Hiwasa Sea Turtle Museum Caretta Renewal

The Hiwasa Sea Turtle Museum Caretta is a rare sea turtle museum located on Ohama Beach in Tokushima Prefecture, and is beloved as the oldest mecca for loggerhead turtle conservation activities in the region. At the same time, it also serves as the base facility for the local Minami Town's plan to increase the return rate of sea turtles.
From the perspective of animal welfare, this renovation has created a space that is easy for the sea turtles to live in and that is also comfortable for visitors, creating a place where people can learn about the coexistence of humans and nature through the sea turtles and nurturing the next generation of leaders.

・In this renovation project, we will utilize a new subsidy (under the Cultural Tourism Promotion Act) established by the Agency for Cultural Affairs to enhance displays improvements.
Approximately 20 years have passed since the last renovation, and the aim is to improve the environment for sea turtles from an animal welfare perspective, while also making effective use of existing cultural resources.
- Position this facility as a base for improving the return rate to Minami Town and increasing visitor satisfaction.

We have received the above request.

To enhance the appeal of displays, we collaborated with Minami Town to develop a three-year project plan and provided support for the phased application process for subsidies.
We have improved the animal care environment, including the outdoor swimming pool, and adopted new displays designs and methods that utilize existing cultural materials to create displays that are easy for visitors to understand. Furthermore, we have incorporated symbolic displays to enhance the sense of renewal, as well as features that allow visitors to gain new insights and discoveries with each visit.
We aimed to create a facility that would be loved for years to come, providing an environment and displays suitable for a base aimed at increasing the return rate of Minami Town, and offering information and experiences that will make visitors want to come back again.