Izu Shaboten Zoo 伊豆シャボテン動物公園

The zoo is located east of the Izu Peninsula. It is a pleasant stopover with the family or for animal lovers if you are crisscrossing the peninsula by car. It is also accessible by public transport from Tokyo, in less than 3 hrs.

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The zoo is particularly renowned for its cacti ( shaboten in Japanese) and some of the animal species it hosts. On more than 20 hectares, young and old can discover many plants and animals from the four corners of the globe. Visitors can find 140 species of animals in the zoo section and 1,500 varieties of cacti and succulents distributed in 5 large greenhouses. The park is designed on the theme of Mexico, and giant statues of Native American inspiration punctuate the visit.

See also: The famous Ueno Zoo.

A wide variety of animals

At the Izu Shaboten Zoo, the curious can discover many monkeys (chimpanzees, squirrel monkeys, spider monkeys), kangaroos, and species native to the African continent, such as meerkats, lemurs, fennecs, marabou storks, and Cape penguins.

South America is not to be outdone either with brand representatives: first the cabiai, the park's mascots, without forgetting the llamas, the tapirs, the sloths, the peccaries, and many others. The course allows you to observe many exotic birds such as the elegant pink flamingos, magnificent macaws, black swans, or even bicorn hornbills. Otters, turtles, ponies, porcupines, peacocks... the list goes on as the zoo residents are numerous and varied!

To read: The five most beautiful aquariums in Japan.

Finally, for the kawaii touch so appreciated by the Japanese, animal shows (dogs, monkeys, parrots, etc.) are held at fixed times three times a day in the auditorium.

To give you a good idea of the variety of animals and activities in the park, here is the short presentation video concocted by the zoo: