6 Interesting Facts About Tennoji Zoo (Osaka)

Did you know that Tennoji Zoo was built over a hundred years ago and the only home to a New Zealand kiwi bird all over Japan?

Here are 6 interesting facts about this huge site that houses about 1,000 animals from around the world:

01 | It is one of the oldest zoos in Japan and has been operating for more than 100 years.

Tennoji Zoo was opened on January 1, 1915 marking 2019 as its 104th year. It is the third oldest zoo in Japan and is located at Tennoji Park in Osaka.

02 | It houses about a thousand animals of different species.

Tennoji Zoo’s approximately 11-hectare site has around 1,000 animals and around 200 species up to date.

03 | It is where you can find the only New Zealand Kiwi bird all over Japan.

Tennoji Zoo’s Brown Kiwi (or commonly known as New Zealand Kiwi) continues to attract a lot of attention as it is said to be the only kiwi bird in the entire Japanese archipelago.

04 | Stepping in and out of Tennoji Zoo is like teleporting.

Although the zoo is located in the middle of a busy city, they use the method of “habitat environment exhibits” which means that they recreated the place to make it as similar as the animals’ natural habitat.

05 | It is hashtag instagrammable.

For those who are on the hunt for instagrammable places around Japan, Tennoji Zoo has some fun spots for you to enjoy.

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06 | It is divided into four zones.

Tennoji Zoo is very huge with four different zones: African Savanna Zone, Friendship Square, Asian Tropical Rainforest, and Flight Aviary.

Quoted from their website, here are some information you might want to know about Tennoji Zoo’s four zones:

a. African Savanna Zone

In the African Savanna Zone, the method of “habitat environment exhibits” is used to recreate the savanna environment that is surrounded by rocky hills called kopje. Walking along the garden path among the rocky hills, you would feel as if you are in the real savanna.

The animals at African Savanna Zone and its surrounding area are: Hippopotamus, Nile Mouth-brooder, Egyptian Goose, Lesser Flamingo, Eastern Black Rhinoceros, Dwarf Mongoose, Common Eland, Giraffe, Grant’s Zebra, Cape Hyrax, Lion, Marabou Stork, Chinese Grey Wolf, Amur Tiger, Jaguar, Puma, American alligator, Aldabra Tortoise, Python molurus, Chinese Alligator, Japanese giant salamander, Red Panda, Mouflon, Japanese Golden Eagle, and Andean Condor.

b. Friendship Square (Petting Zone and Surrounding Area)

The Petting Zone, which was established in October 2015, is a place that allows visitors to feel warmth of animal bodies and “wonderfulness and preciousness of life” by their own through contacting with animals. In this zone, you can give food to sheep and goats and have contact with Guinea pigs.

The animals at Petting Zone and its surrounding area are: Sheep, Emu, Noma Horse (Domestic), Goat (Domestic) Saanen Goat, Bactrian Camel (Domestic), Guinea Pig (Domestic), Rabbit (Domestic), Hooded Crane, Red Crowned Crane, Demoiselle Crane, Grey Crowned Crane, Caribbean Flamingo, Chilean Flamingo, King Penguin, Humboldt Penguin, Coypu, and Oriental Stork.

c. Asian Tropical Rainforest Zone and Surrounding Area

In the Asian Tropical Rainforest Zone where the method of “habitat environment exhibits” is used, you can see a big elephant being in the landscape modeling tropical rainforest in Asia. Walk along the trail where models of creatures including Burmese pythons and water monitors, then you would feel as if you are in forest.

The animals at Asian Tropical Rainforest Zone and its surrounding area are: Koala, Egyptian Rousette, Japanese Raccoon Dog, Brown Kiwi, Common Raccoon, Common Chimpanzee, Tufted Capuchin, Grivet/Savanna Monkey, Lion-tailed Macaque, De Brazza’s Monkey, Black-and-White Ruffed Lemur, Siamang, François’s Langur, Mandrill, Drill, and Sika Deer.

d. Flight Aviary Zone and Surrounding Area

In the Aviary Zone, there are springs, dams, babbling streams, forest, marshy ground, and ponds in the landscape. While walking along the path that has no netting or glass wall, you can enjoy seeing birds flying, making nests, and feeding food.

The animals at Flight Aviary Zone and its surrounding area are: European White Stork, Little Egret, Mandarin Duck, Common Mallard, Chinese Spot-billed Duck, Polar Bear, Spectacled Bear, Japanese Black Bear, Malayan Sun Bear, Edwards’s Pheasant, Green Pheasant, Guineafowl (Domestic), Laughing Kookaburra, Temminck’s Tragopan, Satyr Tragopan, Black Swan, California Sea Lion, Snowy Owl, and Great Grey Owl.

Additional Info:

Address:

1-108 Chausuyamacho, Tennoji Ward, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture 543-0063, Japan
* located inside Tennoji Park

Opening Hours:

9:30am to 5pm (last admission: 4pm)
* Only in May and September: 9:30am to 6pm on Saturday, Sunday, and national holidays (last admission: 5pm)
* Closed: Every Monday (also on Tuesday if Monday falls on a holiday)
* Closed: Year-end and New Year (December 29 to January 1)

Admission Fee:

Adult: 500 yen
Elementary and junior high school students: 200 yen
Preschool children: Free
Annual Pass (Adult): 2,000 yen
Annual Pass (Child): 800 yen
*For group discounts and other conditions, please refer to this link.

Contact Number:

(+81) 06-6771-8401

Website:

http://www.city.osaka.lg.jp/contents/wdu170/tennojizoo/en/

Have you been to Tennoji Zoo? Share your experience in the comment section below!

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