Ring of Fire Aquarium Ring of Fire Aquarium Faceted cube-shaped structure at harbor's edge with interior spiral ramps for viewing nine Pacific Ocean habitats. The Osaka Aquarium is located within a festive marketplace at the edge of Osaka Harbor. Crowned by glass skylights, the building has a colorful red and blue exterior that develops the organizing Ring of Fire theme. Exhibits follow a clockwise and downward spiral through habitats from different climate zones along the Ring, a linear zone of volcanic and tectonic activity that outlines the Pacific Basin.
Visitors view exhibits from above and below the water's surface.
The water is held back by clear acrylic walls from the walkway, which eventually becomes a tunnel. To address stringent seismic requirements, the structure's reinforced concrete grid floats on shock-absorbing pads atop caissons that penetrate to bedrock. The building received several awards from professional societies in the US and in Japan. It was not damaged by the Kobe earthquake.