maybe one of my favorite zoos! the amount if interaction you get with animals is awesome and many are able to roam freely in massive enclosed spaces that allow people to walk through.
you can feed (and pet) capybaras! you can also feed deer, monkeys, sheep, alpacas, otters- almost every animal in the zoo can be fed by you for ¥200-¥300. There’s also a giraffe you can feed!
I also believe you can get a discount if you buy tickets in advance, but I don’t think it’s necessary.
Nice, kid friendly zoo! Lots of animals and a great visit. If you wanna visit, it normally takes 3 hours or less to go through the entire park. The peacocks run free! They even have a capybara and other critters petting zoo.
Izu Shaboten Zoo is a fun and peaceful place. It’s good for both kids and adults. We had a great time there. It was beyond our expectations. We didn't expect it to be so entertaining and fun.
You can see many animals up close, like capybaras, monkeys, birds, and kangaroos. The capybaras are very cute. They even have a section where some of the pets were roaming within the specific fences area such as rabbit, capybaras and etc. You can even buy snacks (spring onions) to feed them. Other animals at specific attractions also have treats to feed them as well.
It's my first time seeing live fish as a treat for the animals. There are specific instructions given on how to feed the animals. The treats cost about 100-300 yen depending on each attraction site.
The zoo is not too big, so it’s easy to walk around. There are also many different kinds of cactus plants from all over the world. There is even a section where you can decorate and make your own cactus.
The place is clean and the staff are nice. The zoo is really very well maintained.
Tip:
It’s easier to visit if you have a car because it’s far from the city.
Buy the tickets from klook it's much cheaper and also the zoo is next to mount Omuro.
Go to mount omuro early cause the queue is insane then can make you way to the izu zoo but also depends on your trip itinerary.
slightly conflicting experience; overall, we loved how interactive some of the exhibits were and felt that certain animals like the otters and capybara were well taken care of and had a good quality of life, but we were also shocked by what can only be described as the pure psychological torture some of these animals are subject to - particularly the owls, parrots and toucans who were either kept in tiny cages or chained up to a branch in direct light all day next to loud music, and the chimps, who were imprisoned in a bleak room with a painted backdrop of their "natural" habitat (see pictured).
As much as we loved the free-roam bird exhibit and the interactive capybara section, the way the birds, chimps and other mammals are treated left a really sour taste in our mouths. We strongly strongly urge the Shaboten Zoo to devote more resources to improving the living conditions and space provided to these animals - the owl and chimp exhibits really aren't necessary to the experience and it hurts seeing them suffer for human entertainment. It really wouldn't take much to do better by them.
We reached at 3.30pm which was shortly before closing, and most of the animal encounters close by 4pm but we still had a pretty decent interaction with some of the animals and the animal trainer was very kind. We all really enjoyed, especially the kids. It was worth the drive
