Ueno Zoo
Japan's first zoo, with about 300 species spread over two gardens.
piggybackjapan.com
Ueno Zoo
SaveJapan's first zoo, with about 300 species spread over two gardens.
Woodland is planted around the animals, and elephants bathe just beyond the glass.
MoreWhat kind of place
Japan's first zoo opened here on March 20, 1882, as an annex to the museum of the day.
Roughly 300 species and 3,000 animals live across two gardens: the East Garden on the wooded hill of Ueno Park, and the West Garden along the north shore of Shinobazu Pond, where lotus covers the water.
Shoebills have a reputation for never moving, and four of them live here — you can tell them apart by the color and number of the rings on their right leg.
With kidsThe part that matters
In the Elephant Forest, your child can stand right at the glass and watch an elephant use its trunk to drink and to bathe.
The zoo is split into two gardens, so take the big animals first on the wooded hill of the East Garden and finish at the children's zoo in the West Garden, where the farm animals are there for small children to get close to.
Strollers rent for 500 yen a day at the gates, lockers will take your own, and you can eat a packed lunch on the roofed terrace by Shinobazu Pond without going back out through the gate.
One thing worth saying at home first: the pandas have gone, and Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei left for China in January 2026.
A morning can be enough — one parent with two kids went in at the 9:30 a.m. opening and was out again by 11:10.
Sources and evidence (5)
- Tokyo's own survey: 28 changing tables, 14 wheelchair toilets, elevators at the Small Animal House and Isoppu Bridgesource
- A weekly regular: animals are fed right at opening, the wisteria rest area was redone in 2025, buses fill 10 min early.source
- Four places to eat: Saruyama Kitchen, the West rest house, Bird Song, Cafe Chameleon. It jams 11:30-13:00, so eat at 11.source
- Summer drains you even midweek. The Isoppu Bridge climb hurts; you recover at the shaded cooling spots with shaved ice.source
- A Saturday after the pandas left: 15C high, in at 9:30 and out by 11:10, Saruyama Kitchen already full at 10:30.source
By age0-1 / 2-3 / 4-6
- Ages 0-1In the forest where the elephants live, an Asian elephant drinks and bathes with its long trunk on the other side of the glass, close enough to take in from your arms. The Hashibiro Cart, a five-seat electric cart that loops the West Garden in about 4 minutes, keeps its 12:30-13:30 run for families with children from age 0 through junior high; children 0 to 2 ride held by a guardian, and it is free.There are three nursing rooms, each with a nursing chair, hot water for formula, and a baby bed. How far a man may go in differs by room: at the Saruyama Kitchen in the East Garden and at Benten Gate in the West Garden he can use everything except the women-only space, while the one inside the West Garden rest house is open to him only when no women are using it. In front of the East Garden information center there is also a mamaro, a small outdoor nursing booth, but it has no hot water. Baby beds for diaper changes are in restrooms around the park and inside the nursing rooms, though some men's restrooms do not have one. Strollers rent for 500 yen a day, a reclining type B for children from about 7 months, at three places: in front of the East Garden Main Gate, in front of the West Garden Benten Gate, and beside Ikenohata Gate, which lends only on weekends and holidays.
- Ages 2-3At Futaba Farm inside the children's zoo Step in the West Garden there are native Japanese horses and other farm animals, plus alpacas, goats, rabbits, guinea pigs, striped skunks and emus. Step Hall runs programs for watching small animals up close, with displays and hands-on programs matched to the child's age. In the forest where the gorillas and tigers live, in the East Garden, you can watch a young western lowland gorilla growing up inside its troop.On the Hashibiro Cart, children count toward the party from age 3, four people per group. Children 0 to 2 ride held by a guardian, one child per guardian and up to two per group. Riding needs a numbered ticket, and for the 12:30-13:30 for Kids run, web applications open at 11:30 the same day, first come first served. The rental strollers are meant for children up to about 4 years and 18 kg. You may bring a packed lunch and eat it at the Saruyama Kitchen in the East Garden, the West Garden rest house, or the roofed Shinobazu Pond Terrace. There is one children's toilet, inside the children's zoo in the West Garden.
- Ages 4-6In Panda Forest in the West Garden, tracks, claw marks and droppings turn up right after you go in, and you hunt for them as the path climbs through hilly ground. In the forest where the gorillas and tigers live, following the footprints that lead out of the Sumatran tiger yard brings you to an animal hiding in the thicket. There are four shoebills, the birds known for not moving, and you can tell them apart one by one by the color and number of rings on the right leg and by the pattern and size of the bill; the zoo's own Shoebill Lab page explains how.There are no giant pandas at the moment; the two that lived here left for China in January 2026. Panda Forest keeps no giant panda either, so you walk it looking at the Sichuan red panda and the pheasants that share their range, the Temminck's tragopan, silver pheasant and golden pheasant. The regular Hashibiro Cart runs 13:30-15:30 and is open to anyone; numbered tickets go online at 12:30 that day, first come first served. Admission is free for elementary school age and under. The zoo is large and split into an East and a West Garden: one parent with two children went in at the 9:30 opening and left at 11:10, about 100 minutes, on a Saturday in January 2026.
By weatherRain, heat, cold
- Rainy dayThe East Garden sits on the densely wooded hillside of Ueno Park and the West Garden lies north of Shinobazu Pond, so the highlights — the elephant forest, the bear hill — are spread outdoors. Of the three places you may eat a packed lunch, the one described as roofed is the Shinobazu Pond Terrace.
- Hot dayNot checked yet
- Cold dayNot checked yet
Time needed1.5 h
How was it with your kids?
Not greatGreat
Family checks✓ easy for your family
- ElevatorElevator：not checked
- Stroller OKStroller friendly：with conditionsconditions
- RentalStroller rental：yes
- NursingNursing space：with conditionsconditions
- ChangingDiaper changing table：with conditionsconditions
- Family WCFamily restroom：not checked
- Kids' toiletKids' toilet seat & step stool：with conditionsconditions
- Own foodOutside food allowed：with conditionsconditions
- EnglishEnglish support：not checked
Tap a mark for details
Green = we confirmed it. Gray = not checked yet. Gray with a line through = the place does not have it.
Worth a look before you go
Official
Tokyo's own survey: 28 changing tables, 14 wheelchair toilets, elevators at the Small Animal House and Isoppu Bridge
Barrier Free Information on Ueno Zoo | Tokyo for Everyone
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
A weekly regular: animals are fed right at opening, the wisteria rest area was redone in 2025, buses fill 10 min early.
Ueno Zoo with small children (1): how to make the day comfortable
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
Four places to eat: Saruyama Kitchen, the West rest house, Bird Song, Cafe Chameleon. It jams 11:30-13:00, so eat at 11.
Lunch at Ueno Zoo with kids: the restaurants, bringing your own, and dodging the crowds
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
Summer drains you even midweek. The Isoppu Bridge climb hurts; you recover at the shaded cooling spots with shaved ice.
Ueno Zoo in the blazing heat, and the summer kit you need
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
A Saturday after the pandas left: 15C high, in at 9:30 and out by 11:10, Saruyama Kitchen already full at 10:30.
Winter at Ueno Zoo with the kids: how cold, how crowded
Ueno Zoo · Links & reads ▾
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Where to go next
With a toddler (2–3)
- Ueno ParkCity parkStroller friendlyNursing spaceDiaper changing table5 min walkOne of Japan's first public parks, with the zoo and museums inside its grounds.
- National Museum of Nature and ScienceScience museumStroller friendlyNursing spaceDiaper changing table5 min walkA national museum shown at full size — dinosaur skeletons, a life-size blue whale.
- Tokyo National MuseumNational museumStroller friendlyNursing spaceDiaper changing table5 min walkJapan's oldest museum, six buildings on one site, showing almost only real objects.
- Ameyoko Shopping StreetMarket streetStroller friendlyDiaper changing table10 min walkA market street of some 400 shops packed into 500 meters between two stations.
- ASOBono!Indoor playgroundStroller friendlyNursing spaceDiaper changing table2.1 kmAn indoor playground at Tokyo Dome City, its ball pool filled with some 40,000 balls.
- Asakusa Imahan Kokusai Street Head RestaurantSukiyaki & shabu-shabuStroller friendlyElevator1.9 kmA sukiyaki and shabu-shabu house in Asakusa since 1895, serving only female black wagyu.
With a baby (0–1)
- Ueno Seiyoken HontenWestern restaurantNursing spaceDiaper changing tableElevator5 min walkWestern food in a corner of Ueno Park, from a restaurant founded in 1872.
- ASOBono!Indoor playgroundStroller friendlyNursing spaceDiaper changing table2.1 kmAn indoor playground at Tokyo Dome City, its ball pool filled with some 40,000 balls.
- Asakusa Imahan Kokusai Street Head RestaurantSukiyaki & shabu-shabuStroller friendlyElevator1.9 kmA sukiyaki and shabu-shabu house in Asakusa since 1895, serving only female black wagyu.
With preschoolers (4–6)
- Senso-jiTempleStroller friendlyDiaper changing tableElevator2.3 kmTokyo's oldest temple, approached through a stone-paved shopping street from the great gate.
- Asakusa HanayashikiAmusement parkNursing spaceDiaper changing tableElevator2.1 kmA small amusement park, a flower garden in 1853, that calls itself Japan's oldest.
- Ameyoko Shopping StreetMarket streetStroller friendlyDiaper changing table10 min walkA market street of some 400 shops packed into 500 meters between two stations.
For a meal
- Ueno Seiyoken HontenWestern restaurantNursing spaceDiaper changing tableElevator5 min walkWestern food in a corner of Ueno Park, from a restaurant founded in 1872.
- Asakusa Imahan Kokusai Street Head RestaurantSukiyaki & shabu-shabuStroller friendlyElevator1.9 kmA sukiyaki and shabu-shabu house in Asakusa since 1895, serving only female black wagyu.
For sights
- National Museum of Nature and ScienceScience museumStroller friendlyNursing spaceDiaper changing table5 min walkA national museum shown at full size — dinosaur skeletons, a life-size blue whale.
- Tokyo National MuseumNational museumStroller friendlyNursing spaceDiaper changing table5 min walkJapan's oldest museum, six buildings on one site, showing almost only real objects.
- Senso-jiTempleStroller friendlyDiaper changing tableElevator2.3 kmTokyo's oldest temple, approached through a stone-paved shopping street from the great gate.
For play
- Ueno ParkCity parkStroller friendlyNursing spaceDiaper changing table5 min walkOne of Japan's first public parks, with the zoo and museums inside its grounds.
- ASOBono!Indoor playgroundStroller friendlyNursing spaceDiaper changing table2.1 kmAn indoor playground at Tokyo Dome City, its ball pool filled with some 40,000 balls.
- Asakusa HanayashikiAmusement parkNursing spaceDiaper changing tableElevator2.1 kmA small amusement park, a flower garden in 1853, that calls itself Japan's oldest.
Piggyback Japan guides
- One Day in Ueno with Small Children
Four places inside one park — the zoo, the science museum, the park itself and the market street. What closes on Mondays, where to change a diaper, and what the pandas situation is now.
Where it is
Before you go
- There are no giant pandas at Ueno Zoo at the moment, and the zoo's own panda page says so up front.source
- Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei arrived on the morning of January 28, 2026, about 17 hours after leaving Ueno, and went into the quarantine building at the Ya'an base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda.source
More notes (10)
- The Panda Forest in the West Garden is modeled on the high-mountain forest in China where wild giant pandas live. Just inside the entrance there are tracks, claw marks, and droppings to find, and the path climbs and dips past Sichuan red pandas and pheasants from the same mountains: Temminck's tragopan, silver pheasant, and golden pheasant. No giant pandas are kept there now.source
- The zoo opened on March 20, 1882 as an annex to the museum of the time, the first zoo in Japan.source
- About 3,000 animals from some 300 species live here, in the middle of the city but under old trees. The East Garden sits on the wooded hill of Ueno Park and holds the gorilla and tiger forest, the elephant forest, the bear hill, and the polar bear and seal pools. The West Garden, on the north side of lotus-filled Shinobazu Pond, has giraffes, hippos, rhinos, shoebills, and aye-ayes, along with the small mammal house, the amphibian and reptile house, and the children's zoo, which is mostly farm animals.source
- Shoebills have a reputation for standing still, and there are four here, one male and three females. You can tell them apart by the color and number of the rings on the right leg, and by the markings and size of the bill. The zoo's own shoebill page explains how.source
- The elephant forest is planted thickly, like a forest in Southeast Asia. Asian elephants need a lot of water, so the pool is deep enough for one to lie down and be covered completely, and the glass is close enough to watch an elephant use its trunk to drink or bathe. The ground is mostly bare dirt, so they can dust-bathe as much as they like.source
- The gorilla and tiger forest recreates the habitat around the enclosures, not just the enclosures themselves. The zoo has spent years helping its western lowland gorillas form the kind of troop they would form in the wild, and they have bred again and again, so you can watch young gorillas growing up inside the group.source
- Follow the tracks that lead away from the Sumatran tiger's yard and you find the tiger itself, tucked into the brush. The white-handed gibbon enclosure is built tall, for an animal that spends its life in the branches.source
- The children's zoo (Step) began in 1948 as the first place in Japan where children could be with animals, and it took its present shape in 2017. The name points to a small child's first meeting with an animal, and a first step into learning about nature. Its farm section (Futaba Farm) keeps native Japanese horses and other livestock, along with alpacas, goats, rabbits, guinea pigs, a striped skunk, and emus.source
- Step is split into four parts: Futaba Farm, Step Hall, the bird house, and the small animal house. Step Hall runs programs for looking at small animals up close. The zoo says it is carrying on the 1948 idea of a place where children can be near animals, with exhibits and programs matched to different ages.source
- The electric cart (Hashibiro Cart) seats five and drives itself, taking about four minutes to loop the West Garden and the Panda Forest, and it costs nothing beyond admission. You need a numbered ticket, applied for online on the day itself and given out first come, first served — from 11:30 a.m. for the family-only run, from 12:30 p.m. for the regular run. A group can be up to four people, counted from age 3; children of elementary school age and under ride with a guardian of 16 or over, and children under 3 ride on an adult's lap, one per adult and two per group. The family-only run itself is 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. and is limited to groups with a child from newborn through junior high age; the 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. run is open to anyone.source
Basics
- Fee：¥600 (high school & up) · free through 6th grade · junior-high ¥200 (free for Tokyo residents/students with ID) · 65+ ¥300source
- Hours：9:30-17:00 (entry until 16:00); closed Mon (next day if holiday — some Mondays open) & Dec 29-Jan 1. Hours can change: check the official calendarsource
- Time to allow：1.5 hsource
- Booking：Date-specified online admission tickets available (online payment)sourceOfficial booking site ↗
- Note: giant pandas are no longer kept here (they moved to China in January 2026)source
Basics in detail (4)
other
- Note that there are no giant pandas right now, as they went to China in January 2026.source
- Open 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., last entry 4:00 p.m. Closed Mondays — or the next day, when a public holiday falls on a Monday — and closed December 29 through January 1, though some Mondays are open. Dates shift, so check the official calendar.source
- Admission is 600 yen for high school age and up, 300 yen for age 65 and over, and 200 yen for junior high students, though junior high students who live or go to school in Tokyo get in free by showing proof. Elementary school age and under is free.source
- Dated tickets can be bought and paid for online.source
Once you've decided
evidence & sources (6)
- Official: Stroller friendly, Stroller rental, Nursing space
- Official: Outside food allowed
- Official: main site
Japan's first zoo occupies two gardens of Ueno Park, the East on a wooded hill and the West beside Shinobazu Pond. Elephants have woodland planted around them and a pond deep enough to lie down in. Visitors watch them drink and bathe through glass. Gorillas raise their young in a family group. Paw prints on the path lead to the tiger's thicket, where it can stay hidden. Four shoebills in the West Garden are famous for not moving.
| Stroller friendly | Yes | Rentals ¥500/day (reclining B-type, 7 months-4 yrs / to ~18kg) at 3 gates: East Main Gate, West Benten Gate, Ikenohata Gate (weekends/holidays only). Large lockers for strollers available | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | tokyo-zoo.net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stroller rental | Yes | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | tokyo-zoo.net | |
| Nursing space | Yes (3) | Three rooms — nursing chair, hot water for formula, baby beds. Men's access differs by room: Saruyama Kitchen (East) & Benten Gate (West) allow men outside the women-only space; the West rest-house room admits men only when no women are using it. An outdoor 'mamaro' pod by the East info center is also listed (no hot water) | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | tokyo-zoo.net |
| Diaper changing table | Yes | Baby beds in restrooms across the zoo and inside nursing spaces (some men's restrooms don't have one) | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | tokyo-zoo.net |
| Kids' toilet seat & step stool | Yes | One location: inside the Children's Zoo (West Garden) | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | tokyo-zoo.net |
| Outside food allowed | Yes | Bento welcome — covered seating at Saruyama Kitchen (East), the West Garden rest house, and the terrace by Shinobazu Pond | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | tokyo-zoo.net |
| Elevator | Not checked yet | ||||
| English support | Not checked yet |
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