Ages ago I went to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Arizona, and it was the highlight of my trip. I would love to have a similar experience in Japan where I can not just see your typical zoo animals, but animals/plants relevant to the region. I understand I can go hiking, but it’s not really what I’m looking for here.
Does anyone know of a zoo/attraction that features native Japan wildlife, or a section of a larger zoo/attraction?
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Hello 🙂
If you let me know where you are planning on going I can maybe be a bit more specific.
I guess I will preface this with animal welfare in Japan is generally not very good. Expect even in good zoos to see some very cool local animals in very small concrete cages.
[Inokoshira Park Zoo](https://www.tokyo-zoo.net/zoo/ino/) – Mitaka – Tokyo day trip
If you are planning on going to the Studio Ghibli Museum in Mitaka there is [Inokoshira Park Zoo](https://www.tokyo-zoo.net/zoo/ino/) which is a small local zoo, split into an “animal” and “aquatic park” The museum is quite small so I would suggest go there early and leave maybe 2-3 hours to do these too.
They have all the classic Japanese animals like Tanuki, Squirrels, badgers, goats and deers.
I believe the aquatic half has a small aquarium of Japanese native freshwater fish and ducks.
[Kyoto Aquarium](https://www.kyoto-aquarium.com/index.html) – Kyoto
Has a small size, but very full exhibit of giant salamanders and merchandise complimenting it if you wanted a scarf made with salamander patterns.
[Miyajima public aquarium](http://miyajima-aqua.jp/) – Hiroshima
I’ve not been to this one personally, but they claim to be the only Seto inland sea themed aquarium in Japan. Check out the map. It’s on Miyajima, the island with a big Tori gate out in the sea near Hiroshima. As long as you don’t hike the mountain you could put this in a full Miyajima day trip.
[Osaka Aquarium](https://www.kaiyukan.com/) – Osaka
Famously has whale sharks. They have a few local tanks and when I was there recently they had Firefly squids(slightly bioluminescent) and sunfish.
[Sumida Aquarium](https://www.sumida-aquarium.com/index.html) – Tokyo
Inside the same building as the Tokyo Skytree, so could be done in a same day out. Probably the best natural aquascapes I have seen in Japan. I only mention this one because they have a goldfish area, which shows goldfish as they were selectively bred in very strange Edo style tanks.
Some cruise tours departing from Utoro Port on Hokkaido’s Shiretoko Peninsula include tours to see wild brown bears from the sea, and there is a 90% chance of watching a bear.
https://www.ana.co.jp/ja/us/japan-travel-planner/hokkaido/0000010.html(There does not appear to be an English version of the website.）
Probably a bit more niche than what you’re looking for but if anyone is in the Hiroshima area with half a day to spare then the [Iwakuni White Snake Museum](https://kankou.iwakuni-city.net/itn/natural-treasure-white-snakes-of-iwakuni) (no relation to the band) is worth a visit. It showcases the local Japanese Rat Snake population, which features an unusually high amount of albinism.
Fujii Safari Park.
The [Numazu Deep Sea Aquarium is awesome!](https://travel.gaijinpot.com/numazu-deep-sea-aquarium-coelacanth-museum/)