Asahiyama Zoo
Asahiyama Zoo, In Asahikawa In Central Hokkaido, A Zoo Famous For Showing Animals In Their Natural Motion: Penguins Walking Through The Snow, Seals Swimming Through A Glass Tube. Once Japan'S Most Visited Zoo, Now A Mid Sized Winter And Summer Stop. · Asahikawa, Hokkaido
Asahiyama Zoo sits on a hillside on the edge of Asahikawa, the main city of central Hokkaido, about 40 minutes by bus from Asahikawa Station. It is known across Japan for behavioural exhibits, which show animals doing what they do in the wild instead of lying behind bars: seals swimming up and down a vertical tube, polar bears seen from an underwater viewing window, and in winter a walk of penguins across the snow. The story told about the zoo is that it nearly closed in the 1990s and recovered by changing how it displayed its animals. Expect polar bears, seals, penguins, red pandas and snow leopards among the residents - confirm the current list. It suits families, animal lovers and anyone passing through Hokkaido with half a day free. It is worth the detour in winter, when the snow gives it a character few zoos have. It is not worth it if you dislike cold, or on a crowded holiday when the glass viewing spots are packed three deep. Dress for the weather and allow three to four hours.
Kuranuma, Higashi-Asahikawa, Asahikawa, Hokkaido, reached by bus from Asahikawa Station, Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan
The zoo opens in the morning and closes in the late afternoon, with an earlier closing in winter and a later one in summer; last entry is roughly an hour before closing. It runs a reduced winter season and shuts for some weeks in spring and again in autumn for maintenance - confirm the dates before you plan the trip, because a visit in the gap is a common mistake. From Asahikawa Station a bus runs to the zoo in roughly 40 minutes; confirm the timetable and the last bus back, which leaves in the late afternoon. Tickets are bought at the gate, and nothing normally needs booking, though winter weekends and school holidays are busy. Cash is useful at some counters.