Asahiyama Zoo
A hillside zoo with thirty animal houses, from penguins to polar bears.
piggybackjapan.com
Asahiyama Zoo
SaveA hillside zoo with thirty animal houses, from penguins to polar bears.
When enough snow has fallen, the penguins are walked out through the zoo.
How was it with your kids?
Not greatGreat
- ElevatorElevator：not checked
- Stroller OKStroller friendly：with conditionsconditions
- RentalStroller rental：with conditionsconditions
- NursingNursing space：with conditionsconditions
- ChangingDiaper changing table：with conditionsconditions
- Diaper binDiaper disposal bin：not checked
- Family WCFamily restroom：with conditionsconditions
- Kids' toiletKids' toilet seat & step stool：not checked
- Own foodOutside food allowed：with conditionsconditions
- EnglishEnglish support：with conditionsconditions
Green = we confirmed it. Grey = not checked yet. Grey with a line through = the place does not have it.
evidence & sources (10)
- Official: Stroller friendly, Stroller rental, Nursing space
- Official: Stroller friendly, Outside food allowed, Indoor / outdoor
- Official: main site
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.
| 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. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | city.asahikawa.hokkaido.jpcity.asahikawa.hokkaido.jp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stroller rental | Yes | Free, 70 strollers across the gates, first come first served, summer opening season only. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | city.asahikawa.hokkaido.jp |
| 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. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | city.asahikawa.hokkaido.jp |
| 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. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | city.asahikawa.hokkaido.jp |
| 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. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | city.asahikawa.hokkaido.jp |
| 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. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | city.asahikawa.hokkaido.jpcity.asahikawa.hokkaido.jp |
| 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. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | city.asahikawa.hokkaido.jp |
| 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. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | city.asahikawa.hokkaido.jpcity.asahikawa.hokkaido.jp |
| 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 supportExtra info — guide only | 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. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | city.asahikawa.hokkaido.jp |
| Official family-friendly certificationExtra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Best-fit ages (guide)Extra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Quietness (guide)Extra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Crowding (guide)Extra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Stroller access notesExtra info — guide only | 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. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | city.asahikawa.hokkaido.jpcity.asahikawa.hokkaido.jp |
Worth a look before you go
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
Asahiyama Zoo with a 5- and 7-year-old: half a day timed around the feedings
A 5- and 7-year-old, 12:45 to 16:30 from the east gate, strung together by feedings at 14:00, 14:30, 15:15 and 15:45.
family-journey.net2026
Japanese · opens translatedOfficial
Shops and places to eat
Places to eat are spread out: a cafe by the main gate, the canteen upstairs in the seal house, FarmZoo by the west gate.
city.asahikawa.hokkaido.jp2026
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
How long we actually stayed at Asahiyama Zoo with kids, and where we slept
Three visits with an 8- and a 1-year-old; heat cut one to 90 minutes. Pick three exhibits and hire a stroller there.
coco-affi.com2025
Japanese · opens translatedGuide
Asahiyama Zoo with children: a Hokkaido family-travel guide, 2026
Winter opening 10:30; the penguin walk usually at 11:00 and 14:30. Bus 41 or 42 from Asahikawa station takes 40 min.
hokkaido-travel-kids.com2026
Asahiyama Zoo · Links & reads ▾
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Basics
- 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.■
- Time needed：180 min
- Booking：Tickets can be bought in advance at convenience stores or online. They work exactly like a ticket bought at the window - you skip the queue and go straight to the gate - but they do not reserve a time slot, and they cannot be cancelled, changed or refunded.■Official booking site ↗
Not checked yet (6)
Child switch (rider swap), Steps & slope caution, Official family-friendly certification, Best-fit ages (guide), Quietness (guide), Crowding (guide)