The building, which was designed by architect tadao ando, ​​is modeled after the sails of a yacht, and the interior is unified in a blue color that evokes the underwater world. the museum has a collection of about 100,000 specimens, mainly academic materials from dr. tokumai kuroda, who built the foundation of japanese malacology. approximately 5,000 shell specimens of 2,000 species are displayed under 16 themes, ranging from the nature of nishinomiya to shells from around the world. there is also a live display of snails and an exhibition of the mermaid iv, a marine adventurer, kenichi horie.