KYOTO -- A local aquarium here will expand its jellyfish display area fourfold as part of a major renovation project, becoming home to some 5,000 of the marine animals belonging to around 20 varieties.

It will be the first large-scale renewal of Kyoto Aquarium, which debuted in a park near JR Kyoto Station in Kyoto's Shimogyo Ward in 2012. The new area is scheduled to open in late April 2020.

Operator ORIX Real Estate Corp., based in Tokyo, announced it will build a domed pool measuring 6.5 meters in diameter, where visitors can feel they are surrounded by drifting jellyfish under the sea. The operator also announced it will put breeding and research pools on display.

The facility has concentrated on collecting and researching jellyfish while setting up mobile aquariums at local kindergartens. Some of the aquarium's jellyfish displays will close from Nov. 5 for the renovation work.

(Japanese original by Yasuhiro Okawa, Kyoto Bureau)