Saitama Childrens Zoo (Tokyo, Japan): (12 March 2025)
The Saitama Childrens Zoo doesn't get a lot of mention on Zoochat. It only has a single dedicated thread, no species lists, and recommendations for zoos to visit in the Tokyo area tend to throw it in there as a low option well down after Ueno and Tama. However I found it to be far superior to both those zoos.
The site is very large and well-forested so it is pleasant to walk around, and almost all the enclosures are somewhere between good and excellent. Even the domestic animals (the ponies, cows, goats, rabbits, etc) have large yards instead of little stalls. The worst enclosures are some of the aviaries which are quite small (think backyard aviary size) and the reptile tanks are also too small but that is standard for zoos. In contrast, Ueno is packed full of very poor, even downright atrocious, enclosures, as is Tama (although to a lesser extent than Ueno).
The main downside for Zoochatters is that there are few native Japanese species here, and not many large mammals (Giraffe, Sika, and Serow are basically it). However amongst the small mammals they do have a lot of interesting species - Quokka, Amami Spiny Rat, Chacoan Mara, Plains Viscacha, Yellow-spotted Rock Hyrax, and more.
Japanese Serow enclosure
Pudu enclosure
Domestic Rabbit area
Pony yard
Part of a huge walk-through Humboldt Penguin enclosure
Rhinoceros Hornbill aviary
The small mammal house, divided between diurnal and nocturnal sections, is far better than any of the similar houses I saw in other Japanese zoos (although the Sand Cat enclosures are too small for me), with the living spaces well-furnished and even have leaf litter on the ground (most of these houses just have plain logs and concrete, and look very unpleasant).
The Australian area is also very good. There is a large Koala house with an adjoining "aviary"-style outside enclosure which looks like it was surely meant to be for Koalas but instead houses Yellow-footed Rock Wallabies, Tamandua, Linne's Sloths, and Radiated Tortoises. Nearby is a walk-through Bennett's Wallaby and Capybara enclosure. The walk-through kangaroo enclosure is also very large, and has a side-enclosure (also walk-through) for the Quokkas, and a separate house which presumably will be for displaying Australian reptiles but was still under construction (or maybe renovation) on my visit. The only poor parts here are several aviaries which are too small. The Kookaburra aviaries in particular are the worst enclosures in the zoo, which I think speaks for how good the zoo is overall.
Koala House
Kangaroo walk-through
Australian aviaries
Kookaburra aviary
The Saitama Childrens Zoo doesn't get a lot of mention on Zoochat. It only has a single dedicated thread, no species lists, and recommendations for zoos to visit in the Tokyo area tend to throw it in there as a low option well down after Ueno and Tama. However I found it to be far superior to both those zoos.
The site is very large and well-forested so it is pleasant to walk around, and almost all the enclosures are somewhere between good and excellent. Even the domestic animals (the ponies, cows, goats, rabbits, etc) have large yards instead of little stalls. The worst enclosures are some of the aviaries which are quite small (think backyard aviary size) and the reptile tanks are also too small but that is standard for zoos. In contrast, Ueno is packed full of very poor, even downright atrocious, enclosures, as is Tama (although to a lesser extent than Ueno).
The main downside for Zoochatters is that there are few native Japanese species here, and not many large mammals (Giraffe, Sika, and Serow are basically it). However amongst the small mammals they do have a lot of interesting species - Quokka, Amami Spiny Rat, Chacoan Mara, Plains Viscacha, Yellow-spotted Rock Hyrax, and more.
Japanese Serow enclosure
Pudu enclosure
Domestic Rabbit area
Pony yard
Part of a huge walk-through Humboldt Penguin enclosure
Rhinoceros Hornbill aviary
The small mammal house, divided between diurnal and nocturnal sections, is far better than any of the similar houses I saw in other Japanese zoos (although the Sand Cat enclosures are too small for me), with the living spaces well-furnished and even have leaf litter on the ground (most of these houses just have plain logs and concrete, and look very unpleasant).
The Australian area is also very good. There is a large Koala house with an adjoining "aviary"-style outside enclosure which looks like it was surely meant to be for Koalas but instead houses Yellow-footed Rock Wallabies, Tamandua, Linne's Sloths, and Radiated Tortoises. Nearby is a walk-through Bennett's Wallaby and Capybara enclosure. The walk-through kangaroo enclosure is also very large, and has a side-enclosure (also walk-through) for the Quokkas, and a separate house which presumably will be for displaying Australian reptiles but was still under construction (or maybe renovation) on my visit. The only poor parts here are several aviaries which are too small. The Kookaburra aviaries in particular are the worst enclosures in the zoo, which I think speaks for how good the zoo is overall.
Koala House
Kangaroo walk-through
Australian aviaries
Kookaburra aviary
