According to some articles on the web, Zoorasia is one of Japan's best kept zoos, but I didn't know this prior to going there. The main reason we went to that zoo was to see the Okapi (オカピ), a zebra-like animal that's actually related to giraffes. Whenever we mention zoos and animals to some Japanese we know who lives in Yokohama, they always ask if we've seen the Okapi in Zoorasia. So we went there one Saturday afternoon, just to see what the fuss is all about.
The zoo isn't near any train station, but it's still convenient to go there. We got off at Nakayama station (中山駅) of the JR Yokohama Line (JR横浜線), and took a bus from bus stop 1 that goes until Zoorasia. Nakayama station is also the terminus of the Yokohama Municipal Subway Green Line (横浜市営地下鉄グリーンライン). The bus ride from the station to the zoo costs 210円, and takes around 20 minutes.
Admission tickets cost 600円 each for adults, and are available in the ticket vending machine near the main gate. There was no English map at the gates, but the staff noticed us and gave us two copies. The zoo is open from 9:30 to 16:30, though some animals may not be available 30 minutes before closing time.
As we checked the map, the Okapi was near the end of the route, which is kinda fitting. The zoo was divided into different regions. Except for the big bird cages, I didn't feel like I was in a zoo. The feeling was like in a typical Japanese park, but with exotic animals around.
The zoo was really huge, or maybe I'm just not used to a big one like this because I don't like zoos that much. But it was really clean. Restrooms are all around, yet they blend with the setting. Garbage segregation is normal in Japan, but there, they have additional bins for pet bottle caps. There were also some restaurants, and one was Freshness Burger.
We entered the zoo at around 13:30, and by 16:00, we're at the Okapi area. From all the animals, only the Okapi had a queue, even though it barely showed itself. Fortunately, when it was our turn, it walked a little, so we were able to take some pictures. For those who were not so lucky, there was another Okapi in the "barn" seen through the glass window. There were also Okapi skulls, fact sheets and posters, yet I still didn't get it why that animal was such a huge thing in that zoo.
There were just a couple of animals after the Okapi, including the Chimpanzee, which was also one of the more popular animals there, and towards the exit, there was a big playground not just for kids. We left the zoo around 17:00 and took the bus back to Nakayama station.
Links:
Zoorasia Homepage
Freshness Burger
As we checked the map, the Okapi was near the end of the route, which is kinda fitting. The zoo was divided into different regions. Except for the big bird cages, I didn't feel like I was in a zoo. The feeling was like in a typical Japanese park, but with exotic animals around.
Links:
Zoorasia Homepage
Freshness Burger
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