Hiwasa Sea Turtle Museum Caretta is a museum dedicated to sea turtles, which is rare in the world.

The museum's name comes from the scientific name for the loggerhead sea turtle, ``caretta''. The turtle is said to be the oldest four-legged animal in existence, and is said to have evolved into its current form 200 million years ago.

You can learn about the evolution of turtles, which can be called ancient creatures, from the evolutionary history timeline on the first floor of the museum. Another feature of this museum is that you can see a rare display of stuffed sea turtles from all over the world.

In the huge 120-inch high-definition theater, you can learn about the mysteries of sea turtles through digital videos.

Huge sea turtles over 1 meter in length are also kept in the baby turtle tank on the first floor of the facility and in the outdoor tank.

The museum also conducts research on tracking turtles using satellites and artificial hatching of baby turtles, and one of the attractions of this museum is that you can get a glimpse of such research.

■ Basic information
Name: Hiwasa Sea Turtle Museum
Address: 370-4 Hiwasaura, Minami-cho, Ama-gun, Tokushima Prefecture
Nearest station: JR Hiwasa Station (20 minutes walk)
Business hours: 9:00-17:00
Price: Entrance fee 610 yen (children 500 yen)
Closed: Every Monday
Parking: Parking available at the facility

*There is a possibility that the property is undergoing renovation work.
*Please check the website for detailed information.