--- name: "Asahiyama Zoo" lat: 43.75967 lng: 142.486755 official_url: "https://www.city.asahikawa.hokkaido.jp/asahiyamazoo/" last_verified: "2026-08-14" --- # Asahiyama Zoo Asahikawa runs this zoo, which marked its 59th anniversary in 2026. Thirty exhibit houses are set into a hillside: penguins, seals, polar bears, giraffes and hippos among them. Wolves, Ezo deer and Ezo brown bears fill several more. Livestock and pets can be handled at two Children's Farms; the exhibit animals cannot be touched or fed. Keepers give talks at times posted on boards by each gate. A free shuttle runs every ten minutes between the East Gate and the Spider Monkey and Capybara House. - Area: hokkaido_asahikawa - Type: sightseeing - Average stay: 180 min - Hours: Open every day except 30 December to 1 January, apart from two changeover closures for maintenance: about three weeks in April and about a week in early November. Opening and closing times change through the year - check the official 'today's hours' before you go. - Last verified: 2026-08-14 ## Family facts (value + conditions + source + verified date) | Feature | Value | Conditions | Verified | Source | |---|---|---|---|---| | Stroller friendly | Yes | Strollers are lent free at every gate - 70 in total - first come, first served, no reservations. Lending runs only during the summer opening season, and stops when the weather or the path conditions make it unsafe. The zoo stands on a hillside. | 2026-08-14 (web) | [source](https://www.city.asahikawa.hokkaido.jp/asahiyamazoo/generalinformation/d053773.html) | | Stroller rental | Yes | Free, 70 strollers across the gates, first come first served, summer opening season only. | 2026-08-14 (web) | [source](https://www.city.asahikawa.hokkaido.jp/asahiyamazoo/generalinformation/d053773.html) | | Nursing space | Yes (4) | Four nursing rooms. Inside the Main Gate shop: a tatami room with a sink, running water, a curtain and heating. Beside FOOD BASE CAFE TOTORI: a water server, a baby bed, sofa and table, heated and cooled. In the free rest house by the Seal House: two private rooms with a changing table, electric kettle, microwave and sofas. In the Yasuragi-no-mori rest house: sofas, two baby beds, a sink and a water heater. | 2026-08-14 (web) | [source](https://www.city.asahikawa.hokkaido.jp/asahiyamazoo/generalinformation/d053773.html) | | Diaper changing table | Yes | A changing table is in the nursing room inside the free rest house beside the Seal House. Two other nursing rooms have baby beds. | 2026-08-14 (web) | [source](https://www.city.asahikawa.hokkaido.jp/asahiyamazoo/generalinformation/d053773.html) | | Family restroom | Yes | Toilets are at 13 places, and unless noted otherwise each has a multi-purpose cubicle and step-free access; the multi-purpose ones take ostomate fittings. The exceptions are outside the Main Gate, in front of the West Gate ticket barrier (a bio-toilet only) and inside the Animal Reference Hall, which is not step-free either. | 2026-08-14 (web) | [source](https://www.city.asahikawa.hokkaido.jp/asahiyamazoo/generalinformation/d053773.html) | | Outside food allowed | Yes | You can eat what you bring in the rest houses and outdoors. The rest houses are shared - you cannot claim or reserve a spot. There are seven indoor rest houses, a lawn in front of the outdoor stage and an arbour near the Giraffe and Hippo houses, plus five shops and eateries in the zoo and more inside the East Gate building. | 2026-08-14 (web) | [source](https://www.city.asahikawa.hokkaido.jp/asahiyamazoo/generalinformation/d075901.html) | | English support | English menu & signs | The zoo map comes in English, simplified and traditional Chinese, Korean and Thai. Scanning the QR or AR markers on the signs brings up explanations and audio in other languages, and the AReader app narrates each animal house. The website switches to English, Chinese, Korean and Russian. | 2026-08-14 (web) | [source](https://www.city.asahikawa.hokkaido.jp/asahiyamazoo/generalinformation/d053773.html) | | Indoor / outdoor | Indoor & outdoor | The zoo stands on a hillside, with indoor animal houses such as the Penguin, Seal and Polar Bear houses along an outdoor route, plus seven indoor rest houses. | 2026-08-14 (web) | [source](https://www.city.asahikawa.hokkaido.jp/asahiyamazoo/generalinformation/d053773.html) | | Diaper disposal bin | Not checked yet | | | | | Kids' toilet seat & step stool | Not checked yet | | | | | Elevator | Not checked yet | | | | | Child switch (rider swap) | Not checked yet | | | | | Steps & slope caution | Not checked yet | | | | | Lost-child support | Yes | Visitor Information handles lost property and lost children, and doubles as the first-aid room for injuries and illness, with a nurse on duty. | 2026-08-14 (web) | [source](https://www.city.asahikawa.hokkaido.jp/asahiyamazoo/generalinformation/d053773.html) | | Official family-friendly certification | Not checked yet | | | | | Best-fit ages (guide) | Not checked yet | | | | | Quietness (guide) | Not checked yet | | | | | Crowding (guide) | Not checked yet | | | | | Stroller access notes | Yes | Wheelchairs are lent free at every gate - 24, four of them power-assisted - along with three electric carts, one per gate, and 800 umbrellas. Wheelchair and cart hire runs only in the summer opening season and stops in bad weather. Priority parking is at the East and Main gates. Coin lockers are at all three gates, Y400-500, with cashless payment at the Main Gate. A free shuttle bus runs between the East Gate and the Spider Monkey & Capybara House about every ten minutes all year. Re-entry is not allowed, and pets cannot come in - assistance dogs can. | 2026-08-14 (web) | [source](https://www.city.asahikawa.hokkaido.jp/asahiyamazoo/generalinformation/d053773.html) |