Himeji City Zoo Review and Species List

[akasha]

28.10.2025

In October 2025, I visited Himeji City Zoo. I had heard that the zoo was sub-standard, and coming from Australia where our zoos are pretty good, the zoo nerd in me just needed to see what that was like.

I arrived at 9:30am and paid the ¥250 admission fee at the gate.

Immediately entering the zoo, there was an enclosure for Red Kangaroo. I saw four kangaroos in here.

Next there was an enclosure for Southern Tamandua and Southern Three-banded Armadillo. It wasn’t too bad, spacious and enriching enough if a little bland, and I thought ‘this zoo isn’t so bad’, but this was pretty much the best of it. The tamandua were active, but I didn’t see the armadillo. (One of two signed species I didn’t see.)

Next was a row of cages for Ring-tailed Lemur. I saw two each in the first two, and the third was empty. Like most of the enclosures at Himeji City Zoo, the mesh makes the animals difficult to see.

Tucked away behind the lemurs was a little cage for Domestic Chicken and Domestic Pigeon. At least the fowl were purebred, with Black and White Spangled Japanese Bantam and Silkies on display, along with a fan-tailed pigeon.

Next was the Hippopotamus and Reptile House, a combo I haven’t seen before and likely for good reason. On the exterior wall there was an exhibit for a tortoise species.

To be continued…

 

[akasha]

Entering the house there was a small tank with various water snails. Inside one wall had five reptile exhibits; Reeve’s Pond Turtle and Japanese Pond Turtle, Ball Python (with Goldfish), two for Corn Snake, and Nile Monitor. Except for the corn snakes, they were very difficult to view through the mesh. (You will notice that most of my photos are pretty bad, but they are the best they can be given the difficulty of viewing at this zoo.)

Snail Tank

Turtle exhibit

Ball Python exhibit

Corn Snake exhibits

Corn Snake

Nile Monitor exhibit

Nile Monitor

On the other side was the indoor pool and night pen for the Common Hippopotamus. If she’d had a decent outdoor exhibit, these would have been okay, but she didn’t. Outside the hippo was in a tiny concrete enclosure. The pool was just big enough for her to fully submerge and do a tight circle. She was laying on the concrete looking pretty miserable. Later when I came back she was in the pool looking a fraction happier. Kiboko was born 18/11/1983 at Toyohashi Zoo and has been at Himeji City Zoo since 1987.

Beyond here was a pen for Domestic Goat and Domestic Sheep. I saw nine goats and one sheep. (One other sheep was signed.) The keepers were feeding them when I arrived, and I must say that I saw a lot of staff, and that even though a lot of the exhibits were pretty unsuitable in terms of size and enrichment, they were all very clean.

To be continued…

 

[akasha]

There was a small enclosure for a single Arabian Camel. It looked pretty miserable, and I think a big part of the problem at this zoo is that most of the night quarters are completely visible, so the animals have nowhere to retreat to. It makes them anxious and defensive.

Camel night quarters

There was a small house for Red Panda. There was a sign with an arrow pointing to the panda where it was sleeping, so presumably it spends most of it’s time in this one spot.

At this point the Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur all started vocalising, it was very loud and chaotic and something I hadn’t heard before. I think they were in a repurposed enclosure as there was a big empty pool in it. This enclosure actually wasn’t too bad, big enough and enriching for them. There were four lemurs in here and another one in the adjoining enclosure.

Next was an empty enclosure signed for Southern Tamandua, and an adjoining one for Brown Capucian. It was much too small for the five monkeys it contained.

Between the monkey cage and the railing, Leopard Tortoise and Red-footed Tortoise were displayed. I wouldn’t exactly say it was an exhibit, but I guess it was a fun way to include them in the zoo.

Leopard Tortoise

Red-footed Tortoise and Leopard Tortoise

Next was a big, grassy, electrified cage that was signed for two rabbits, but I didn’t see them.

Returning to the front of the zoo, there was an exhibit for Chilean Flamingo. I counted a flock of 26, and this was one of the better enclosures in the zoo. It had everything they needed and they seemed happy enough.

In the corner near the entrance was an exhibit for Capybara. I saw one capybara in here.

To be continued…

 

[akasha]

Crossing over the bridge to the other half of the zoo, I started with a collection of aviaries. There were five adjoining aviaries for parrots. The first held a Cockatiel and a Japanese Green Pigeon. Followed by, Golden-naped Amazon, Goffin’s Cockatoo, Galah and Salmon-crested Cockatoo.

Cockatiel and Japanese Green Pigeon

Golden-naped Amazon

Goffin’s Cockatoo

Galah

Salmon-crested Cockatoo

There were two bigger adjoining aviaries for Southern Ground Hornbill, and Red-crowned Crane.

Southern Ground Hornbill Exhibit

Southern Ground Hornbill

Crane exhibit

Red-crowned Crane

There were two aviaries for macaw, a pair each of Blue-and-gold Macaw and Red-and-green Macaw.

To be continued…

 

[akasha]

Next was a row of small enclosures for carnivores. First was Caracal. The cat had nowhere to hide and was very agitated, hissing at visitors.

Caracal exhibit

Caracal

Next was Japanese Racoon Dog, with was pretty relaxed.

The third was for Japanese Marten, the second mammal species I didn’t actually see.

The next two were for Red Fox.

The next was empty, and the last one was for Japanese Badger. None of these exhibits were great, but with the right species, they could be made to work.

Empty exhibit

Japanese Badger

Changing direction back toward the front of the zoo, were two bigger aviaries for peafowl. One was for Green Peafowl and the other for Indian Peafowl.

Green Peafowl

Indian Peafowl

At this point a staff member approached me and I wondered if I was going to get questioned about being an activist or something because I was being pretty methodical about documenting everything and stood out as the only foreigner at the zoo. But the keeper was friendly, and just wanted to chat with an overseas visitor I think.

Next were the viewing windows into the big carnivores night quarters. Around the front I saw one Ezo Brown Bear, and a pair of African Lion. Neither of these exhibits were big enough, or enriching enough for their occupants. But they do allow for very close views (even if it is obscured by mesh), so most visitors seemed pleased with them.

To be continued…

 

[akasha]

Behind here was the Magellanic Penguin exhibit. This one wasn’t too bad and the penguins seemed happy enough, having produced a chick back in May.

Towards the back of the zoo was the former elephant enclosure. It would have been totally inappropriate for an elephant, not to mention keeping a single elephant cow is awful. It now displays Crested Porcupine, which is a better choice. (There was a memorial set up for the elephant in the night quarters, which passed away in October 2020. Himeko was a 43 year old Asian Elephant.)

I walked past the fun park areas for kids, to the back of the zoo, to begin the last row of exhibits. There was an enclosure for Bolivian Squirrel Monkey. This one was a fitting size and enriching enough for its three inhabitants.

Next was a pen with a single Aldabra Giant Tortoise. It’s shell was deformed, I don’t know much about them, but maybe not enough vitamin D as it was growing?

There was a petting zoo area with Guinea Pig and Domestic Rabbit.

Next was an exhibit for Ostrich and Helmeted Guineafowl.

Beside this was a tiny aviary for three Black Kite. They were rescued wild birds, that all had missing or injured wings.

Next were three adjoining aviaries for birds of prey. There was Honey Buzzard, Steppe Eagle and Harris’s Hawk.

Honey Buzzard

Steppe Eagle

Harris’s Hawk

To be continued…

 

[akasha]

There were more BOP aviaries, all for Harris’s Hawk, except one for Peregrine Falcon, which appeared to be pinioned, but could have been a rescue.

Harris’s Hawk

Peregrine Falcon

Following those were a row of aviaries for birds of prey and galliformes. There was Collared Scops-owl, Great Horned Owl, Ural Owl, another for Collared Scops-owl, Silver Pheasant, Red Jungle Fowl, Domestic Chicken (Black and White Spangled Japanese Bantam), Himalayan Monal, Green Pheasant, Temminck’s Tragopan and Golden Pheasant (unseen).

Collared Scops-owl

Great Horned Owl

Ural Owl

Collared Scops-owl

Silver Pheasant

Red Junglefowl

Domestic Chicken

Himalayan Monal

Himalayan Monal

Green Pheasant

Temminck’s Tragopan

To be continued…

 

[akasha]

Next was the most impressive aviary. It was divided into two sections, one for seabirds, and one for ducks.

The first held; Great White Pelican, Little Egret, Black-tailed Gull, Sacred Ibis and Black-crowned Night-heron.

The second held a lively display of; Mandarin Duck, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Common Shelduck, Ruddy Shelduck, Domestic Duck (Pekin and Call), Common Pochard, Green-winged Teal and Chinese Pond Turtle.

Next was an exhibit for Meerkat. It wasn’t great, but at least this one beat Ueno Zoo.

There was a pen for Sika Deer, it was serviceable and the deer looked healthy, but like every enclosure at Himeji City Zoo, the inhabitants could have done with more space.

There was an exhibit for Miniature Pigs, divided in two with two pigs in each.

There were two muddy yards for Plains Zebra. I saw one zebra, and it was the only individual signed.

In the corner was the Giraffe exhibit. It was very small and the giraffes, especially the bull, seemed agitated that they couldn’t retreat anywhere from the visitors, as their night quarters were clearly visible.

Lastly there was an exhibit for South American Sea Lion. It wasn’t too bad, the two sea lions had enough room to swim and could be separated from each other if need be.

 

[akasha]

I spent 2.5 hours at Himeji City Zoo, but the average zoo visitor could probably see everything in an hour. Speaking as an Aussie, ¥250 is very cheap to see a zoo with a species list like this, however the living conditions for most of the animals are not good. I do believe Himeji City Zoo is salvageable though. It’s in a beautiful location below the castle, adjoining the moat, and with better, more appropriate species choices, most of the exhibits could be brought up to scratch easily enough.

Species list to follow.

Castle Moat

 

[jwer]

Thanks for the detailed review! Much appreciated.

Most exhibits look “overengineerd”, just way too solid for their inhabitants. Is that just common practice in Japan, or would they have contained a bigger (stronger) inhabitant in the past? Anyone any idea?

 

[PossumRoach]

Next there was an enclosure for Southern Tamandua and Southern Three-banded Armadillo. It wasn’t too bad, spacious and enriching enough if a little bland, and I thought ‘this zoo isn’t so bad’, but this was pretty much the best of it. The tamandua were active, but I didn’t see the armadillo. (One of two signed species I didn’t see.)

If I recall correctly, that used to be a chimpanzee enclosure, so this is a very fitting replacement.

Next was a row of cages for Ring-tailed Lemur. I saw two each in the first two, and the third was empty. Like most of the enclosures at Himeji City Zoo, the mesh makes the animals difficult to see.

One of these enclosures was an orangutan enclosure.

this point the Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur all started vocalising, it was very loud and chaotic and something I hadn’t heard before. I think they were in a repurposed enclosure as there was a big empty pool in it. This enclosure actually wasn’t too bad, big enough and enriching for them. There were four lemurs in here and another one in the adjoining enclosure.

That enclosure used to contain a polar bear until as early as couple years ago. Looking at older maps I found out that there was also a moon bear enclosure there. Other maps mentioned leopard so that entire area may be a carnivore row.

Next was an exhibit for Meerkat. It wasn’t great, but at least this one beat Ueno Zoo.

If this is the enclosure between deer and the pelican aviary then this should be the aardvark enclosure. I believe it held southern hairy nosed wombats before then. Himeji city is the only place that kept this species in Japan’s zoo history.

These examples, along with the porcupine enclosure, could answer your question @jwer

The cheap entry price is something that haunts almost every municipal zoo in Japan. I assume that town halls and zoo management are scared of public backlash from the general public. This is tragic because I remember hearing in this site that Bernhard Grzimek said that a zoo ticket shouldn’t be more expensive than a movie ticket. Yet zoo tickets are dwarfed by movie tickets in terms of price.

Another problem this zoo faces is that the buildings there are protected as a heritage site. Perhaps Japanese users could explain the situation far better from me, but the zoo cannot go through huge renovations due to its close proximity to the Himeji Castle.

 

[akasha]

If I recall correctly, that used to be a chimpanzee enclosure, so this is a very fitting replacement.


One of these enclosures was an orangutan enclosure.


That enclosure used to contain a polar bear until as early as couple years ago. Looking at older maps I found out that there was also a moon bear enclosure there. Other maps mentioned leopard so that entire area may be a carnivore row.




If this is the enclosure between deer and the pelican aviary then this should be the aardvark enclosure. I believe it held southern hairy nosed wombats before then. Himeji city is the only place that kept this species in Japan’s zoo history.

These examples, along with the porcupine enclosure, could answer your question @jwer

The cheap entry price is something that haunts almost every municipal zoo in Japan. I assume that town halls and zoo management are scared of public backlash from the general public. This is tragic because I remember hearing in this site that Bernhard Grzimek said that a zoo ticket shouldn’t be more expensive than a movie ticket. Yet zoo tickets are dwarfed by movie tickets in terms of price.

Another problem this zoo faces is that the buildings there are protected as a heritage site. Perhaps Japanese users could explain the situation far better from me, but the zoo cannot go through huge renovations due to its close proximity to the Himeji Castle.

All that makes sense, but sounds absolutely shocking. Those species in those tiny exhibits would have been barbaric.
I understand about the heritage limitations, and really I don’t think too much needs changing with the exhibits. They just need smaller, more suitable species in them, and to be fitted out with better vegetation and enrichment.

 

[captain alligator]

Himeji City Zoo once kept gorillas, but personally, I don't think this zoo is suited for keeping great apes.
https://x.com/hyper_leopard/status/1779419940065603829

 

[akasha]

Himeji City Zoo Species List

The sign pointing towards Himeji City Zoo boasts ‘about 100 kinds of animals’, I made a complete list of what I saw to see if that was true. (I ended up with 79 species, but with 3 unseen and a few unidentified, the correct number would be in the 80’s.)

These are all the species I personally saw on 28.10.2025, along with the number of individuals I counted for most species. Three species were signed and likely there, but I didn’t see them, so I’ve listed those at the bottom and not included them in my counts.

Mammals (27):

Red Kangaroo (4)
Southern Tamandua (3)
Bolivian Squirrel Monkey (3)
Brown Capuchin (5)
Ring-tailed Lemur (4)
Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur (5)
Domestic Rabbit (2)
Domestic Guinea Pig
Capybara (1)
Crested Porcupine (1)
Red Panda (1)
Japanese Badger (1)
South American Sea Lion (2)
Ezo Brown Bear (1)
Japanese Raccoon Dog (1)
Red Fox (3)
Caracal (1)
African Lion (2)
Meerkat (6)
Plains Zebra (1) (Grant’s)
Common Hippopotamus (1)
Domestic Goat (9)
Domestic Sheep (1)
Sika Deer (2)
Giraffe (2)
Miniature Pig (4)
Arabian Camel (1)

Birds (42):

Ostrich (2)
Helmeted Guineafowl (8)
Green Peafowl (1)
Indian Peafowl (2)
Silver Pheasant (2)
Red Junglefowl (3)
Domestic Chicken (13)
Himalayan Monal (3)
Green Pheasant (2)
Temminck’s Tragopan (1)
Ruddy Shelduck (2)
Mandarin Duck (17)
Eastern Spot-billed Duck (16)
Domestic Duck (10)
Common Shelduck (1)
Green-winged Teal (1)
Common Pochard (1)
Magellanic Penguin (9)
Black Kite (3)
Honey Buzzard (1)
Steppe Eagle (1)
Harris’s Hawk (6)
Peregrine Falcon (1)
Great Horned Owl (1)
Ural Owl (4)
Collared Scops-owl (3)
Great White Pelican (1)
Black-tailed Gull (4)
Sacred Ibis (1)
Black-crowned Night-heron (1)
Little Egret (1)
Red-crowned Crane (2)
Chilean Flamingo (26)
Southern Ground Hornbill (1)
Domestic Pigeon (1)
Japanese Green Pigeon (1)
Golden-naped Amazon (1)
Cockatiel (1)
Goffin’s Cockatoo (1)
Galah (2)
Salmon-crested Cockatoo (1)
Blue-and-yellow Macaw (2)
Red-and-green Macaw (2)

Reptiles (9):

Reeve’s Pond Turtle (5)
Japanese Pond Turtle (3)
Chinese Pond Turtle (1)
Leopard Tortoise (4)
Red-footed Tortoise (1)
Aldabra Giant Tortoise (1)
Ball Python (1)
Corn snake (2)
Nile Monitor (1)
(Unidentified tortoise)

Fish (1):

Goldfish (4)

Invertebrates:

(Various unidentified water snails)

Total Species: 79

Signed But Not Seen:

Southern Three-banded Armadillo
Japanese Marten
Golden Pheasant