We had a great time visiting the Tennoji Zoo. There were not a lot of people considering it was a Sunday, which made the experience even better.
Some of the monkeys seemed to be in pretty tight cages without much room to move around in.
The aviary was amazing to walk through. Recommend if you are looking for a few hours to spend looking at animals.
Reasonable price of 500yen to enter
Very conflicted experience. The zoo is not equipped to have some of the anything it has. The polar bear exhibit was way too small and looked beyond run down. Some of the other enclosures also looked way too small for comfort. Besides that we had a good experience with the food options available and spending time near some of the other areas. I would love to see the enclosures updated but there is simply not enough space for the large animals they have.
I had a wonderful time visiting this zoo! The enclosures are thoughtfully designed, and the animals look well cared for and active. I especially enjoyed watching the polar bear playing with its toys and swimming—it was so lively and entertaining! The red pandas were adorable, and the rhinos were impressive to see up close. The environment felt clean and well-maintained, and it’s clear the staff care about the animals. Highly recommended for both kids and adults!
It hurt my heart to see the animals suffering locked in cages. They have to endure the insensible noise of people every day. I do not recommend anyone to visit this zoo. Some animals actually live in a space that is far too small. Lions have no room to run, not to mention panthers and hyenas. Only the giraffe, hippos, polar bear which was extremely sad, lions and a few monkeys have a place under the open sky, the rest are locked up as if they are in prison. Too many souls locked up in a space that is far too small. When animals are frustrated, stressed, when they are depressed they spin in circles. Actually almost all the animals were constantly spinning in circles. I do not wish anyone to live like this. I thought that a zoo also offers space, not just shelter. But this seems to be an animal shelter, not a zoo. Sad, very sad. what's worse is that some parents don't know how sensitive animals are to sounds, especially children's screams, and they let their children scream near them and throw stones at the animals. insensitivity. I had to stop a child from throwing stones at birds, because he was alone and unsupervised. in the entire zoo I only saw 5 employees. 4 at the entrance and one who fed the monkeys. but none to supervise the animals and avoid situations like that. shame. it's good that there are cameras everywhere, but the zoo looks like it was during Ceaușescu's time (for those who don't know, the 1980s).
Pretty chill zoo overall, though it being in the middle of the city made the vibe feel less wild and more manufactured (I realize this sounds weird because zoos are not the natural state of wildlife but I’m not too sure how to word it properly). It was neat to walk through for a couple hours, though I was disappointed by 2 things: One, despite all the kiwi bird merchandise in the gift shop, they didn’t have kiwis there, which would have a been a huge standout animal compared to other zoos which would have made this place a lot cooler. And Two, the children’s area isn’t really interactive. I wish thee was a way to interact and be hands on with the animals, but I can understand them not allowing visitors to do so.
Also just note that you can’t go back into the zoo from the gift shop entrance once you go in, you’d have to re-enter the zoo from their entrances.
