Tokyo November 2025

[Wanderer]

I will be in Japan for a short time this November. It's not the best season for zoos but I'm thinking of doing a couple in the Tokyo area while I'm here. I'm looking for advice on what is best in this season.

I'm thinking of doing 1 aquarium and then maybe Zoorasia or Ueno. I'll be based in Shinagawa but I'm not sure I really want to do the Maxell Aqua Park.

I'm also open to meeting up for a zoo visit.

 

[biggest_dreamer]

I know Zoorasia typically puts their proboscis monkeys (and maybe doucs?) away for the colder months, but I don’t think that starts until at least December? Probably worth double checking in case those are important species for you.

 

[Wanderer]

I know Zoorasia typically puts their proboscis monkeys (and maybe doucs?) away for the colder months, but I don’t think that starts until at least December? Probably worth double checking in case those are important species for you.

Thanks for the info, as they are one of the main reasons I would choose Zoorasia over Ueno.

 

[Yoshistar888]

If you can only do one aquarium in the Tokyo area I highly recommend that be Tokyo Sealife Park. Has some of the coolest rarities including deepwater species, Antarctic species and an awesome display of Pacific Bluefin Tuna.

 

[Wanderer]

I just found out there is apparently a really cool small private museum just near the Saitama Children's Zoo, with a work of art known as the "Hiroshima panels". Too bad it will be closed for renovation at the time of my visit.

 

[Wanderer]

If you can only do one aquarium in the Tokyo area I highly recommend that be Tokyo Sealife Park. Has some of the coolest rarities including deepwater species, Antarctic species and an awesome display of Pacific Bluefin Tuna.

I have a soft spot for marine mammals so right now I'm thinking more between Sunshine Aquarium (more fun) or Sumida Aquarium (more aesthetically pleasing).

 

[Chlidonias]

I have a soft spot for marine mammals so right now I'm thinking more between Sunshine Aquarium (more fun) or Sumida Aquarium (more aesthetically pleasing).

Neither are places you should go if you "have a soft spot for marine mammals". They are housed very poorly in both Aquariums.

 

[DaLilFishie]

Neither are places you should go if you "have a soft spot for marine mammals". They are housed very poorly in both Aquariums.

Agreed, and neither have an outstanding collection of mammals either - Sumida only has South American Fur Seals, and Sunshine has South American Sea Lions, Baikal Seals and Asian Short-clawed Otter.

I'd personally recommend Tokyo Sea Life Park, but be aware it has no mammals on display at all.

 

[Wanderer]

I went to the Sunshine Aquarium today. I quite enjoyed it, though it is actually pretty similar to other city aquariums I have visited in Europe.

The outdoor area was the part I liked most. It felt very calming after the agitation of the city. I counted 6 sea lions. There were 2 elderly otaria females and a young California sea lion in the show (which is simply a commented training session and features no information whatsoever about sea lions as a whole), and 3 California sea lions in the exhibit (a male in the overhead ring, and a mother and her pup in the area with only a small shallow pool). The male was a bit too big for the ring, it would work better with females. I also worry about the holding conditions of the ones that are in the show...

The indoor area is nothing special and is actually quite small. I really liked the weedy sea dragons which I had never seen before. As has already been said on here before, the pair of Baikal seals lives in a very small tank with no natural light. Interestingly, the fake ice in the middle of the water appears to be a floating structure, you can see it moving slightly at times.

I would say that a good third of the visitors were non-Japanese. But it was a weekday so not really a time for locals to go to the aquarium. I bought two hats, one with a frog logo and one with a flying penguin.

 

[Wanderer]

Today I visited the Maxell Aqua Park.

It was a strange experience. I had a vague feeling of disgust throughout the whole thing. The best way I can describe it is that it is a "pretentious" aquarium: it looks really nice but in a way that is kind of bad taste, like when someone looks good but it feels like they are putting way too much effort into their looks. It also felt weirdly empty.

It is located in a high-end hotel+shopping mall complex in the middle of an area of bland office buildings. Truly a horrible area in my opinion.

The dolphin stadium was the best part for me. It is a technical prowess (it is shaped like a circus, with a central circular pool with glass walls on every side), and it is amazing to be able to see dolphins here in the middle of a big city. The music is constant and gets quite loud during the show.

There are 3 pacific white-sided dolphins, 3 bottlenose dolphins, and a false killer whale. All are female. It was the first time since childhood that I could really observe dolphins for a long time.

There weren't really many visitors and the stadium was pretty empty during the show (the circular shape means that there are a lot of seats, which doesn't help with the empty feeling). This time there weren't a lot of foreigners and also not a lot of children. On the other hand there were a lot of people on their own (who probably had time to kill just like me) and a few couples on dates.

Overall not a good experience for me. It's impressive but it doesn't have any warmth to it and even made me slightly angry. I much prefer the Sunshine Aquarium.

 

[Wanderer]

Today I went to the Ishikawa zoo (the public zoo of the Ishikawa prefecture).

I happen to know a family that lives in the town of Nomi where the zoo is located. I decided to pay them a visit and go see the crested ibis on the same occasion (it is the only facility in Japan where this species is on display). They were amused by my interest for the bird but happily agreed to accompany me to the zoo.

It was not long before closing time and also I didn't feel like unleashing my zoo-nerdiness upon them so we basically speedran through the whole zoo just to see the ibis.

It is a simple but pretty and really well-tended zoo (especially beautiful with the autumn foliages). The visitor path forms a circle around a pond in the middle of the zoo grounds.

The ibis are usually kept in pairs, one in the exhibit (トキ里山館) and the other two in a breeding center which isn't open to visitors. But during my visit only one individual was on display (we were told that its offspring had recently been sent away for release).

The ibis aviary is large and nicely done. It replicates the "satoyama" habitat (mountain landscape impacted by human activity) and features a heavy slope. There are lots educational signage.

My understanding is that all the ibis that are born at the zoo are sent away for release (on the island of Sadogashima).

There is also a rock ptarmigan exhibit but we didn't stop there.

Another unusual species is the Baikal seal. They are kept indoors in a small building near the sea lion exhibit. Their exhibit is not large, but it felt luxurious after the small, artificially lit tank at the Sunshine Aquarium. I counted 3 individuals.

Overall a really enjoyable moment although very brief.

This concludes my short trip to Japan. I didn't get to do all the things that I had planned but I'm still quite happy about what I was able to achieve. It was also the first time I went there while fully understanding the language and being able to communicate, which is a whole different experience.