Hiroshima City Asa Zoological Park

Hiroshima City Asa Zoological Park (Asa Zoo) is the city zoo of Hiroshima, in the hills of Asakita Ward in the north of the city. It opened on September 1, 1971, and keeps about 160 species on a wooded 51-hectare site at the foot of Mount Aratani. Admission is 510 yen for adults, and children through junior high school enter free.

The zoo is known in Japan for its breeding work. In 1979 it became the first zoo in Japan to breed the Japanese giant salamander, a Special Natural Monument, and it has bred young almost every year since. Eighteen black rhino calves have also been born here.

Asa Zoo tickets

• Adults (18 to 64): 510 yen

• Seniors (65 and over, with ID): 170 yen

• High school students and those under 18: 170 yen

• Junior high school students and younger: free

• Parking: 450 yen per car, with about 1,200 spaces

Credit cards and some QR payments are accepted at the staffed ticket windows. The shops and restaurants inside take cash only. An annual pass for 1,560 yen also covers the Hiroshima Botanical Garden and the Forest Park Insect Museum, and the zoo's fee page lists the current rates.

Animals at Asa Zoo

The zoo is laid out in zones that follow the slope of the hill:

• Africa: reticulated giraffes and zebras, black rhinos and African forest elephants, plus cheetahs and meerkats

• Apes and monkeys: chimpanzees and mandrills

• Japan and Asia: Malayan tapirs, Bactrian camels and Asiatic black bears

• West Park: red pandas, Eurasian otters, red-crowned cranes and Oriental storks

• Carnivores: lions, Amur tigers and Amur leopards

Japanese giant salamanders

The giant salamanders, the largest amphibians in the world, are the zoo's signature animal. You can see them in the reptile house and in the Pichiku Park area, along with turtles, snakes and tortoises.

Pichiku Park

Pichiku Park is the petting area, renovated in 2001. Children can meet goats, sheep, guinea pigs and ponies there. The zoo's Animal Science Museum holds the full skeleton of an African elephant.

How to get to Asa Zoo

The zoo is in the northern suburbs, so plan on 40 to 50 minutes each way:

• From JR Hiroshima Station: JR Sanyo or Kabe Line to Shin-Hakushima, then the Astram Line to Kamiyasu Station. From there, take a bus bound for Asahigaoka or Imuro to the Asa Dobutsu Koen stop. About 45 minutes in total.

• From Hiroshima Bus Center: Hiroden bus route 70-3 for Asahigaoka from platform 7, about 50 minutes to the zoo.

• From Kencho-mae Station: Astram Line to Kamiyasu, then the same bus, about 40 minutes.

• By car: 30 to 40 minutes from central Hiroshima, or 15 to 20 minutes from the Hiroshima-kita interchange.

The direct bus from JR Hiroshima Station was discontinued in January 2021. The zoo's route guide in Japanese has links to the current bus timetables. During long holidays, the roads near the Kamiyasu junction back up in the middle of the day, so the bus is often quicker.

With a group, a private tour by chartered vehicle can add the zoo to a day around the city.

For more ideas for a family day out, see Hiroshima with kids.