Tokyo’s Zoos

Mar 31, 2022

Tokyo’s Zoos

As spring thankfully arrives, it’s time to abandon the confines of the indoors and embrace the glorious outdoors before that stifling summer heat reclaims the land. One great way to enjoy the fresh air while entertaining the family is to take them out to one of the city’s zoos. There are six to choose from, and they all have recently reopened on March 22nd.

Ueno Zoo

Let’s start with Japan’s oldest – and probably most famous – Zoo. Established in 1882 and situated and land bequeathed to the city by the Imperial family right in the middle of the city, Ueno Zoo is as convenient as it is popular. It is a world-class zoo home to 2,600 representations of over 460 species, some of the most popular being the western lowland gorilla and the Sumatran tiger (pictured). However, the current star attractions are Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, the twin cubs born last June who have to be seen by lottery, which you can enter from the zoo’s website. The zoo features 63 sections, including the Gorilla Woods, Tiger’s Forest, and a petting zoo. You can ride on Japan’s first monorail to navigate the vast space.

• Where: 9-83 Uenokoen, Taito, Tokyo
• When: 9.30 am – 17:00 (last admission 16:00); closed Mondays or Tuesdays if Monday is a public holiday.
• How much: Adults: 600 JPY, Seniors: 300 JPY, Students (13-15): 200 JPY, Children: free
• Website: www.tokyo-zoo.net/english/ueno
• Interesting fact: In 1943, fears that escaped animals could wreak havoc in the Tokyo streets due to the bombing of the city were so great that the government ordered all “wild and dangerous” animals destroyed. A monument to this now stands on the grounds.

Tama Zoo

The Tama Zoological Park, to give it its full name, was initially opened in 1953 as part of Ueno Zoo. However, today the park, making the best of the topography of the luscious Tama Hills, stands at nearly four times that of its neighbor (52 ha, compared to the 14.3 ha), meaning that the animals have more freedom to roam about as if it were their natural environment. The grounds feature three major ecological areas – the Asiatic Garden, the African Garden, the Australian Garden, and a vast Insectarium. Among its more notable points are that it was the first zoo in Japan to raise the ever-popular koalas m and was the first to operate a Lion Bus, from which you can see the lions in safari-esque conditions.

• Where: 7-1-1 Hodokubo, Hino, Tokyo
• When: 9.30 am – 17:00 (last admission 16:00); closed Wednesdays or Thursdays if Wednesday is a public holiday.
• How much: Adults: 600 JPY, Seniors: 300 JPY, Students (13-15): 200 JPY, Children: free
• Website: https://www.tokyo-zoo.net/english/tama/index.html
• Interesting fact: The Australian garden was built in 1984 in commemoration of the twinning of Tokyo with the State of New South Wales.

Edogawa City Natural Zoo

If you have small children, then vast tracts of land and searching out big game may not be the best experience. The Edogawa City Natural Zoo in Edogawa’s Gyosen Park may be more suitable for your family’s needs. Featuring smaller animals such as rabbits, hamsters, peregrine falcons, and seals, it also has a display of aquatic animals that live locally in the Edo River, but their signature animal is the adorable red panda. There is a detailed description of the lives and habitats of each animal to encourage learning for all ages, but best of all, it is free to enter!

• Where: 3-2-1 Kita-Kasai, Edogawa-ku, Tokyo
• When: Weekdays 10:00 to 16:30; Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays 9:30 16:30; November until February closes 16:00; closed Mondays.
• How much: Free!
• Website: www.edogawa-kankyozaidan.jp/zoo
• Interesting fact: There are less than 10,000 wild red pandas are left today, and their numbers continue to decline partially due to poaching and habitat loss.

Inokashira Park Zoo

If your area of particular interest is Japan’s native animals and wildlife, then Inokashira Park Zoo is worth checking out. This is functionally two zoos for the price of one: a squirrel and duck sanctuary specializing in breeding and releasing mandarin ducks into the wild and an enclosure housing other animals, such as red-crowned cranes, Amur cats, rhesus monkeys, and Yaku deer, the latter of which range freely.

• Where: 1-17-6, Gotenyama, Musashino-shi
• When: 9:30 to 17:00 (tickets sold until 16:00); closed Mondays or Tuesdays if Monday is a public holiday).
• How much: Adults: 400 JPY*, Seniors: 200 JPY, Students (13-15): 150 JPY, Children: free
• Website: https://www.tokyo-zoo.net/english/ino/index.html
• Interesting fact: Hanako the elephant was given to Japan from Thailand in 1949 as a gesture of goodwill.

Hamura Zoological Park

A zoo with a goal “to nurture affection for nature by introducing children to animals,” Hamura Zoological Park is a little zoo that you can see in as little as two hours. Like the zoo in Edogawa, it is ideal for small children: to the left of the entrance, there is a petting zoo in which children can hold chicks and guinea pigs, and there is a large playground and picnic area in which you can sit and eat your lunch. Small is very much the way forward on the animal front with lynx, red foxes, wolves, prairie dogs, and wallabies, while there are a few giraffes, zebras, and emus.

• Where: 4122 Hane, Hamura-shi
• When: March through October 9:00-16:30pm (admission until 16:00); November through February 9:00-16:00 (admission until 15:30); Closed Mondays.
• How much: Adults: 400 JPY, Children: (4-5) 50 JPY, Children (Elementary and Junior High) 100 JPY Infants: (0-3) free.
• Website: http://www.t-net.ne.jp/~hamura-z/html/en/index.html
• Interesting fact: The zoo’s theme is ‘fairytale,’ and peacocks and flamingos freely roam the grounds giving the park a particularly exotic feel.

Ōshima Park Zoo

Okay, so Ōshima Park Zoo isn’t strictly in Tokyo, but instead is on the (relatively) close island of, you guessed it, Ōshima. Home to 50 species of animals, it is a zoo that does a wonderful job encompassing its natural environment. The walk-through Flying Cage is home to 15 species of birds and uses the island’s camellias, and its Ōshima Cherry trees are the largest of their kind in Japan. Perhaps the jewel in the zoo’s crown is the 300m Monkey Hill, made of naturally formed volcanic lava rock and through which a bridge bisects, giving visitors various angles from which to view the primates.

• Where: Oshima Park, 2 Senzu Fukuju, Oshima-machi
• When: 8:30–17:00
• How much: Free
• Website: www.oshima-navi.com/zoo
• Interesting fact:  The island of Ōshima is one hour and 45 minutes away by high-speed jet ferry, and the epicenter of the Great Kantō earthquake of 1923 was deep beneath the island.

pelican from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons