Sendai Umino-Mori Aquarium, built around new connections between people and the sea, will hold "Art Night Aquarium" after closing hours on Saturday, September 12, 2026. The event gives visitors the chance to draw in a space that isn't available during regular hours, observing living creatures up close through creative expression.
Anyone with an interest in creative activities is welcome, from complete beginners to those already active in art. Surrounded by roughly 300 species and 50,000 specimens on display, guests can spend a focused evening creating in the aquarium after dark.
Art Night Aquarium
Marine creatures are often used as motifs in art for their sculptural beauty, charm, and mystery. For this event, visitors may bring their own art supplies — colored pencils, pens such as Copic markers, or digital tools like an iPad — along with chairs and easels, and draw while observing the animals in person after the aquarium closes for the day.
The event is open to anyone interested in creative activities, whether someone simply curious about art or someone who wants to spend quiet, focused time observing and sketching a single creature.
Guests can also join a workshop with Sendai-based painter Nakagawa Kazuhisa (中川和寿) for advice and tips from a professional, alongside workshops from stationery and art-supply maker Astram Co., Ltd. (Pentel) and Sendai design company UNIGRAPHIC Co., Ltd. — offering a range of ways to enjoy the color, shape, and form of marine life.
Event Overview
- Date: Saturday, September 12, 2026
- Hours: 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM (last admission: 8:00 PM)
Admission:
- Adults: ¥2,200 (tax included)
- Seniors (65 and older): ¥1,600 (tax included)
- Elementary, junior high, and high school students: ¥1,000 (tax included)
- Preschoolers (4 and older) and annual passport holders: ¥500 (tax included)
- Limited set ticket for 100 groups (one adult + one elementary school student): ¥2,700 (tax included)
Where to buy:
- Sendai Umino-Mori Aquarium official website (http://www.uminomori.jp)
- 7-Eleven (Seven Code: 117-048)
- Lawson / Ministop (Loppi/L Code: 21337) — limited quantity
Sales start: Friday, August 7, from 12:00 PM
Access: General parking is available. There is no free shuttle bus service.
More Ways to Enjoy Art Night Aquarium
Special Workshop with Painter Nakagawa, Using "Art Crayon"
Painter Nakagawa Kazuhisa (中川和寿) will lead a workshop where participants can get advice and tips directly from a professional artist while creating their own piece.
Participants choose a subject from one of two areas — the 1st floor main tank "Inochi Kirameku Umi" (Life Shimmering Sea) or "Umino-Mori Beach -PENGUIN LIFE-" — and sketch and color it using Art Crayon, a Pentel product sold by Astram Co., Ltd. that lets crayon drawings take on an oil-painting-like texture. With support on shaping and color combinations, participants can create a piece they're happy with while observing the animals up close.
- Times: 6:15 PM / 7:05 PM / 7:55 PM (about 40 minutes each: 5-minute explanation, 30 minutes to create, 5-minute group feedback)
- Location: 1st floor Lecture Room (subjects come from the 1st floor "Inochi Kirameku Umi" main tank and Umino-Mori Beach)
- Recommended for: High school age and older
- Capacity: 20 people per session
- How to join: First-come, first-served on the day
- Cooperation: Astram Co., Ltd. (Pentel)
Workshop by Astram Co., Ltd. (Pentel)
Astram Co., Ltd. (Pentel), a maker and retailer of stationery and art supplies, will also run a workshop. Art materials used in the workshop, including Art Crayon, will be available for purchase at the 1st floor entrance. Participants receive a ballpoint pen as a gift.
The 2nd Floor Main Tank "Inochi Kirameku Umi" Gets a Makeover — By Everyone
"Everyone's Drawing on the Main Tank "Inochi Kirameku Umi" – Art Night Aquarium Version"
At the 2nd floor main tank "Inochi Kirameku Umi," a film is applied over the viewing glass so visitors can draw on it with crayons. It's a one-night-only experience where each person's drawing overlaps with the world of the main tank, which recreates the Sanriku coast.
- Time: 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM
- Location: 2nd floor main tank "Inochi Kirameku Umi"
- Organizer: Astram Co., Ltd. (Pentel)
Experience the Brightness of Neon Color
"Shimmering, Swaying: Draw a Jellyfish in Neon Color"
Using neon-colored pens that glow vividly in the dark, visitors can draw a jellyfish. Finished drawings are displayed around the jellyfish tank and lit with black light for viewing.
- Time: 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM
- Location: 2nd floor "Kurage no Iyashi" (Jellyfish Healing) area
- Organizer: Astram Co., Ltd. (Pentel)
Workshops by UNIGRAPHIC Co., Ltd.
UNIGRAPHIC Co., Ltd., a Sendai design company involved with the art-supply and framing shop Aoba Gaso, will also host workshops.
"Shaka-Shaka Photo Frame": View the Tank Through Your Own Original World
Using cardboard photo frames, visitors can decorate them with creature stickers (five designs, drawn exclusively for Art Night Aquarium) and beads to make their own personalized tank frame. Taking photos through the finished frame turns the aquarium visit into a different kind of keepsake.
Image for illustration purposes
- Time: 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (reception closes at 8:00 PM); limited quantity, ends once supplies run out
- Location: 1st floor entrance and various spots around the aquarium
- Organizer: UNIGRAPHIC Co., Ltd.
"Mizu de Kaku! Minna no Oekaki Suisou" (Draw with Water! Everyone's Drawing Tank) — Expression That Appears, Fades, and Is Reborn
This freely joinable activity uses special water-brush paper. Dip the provided brush in water and draw on the wall — an image or text appears, then naturally fades away as it dries, so visitors can draw again and again. It's a relaxed way to enjoy a moment of creative expression.
Image for illustration purposes
- Time: 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM
- Location: 1st floor entrance
- Organizer: UNIGRAPHIC Co., Ltd.
One-of-a-Kind Can Badges
"Oekaki Kan Badge" (Drawing Can Badge)
Draw your favorite fish or creature encountered while exploring the aquarium, freely and on your own. Finished drawings become a keepsake can badge to take home from Art Night Aquarium.
Image for illustration purposes
- Time: 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM
- Location: 1st floor entrance
- Organizer: UNIGRAPHIC Co., Ltd.
Try Different Ways of Drawing
"Kakikata Mikata no Hint-cho" (Drawing and Viewing Hint Booklet): There's More Than One Way to Draw
A free booklet for all visitors. It offers prompts for broadening how you look at and draw creatures, such as "draw using only silhouettes" or "try drawing with just circles, triangles, and squares," opening the door to creative approaches you might not have tried before. (Provided by UNIGRAPHIC Co., Ltd.)
