dolphins

Where do I go to see dolphins in Japan

Taiji Whale Museum in Taiji, Kii Peninsula allows close encounter with dolphins, you can feed, pet and swim with them.
http://www.town.taiji.wakayama.jp/hakubutukan/index.html

Shimoda Aquarium in Shimoda, Izu Peninsula has a dolphin pavilion where you can feed the dolphins.
http://www.shimoda-aquarium.com

Taiji Whale Museum might not be the ideal destination for the average dolphin lovers. The museum is mainly about whaling, and the town of Taiji is famous for dolphin hunting. I found the museum very informative, but would not recommend it to the average Western animal lover.

There are dozens of other aquariums across all of Japan. Many of them have some dolphins.

How ironic that Taiji, which holds a dolphin hunt every autumn where thousands of dolphins are slaughtered, has an area where you can feed and swim with dolphins.

Actually I have an idea that the hunt is held in September, so if you are a dolphin lover you might want to avoid the area right now, unless you plan to go there to protest.

People all over the world have to kill animals in order to make a living. It does not mean that they hate the animals they kill. To the opposite: they are grateful to the animals they kill. That is why, dolphins get both, loved and slauthered in Taiji.

Nevertheless, I don't think that Taiji is the ideal holiday destination for animal lovers, especially from Western countries.