
The young crowd at this aquarium had a novel way of cooling down on the hottest day of the year.

As temperatures hit 93.2F (34C) on the first day after rainy season in Japan this playful beluga whale rose out of the pool and sprayed them with water.

Children among the crowd were left wincing after it blasted them as though it were a water hose, while others could be seen scrambling in a desperate bid to escape the drenching.

The beluga whale is a favourite attraction at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium in Yokohama, south of Tokyo.

Located amid the port of Yokohama Bay, the relatively new site has fast become one of the country's premier visitor attractions thanks to its cheeky beluga whale.

Commonly referred to as the melonhead, the beluga is an Arctic and sub-Arctic cetacean. It is also known as a sea canary due to its high-pitched twitter.

It is adapted to life in the Arctic with its unmistakable all-white colour and the absence of a dorsal fin.

The friendly creatures form groups of up to 10 animals on average, although during the summer months, they can gather in the hundreds or even thousands in estuaries and shallow coastal areas.

The beluga whale sprays water at visitors at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium in Yokohama, Tokyo, earlier today

Dousing the children in water, the splashing was a welcome respite from the 34C temperatures which were baking the wider Tokyo area