and beauty of living things.

Inside the museum are seven exhibition zones—“Touching Colors,” “Touching Skills,” “Touching Swimming,” “Touching Hiding,” “Touching the Waterside,” “Touching Movement,” and “Touching Connections”—as well as “WONDER MOMENTS,” an art space created with light and sound. Each zone uses installation techniques such as lighting, audio, and video to stimulate visitors’ five senses and express the individuality and ecology of living creatures.

Around 150 species and approximately 2,000 living creatures are on display, including impressive large animals such as pygmy hippos and saltwater crocodiles, capybaras and ring-tailed lemurs roaming freely in a fence-free space, and colorful fish. In the “Touching the Waterside” zone, you can observe creatures that live near water up close, and at the adjacent café “EAT EAT EAT,” you can also try the specialty “edible water,” a fun, jiggly treat.

In “WONDER MOMENTS,” interactive art using spheres and the floor expresses beautiful moments in nature through light and sound. You can immerse yourself in a fantastical world that feels as if you are viewing the Earth from outer space.

NIFREL also has “curators” on duty who guide visitors while communicating with them, helping deepen each encounter with living creatures. In addition, if you get a transparent ink stamp on the back of your hand at the exit, you may re-enter on the same day. By combining your visit with the adjacent large-scale complex “LaLaport EXPOCITY” and “Expo ’70 Commemorative Park,” you can enjoy a full day there.

Access is convenient as well: on weekends and public holidays, direct buses run from JR Suita Station to EXPOCITY, and on weekdays, free shuttle buses are available for Mitsui Shopping Park members from JR Ibaraki Station, Hankyu Kita-Senri Station, and Hankyu Minami-Senri Station.

NIFREL is a new kind of museum that stimulates the sensibilities of people of all ages, from children to adults, and reminds us of the importance of everyday “discoveries” and “connections.”