Okinawa Zoo & Museum, originally uploaded by okimamas&papas.
CONTRIBUTED BY MEREDITH NOVARIO
It's worth the 2000 yen to get a season pass here. Okay, so the animals don't have the fancy habitats that you might find back in the States. On the bright side though, the walk through the zoo is much shorter since the animals' quarters are on the small side. In ten good strides you can take in hippos, chimps, lions, tigers and giraffes. All the big name animals are right there for your kids to call out to. Even a raccoon, like the one you might see in your garbage can back home. Or the enormous bats that keep watch over the humid Okinawan nights.
The walking loop by the animals is steep. If you prefer traveling downhill then start at the top, otherwise take the elevator to the bottom and work your way up. I find it steep for pushing a stroller up but my friend says the same about going down. Whatever tickles you.
There is also a train, carousel, and a bumper car track. These are separate fees and range between 100 and 200 yen. And there is a man-made pond with pedal boats and food for the ducks and fish. And, wow, these carp can open wide.
For an additional 200 yen (on top of the 500 yen admission fee to the zoo), you can explore the Wonder Museum. Most exhibits are interactive and hands-on even for toddlers. Here's a PEEK, and ANOTHER, and ONE more. The museum is often balmy so dress accordingly.
The admission information is available HERE for those of you with incredible vision. Or for the rest of you there's a website with lots of pictures and Japanese. Or how about I just summarize.
- The park opens at 9:30 and closes between 5:30 and 6:00 depending on the time of year.
- It is closed every Tuesday
- Admission for adults is 500 yen unless you're in a group of 20 or more. If that's the case then you pay 400 yen.
- Junior high & High school students pay 200 yen or 150 yen if in a group.
- 4 year olds through elementary school students pay 100 yen or 150 yen in a group.
- Everyone under 4 is free everywhere!
- The Wonder Museum is 200 yen for adults AND is in addition to the zoo admission price.
Getting there:
Straight out Kadena Gate 2. Cross straight over the 330 intersection. You will pass Koza Junior High School on your right and Koza Baptist Church on your left. There will be a sign overhead written in English indicating a right turn about a mile after the 330 intersection. It comes up suddenly and right before a steep-ish downhill. At this intersection is a groovy red and yellow mural, perhaps graffiti, on a tall stone wall. Continue on this road for less than half a mile. You will see the parking lot on your left.
[edited from user comments]: From Camp Foster: -Take a LEFT coming out of the Exchange gate so that you are heading up 330 towards Kadena. Take a RIGHT at the Awase Meadows Golf Course intersection onto 22. (There will be a blue sign overhead before the turn lane pointing out the roads.) Take a LEFT at the 2nd light. Take a RIGHT at the 3rd light directly into the zoo parking lot.
But if you loved them and have never...
An annual pass is available for 2000 yen a year. It buys you unlimited trips into the zoo and 5 free passes (for anyone) into the wonder museum. It’s well worth the price as 3 trips to the zoo and wonder museum will cover the price of the annual pass.
For those of you who are coming from Camp Foster:
-Take a LEFT coming out of the Exchange gate so that you are heading up 330 towards Kadena.
-Take a RIGHT at the Awase Meadows Golf Course intersection onto 22. (There will be a blue sign overhead before the turn lane pointing out the roads.)
-Take a LEFT at the 2nd light.
-Take a RIGHT at the 3rd light directly into the zoo parking lot.
Finally got ourselves over to the Zoo today. It was about what I expected – habitat-wise. I’m normally a little sad at all but the most well-funded zoos — and this was no exception. On the flip-mom-side though, I do love that my kids can see the animals from the books & TV in person. The giraffes were a big hit.
However, I was TOTALLY surprised by the completely AWESOME “Wonder Museum.” And with the admission being only 200Y over my yearly pass (+ as mentioned you get 5 free passes) we will be back A LOT!! My 2 year old was in heaven and I even found an area set up for 0-1 year olds where the baby enjoyed hugging a stuffed hippo (there’s also a breastfeeding/baby changing area that’s very nice on the bottom floor — which always impresses me).
The coolest part is this incredible set up of tracks that run golf balls up and over and around in every direction — fabulous study in physics for the little ones. They also do crafts and things there, but I have to find someone to translate the info for me. I was just so darn impressed with how much cool stuff they packed into a pretty small space (3 round-ish floors) and the fact that most of it was assessible even to my little guy. HIGHLY recommend repeated trips to the museum and an occasional glance at the zoo.
Where do you purchase the season passes? We have already spent that much in trips to the zoo this past 2 months (my kids love it!)? Can you purchase them at the zoo or is there another place?
On a side note-My kids LOVE feeding the fish down at the pond. They would spend all day there if they could!!
Jennifer, you can ask for the annual pass at the ticket office before you enter the zoo. I just got mine last year and it was well worth the money. I think I must have gone at least three times this month alone! I’m not sure if they offer the annual pass anywhere else.
Also wanted to add that there is a new exhibit at the Wonder Museum called “Trick Art” that will be there until the end of March. For the most part they’re 2D paintings on the wall that have a 3D effect.
I almost missed it as it’s located in a small room off to the side on the middle floor. So glad I didn’t though as I got some funny photos of the kids there including one of them rolling around on the floor trying to escape from the lion climbing out of the wall.
Check this link for their flyer. It’s all in Japanese but you’ll get a better idea of what to expect.
http://www.kodomo.city.okinawa.okinawa.jp/page/event/07/trick/trick.html
Purchase membership right at the entrance to the zoo where you pay the admission fee. They have the application in English and the list of rules (just common sense stuff like the membership is for you not whoever you give the card to)also in English.
サタZOOナイト SATA-ZOO-NIGHT
The Zoo is currently having its annual special event, a NIGHT ZOO.
It is every SATURDAY from July 17 to August 28, 2010 (it is held each year during this same period).
You pay regular admission (refer to the original article above) and the Zoo stays open late on these Saturday nights only, until 9:00p.m. (last admission is at 8:00pm).
At 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30 there will be special feedings of some monkeys, crocodiles, lions, tigers, and bears (Oh My!). For the monkey feeding, up to 30 children will be given the opportunity to feed the monkeys (they are still in the cages). The cups of food are 100yen. Please remember that at all times, you are not permitted to feed any of the animals food that you bring to the zoo or purchase to eat there.
This is a popular event for many families, and a recent local TV news broadcast showed many children having a fun time.
If you have never been to the Zoo before, it would be advisable to go first in the afternoon while it is still sunlight to see the layout of the whole Zoo. You can get your hand stamped, keep your ticket, and re-enter later when it is dark, or grab something to eat at the zoo for a rest before walking around again during dusk.
Regular Zoo hours are 9:30am to 6:00pm (last admission is 5:00). Closed on Tuesdays.
You can also see a special Science of Sports Exhibit at the Wonder Museum until August 31. This coincides with the current ongoing All-Japan High School Sports Competition being held throughout Okinawa.
The Museum is open 9:30am to 5:30pm (closes 5:00pm October through March). The admission fees are: Adults 200yen, 4 to 18 year old 100 yen, 3 years old and under are free.
On August 7 and 8 there will also be Eisa performances starting at 4:00pm until 9:00pm. On Sunday, access at the Zoo will be for the Eisa only, and not the animal exhibits, with regular admission charged.
If you are new to the island, you might want to consider buying the annual passport for the Zoo, ask at the ticket window BEFORE purchasing the regular admission ticket (refer to the informative previous comments above)
Also, pets are not permitted to be brought to the zoo, and you should not throw anything at the animals. During the hot summer days, many animals are sleeping or lethargic (just like many humans), and some people try to throw stones or branches at them to get them to move. Occasionally, you may have the opportuniy to see a Zoo attendant or staff feeding or interacting with animals to check on them.
There are mini-bumper cars, a carousel, small boats, a small train, and other activities which are priced separately from admission. Bring extra yen for these attractions, to buy food to feed the koi, fish and waterfowl in the pond and food/snacks and more importantly beverages for the family.
Adjacent to the main gate parking area is a small park that was recently upgraded with walking trails and some outlook posts offering very nice views over the Okinawa City area and the beautiful Awase Bay and Pacific Ocean (Philippine Sea) waters to the east.
For the directions in the article, the Koza Baptist Church is no longer in that area; there is a new tall apartment building on the left hand side, the Jr. High School on the right. At that traffic signal you turn RIGHT and the zoo will be after the next traffic signal.
When you go out Kadena Air Base Gate 2, then through the intersection with Route 330, the right turn is only about 500 meters farther, just after the large trees are no longer lining the road, and after a small S-curve in the road.
Look for overhead small road signs for the ZOO (the signs might say KODOMO-NO-KUNI or CHILDRENS PARK).
If the main (front) parking lot is full, the parking attendants may signal you to drive to the second parking lot (East) which is down a small side road adjacent to the zoo. You will then enter at the East or back gate of the zoo, close to the big pond.
The passes are the annual or seasonal?
We made our first trip to the zoo today and consider what we spent on the annual pass a donation to the health of the animals who need rescuing. They are kept in deplorable conditions and many are emaciated. Several have over-grown nails which curl back under themselves growing into the animals skin while others appear to have tumor growth. I wept for these animals. I will be allerting the World Association for Zoos and Aquariums and the International Zoo Association in hopes they will visit and offer assistance. It appears most of the income is spent at the Wonder Museum which my children enjoyed immensely.
We visited the zoo today, and my children were sad to see the animals looking so unhealthy and half-starved. The caracal looked like it hadn’t eaten in weeks, the raccoons look insane (pacing back and forth, rocking), and we saw them feeding the ostriches old hot dog buns from the concession stand – which they shared with the pigeons in their enclosure. My children love the wonder museum and the petting zoo, but I hate seeing animals in such terrible conditions. (I have seen menagerie type zoos like this in Germany, but the animals there were healthy and well-cared for. It doesn’t appear to be the case here…)
Unfortunately, Okinawan culture does not seem to hold animal well-being or enclosure maintenance in very high regard. I was shocked about the condition of the snake enclosures at Okinawa World. It was terrible to see a 5m python locked in a cube of concrete.
Thanks for your honest review!
We personally really enjoy this zoo. No, it’s not a fancy American zoo (and I grew up with the San Diego Zoo), but it’s great for the kids and a decent one outside of the US. The only part that I don’t like are the cages with the monkeys, which is easily bypassed, and the large cats/bear cages… which we walk quickly through without looking. They have improved the petting zoo and the elephant enclosure since we first moved here.
The great thing is that there are lots of things for the little ones… you can feed the giraffes and the elephants (200yen), watch an elephant play soccer & basketball, go on a pony ride (500yen), and of course the rides and the Wonder Museum. The petting zoo has guinea pigs and baby chicks to hold in addition to bunnies and sometimes a snake to pet. There’s also a large lake that is nice to walk around and feed the carp. It is stroller-passable, but I wouldn’t take a giant double stroller or a flimsy umbrella stroller.
On a separate note, an actual positive about this zoo is that they feed their birds live prey (ie baby chicks)… which means don’t take young children into the aviary during feeding time.
Do you remember what times you could feed the giraffes and elephants?
We made it over the the zoo yesterday. It was lightly raining so there was not many other people there. The kids loved seeing the animals. The petting zoo was closed but the goats were in the pens so the kids got to pet them.
We didnt go into the wonder museum we were reading the brochure and we didnt think it would be fun for our kids. After reading the commments I wish we had gone in just to let the kids have a look. We will be going back a few more times.
To make a correction to the price:
•4 year olds through elementary school students pay 100 yen or 150 yen in a group.
should say
•4 year olds through elementary school students pay 100 yen or 80 yen in a group.