ADA NATURE AQUARIUM GALLERY
Today I drove out to the ADA [Aquarium Design Amano] Headquarters located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. A two and half hour drive my home in Nagano Prefecture. A long and expensive trip, the highway fee was about 10,000 yen round trip. But for me it was well worth it. And I managed to buy a Wabi-Kusa from a local fish shop that carries ADA products! 20 bucks. [2,140 yen]
Arriving at the headquarters, my PSP GPS Navi got me near enough to see the gallery; I grabbed my camera and excitement and went in. I wasn’t sure if the gallery would be open or not, but it was and I was overjoyed.
The gallery is located in the basement of the office building which was designed by Mr. Amano’s older brother. My wife, who is trained in architecture, actually spotted the gallery before I did, and she was very impressed with the modern design of the facility.
Mr. Amano was there and was working on an upcoming photo exhibition. I joked how it would be nice for him to come down and take a quick picture and we laughed it off, but deep inside I was dead serious. Of course he didn’t come down. We were the only ones there in the gallery and it was set away from everything else in the town. A PR man greeted us. He was nice, but he was more of a PR man than an Aquarist, however he answered a lot of my questions and was very knowledgeable. When I asked him if helped with the tank maintenance he responded with a lot of filler and said that his colleagues handled the maintenance. He turned out to bilingual, and spoke English very well, however I continued to converse to him in Japanese….[I was in that mode] Though he responded to all my questions in English. Hahahaha. He did print out a list of Local Fish shops that carry ADA goods around my area and also in Niigata. We stopped at one place along Seaside Drive on the way home in Joetsu City. The shops name was Seventh Heaven and owner, quite young guy, was a disciple of Mr. Amano himself. Here is his website: http://www.seventh-heavens.com He seemed quite proud that ADA products are finally being exported to the United States.
I apologize for my lack of photography skill but I think I managed to capture the awesome all encompassing landscapes of Amano’s Designs. After the Gallery I headed over to the “Teradomari Suizokukan” which seeing those aquariums after Amano’s Gallery’s were a little disappointing. I did take a picture of the blow fish and some video of some “spitting” fish at feeding time.
*Click thumbs for larger view or View All Pics from the Gallery*
Enjoy! View All Pics from the Gallery :dance2:
What I Learned Today:
Today I drove out to the ADA [Aquarium Design Amano] Headquarters located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. A two and half hour drive my home in Nagano Prefecture. A long and expensive trip, the highway fee was about 10,000 yen round trip. But for me it was well worth it. And I managed to buy a Wabi-Kusa from a local fish shop that carries ADA products! 20 bucks. [2,140 yen]
Arriving at the headquarters, my PSP GPS Navi got me near enough to see the gallery; I grabbed my camera and excitement and went in. I wasn’t sure if the gallery would be open or not, but it was and I was overjoyed.
The gallery is located in the basement of the office building which was designed by Mr. Amano’s older brother. My wife, who is trained in architecture, actually spotted the gallery before I did, and she was very impressed with the modern design of the facility.
Mr. Amano was there and was working on an upcoming photo exhibition. I joked how it would be nice for him to come down and take a quick picture and we laughed it off, but deep inside I was dead serious. Of course he didn’t come down. We were the only ones there in the gallery and it was set away from everything else in the town. A PR man greeted us. He was nice, but he was more of a PR man than an Aquarist, however he answered a lot of my questions and was very knowledgeable. When I asked him if helped with the tank maintenance he responded with a lot of filler and said that his colleagues handled the maintenance. He turned out to bilingual, and spoke English very well, however I continued to converse to him in Japanese….[I was in that mode] Though he responded to all my questions in English. Hahahaha. He did print out a list of Local Fish shops that carry ADA goods around my area and also in Niigata. We stopped at one place along Seaside Drive on the way home in Joetsu City. The shops name was Seventh Heaven and owner, quite young guy, was a disciple of Mr. Amano himself. Here is his website: http://www.seventh-heavens.com He seemed quite proud that ADA products are finally being exported to the United States.
I apologize for my lack of photography skill but I think I managed to capture the awesome all encompassing landscapes of Amano’s Designs. After the Gallery I headed over to the “Teradomari Suizokukan” which seeing those aquariums after Amano’s Gallery’s were a little disappointing. I did take a picture of the blow fish and some video of some “spitting” fish at feeding time.
*Click thumbs for larger view or View All Pics from the Gallery*
Enjoy! View All Pics from the Gallery :dance2:
What I Learned Today:
- Amano does not gravel vac! Only changes the water. You must find the delicate balance of feeding and stocking in order to achieve harmony in your tank. Waste and food breakdown, mix with the soil, and the resulting nutrients are used by plants - This is how it is done.
- Its better to have tops on your aquariums to keep humidity low in YOUR house. But for the gallery, aesthetically, it is better to leave the aquariums "open" for the viewers. The gallery is equipped with dehumidifiers....
