The unsettling behavior of large freshwater fish makes my heart pound...
For me, aquariums are inseparable from the idea of "fear." When I was a child, I often went to the local Enoshima Aquarium, but I was scared of the dimly lit atmosphere and the grotesque stuffed creatures displayed inside the aquarium... But strangely enough, I still want to go back, I guess because of my "morbid curiosity."
The thing that scares me the most is an aquarium with big freshwater fish in it. Perhaps because their body shapes and movements are generally vague, there's a sense of unease, as you never know what's going to happen next. That's what's so scary, but I can't help but watch them. I've always had dreams about underwater and mysterious rivers, so maybe in a past life I was a small river fish that was afraid of big fish, since I'm a Pisces (lol).
I often go to rivers and lakes, and one of my favorite spots is the aquatic exhibition room at the Shiga Prefectural Lake Biwa Museum. It's great that they raise rare freshwater fish such as the giant Biwa catfish, said to be the king of Lake Biwa, the small catfish, and the stickleback fish, which builds its nests underwater and raises its young. The aquarium, with its layout of real aquatic plants and rocks, gives the feeling of peering into a canal from the side, creating a dreamlike space.
