4th July 2013: Yokohama Sea Paradise and GACKT 40th Birthday Concert {Japan, summer 2013}

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The day started Yokohama [横浜]-bound towards Hakkeijima Sea Paradise [八景島シーパラダイス].

The logo of the Yokohama Hakkejima Sea Paradise aquarium for its 20th anniversary, a jumping dolphin in the middle of a circle

I have tried to spare you fishy pictures, especially those I have shared already (read: I overcame the urge to post hammerhead shark pictures!! And deep-sea crabs too!!), but when I went to the Yokohama Sea Paradise, there was one main thing in mind that I had to see: the whalesharks.

A whale shark swimming

The polar bears seemed to be having a bit of a lover’s quarrel, but the camera did not do a good job focussing on them at the right times.

Polar bears exhibit. One is about to jump into the water, the other one is looking at the first

They also had an impressive amount of beluga whales.

Beluga whales swimming, the picture is taken from above, showing two of them clearly, and two at the bottom

And a very attention-demanding pufferfish or two.

A picture of benthic fish, with a pufferfish photobombing and swimming in the foreground

Finally I headed off to the other side of Yokohama, to the Yokohama Arena [横浜アリーナ], for the GACKT Best of the Best concert for his 40th birthday, which was beyond amazing.

Yokohama Arena, a massive white building

GACKT is a Japanese soloist music known for his ego and his… you may call it delirium of grandeur if you wish. He loves doing things big, so when I saw him in Barcelona in 2010 and 2011 I could only imagine how a big stage would feel. To be honest, it did not disappoint, and it was indeed grandiose. Furthermore, the 4th of July happens to be GACTK’s birthday so there were a lot of fun shenanigans going on, and a very nostalgic tone for old fans.