Osaka Tennoji Zoo

Before you go

• Which gate you use matters with a stroller: the zoo slopes down from Tenshiba Gate on the east, facing the Tenshiba lawn of Tennoji Park, toward Shinsekai Gate on the west, with a long slope just inside Tenshiba Gate, so enter there and roll downhill. Past that slope the paths are paved, wide and mostly step-free, though some spots are steep and some paths feel narrow when crowded; the official barrier-free route map shows how to join its route from either gate. Rental strollers, limited in number, cost ¥500 at Tenshiba Gate and one more point (the website and the map place it differently), and must be returned when you leave, even to re-enter; the elephant-shaped stroller (¥700), popular with children, is lent on the Shinsekai Gate side according to the website (in 2021, only there; the current map marks no rental point at that gate), may be suspended on busy days, and is too big for some buildings.
• Tenshiba Gate is a 5–10 minute walk from Tennoji Station (Osaka Metro, JR) or Osaka-Abenobashi Station (Kintetsu), and Shinsekai Gate from Dobutsuen-mae or Ebisucho (Osaka Metro) or Shin-Imamiya (JR, Nankai); the elevator routes take 10–15 minutes and are shown station by station, with photos, on the official website. With a stroller, exit the station by Dobutsuen-mae's East Gate, Shin-Imamiya's JR Tsutenkaku (East) Exit or Nankai North Exit, Tennoji's Midosuji Line West Gate, Tanimachi Line North or South Gate, or JR Central Gate, or Osaka-Abenobashi's West Gate; Ebisucho has no elevator on the side of its nearest exit (South Gate), and around Tennoji Station elevators are hard to find and very crowded, especially on weekends and holidays. The zoo has no parking and no drop-off in front, so drivers use the Tennoji Park underground lot (490 spaces) or the Chausuyama entrance lot (70); in 2021 it had no bicycle parking either.
• Admission rose on July 1, 2026, to ¥800 for adults (an older article still says ¥500); elementary and junior-high students from outside Osaka City, which includes visiting children, pay ¥200, and preschoolers are free. No booking is needed: same-day tickets are sold at both gate windows, which take cards, transit IC cards and QR payments such as Alipay and WeChat Pay, but on weekends and holidays the zoo recommends a web ticket from Asoview to skip the window line (valid one month, no cancellation). Showing a same-day or online Tsutenkaku ticket cuts admission to ¥720 for adults and ¥180 for students, and to re-enter, tell the gate window before you leave.
• The zoo is open 9:30–17:00 (last entry 16:00) and closes on Mondays (the next day if Monday is a holiday) and December 29–January 1; in October 2026 it is closed on the 5th, 13th, 19th and 26th. On Night ZOO days, October 10, 11, 17, 18, 24 and 25 in 2026, it stays open until 20:00 (last entry 19:30) at the usual price with no sign-up. Some animals cannot be seen late in the afternoon (the zoo's page says after 15:00 in one place and after 4 o'clock in another), so come early. In 2025, parts of the zoo were under renewal work, and one day in May 2025 a sign at the gate said the elephants and tigers were away, which disappointed a 2-year-old, so if one animal is the reason for your visit, know that it may be away on the day.
• Feeding and snack times last 5–10 minutes at set times on set weekdays and do not run on public holidays (for example, penguins Tuesday and Wednesday 10:00, hippos Wednesday and Friday 14:00, Amur tigers Sunday 13:30); the gates post the schedule. Sheep and goat viewing runs daily 11:00–11:15 and 14:30–14:45 for about 15 people a session, and guinea pig viewing 13:30–13:50 and 15:00–15:20 for about 20; the sheep and goat sessions may be canceled for animal health or weather. For feeding the sheep and goats, lines form at the set time, so get a numbered ticket early; one family arrived after the sheep corner had already ended.
• The zoo map shows four nursing rooms: by the circular plaza just inside Shinsekai Gate, beside TENNOJI ZOO MUSEUM, by the Friendship Garden near Tenshiba Gate, and beside Ifar, the reptile house (a sofa there doubles for diaper changes). Near Shinsekai Gate, the room in the FooZoo food court has hot water for formula but is small, while the Shinsekai Gate room has none, so bring hot water; it seats two families at once on benches, and in 2022 had no lock or partitions (a nursing cape helps). For privacy, the Friendship Garden has a private room. Rooms can have a wait when busy. Changing tables are in each nursing room and many restrooms (some older ones lack them), with a diaper bin in each nursing room; the map marks 8 multipurpose (accessible) restrooms, and kids' toilet seats are near the multipurpose plaza and between the hippo house and Ifar.
• Bringing food is easy: packed lunches are allowed, with many seats and tables, but the kids' plates lean on fried food with almost nothing a 1-year-old can eat, so for a child around 1, packing their meal is the safer choice. The FooZoo food court just inside Shinsekai Gate is not large, and one parent guessed it could get crowded on weekends; a restaurant just inside Shinsekai Gate serves a kids' lunch with fried shrimp and hamburger steak, which one 2-year-old nearly finished. Bring a water bottle to refill free just inside Shinsekai Gate, and leave balls, balloons, bubbles and alcohol at home; picnic sheets are fine, and tents too if they need no pegs or ropes (separate rules set the tent type and where it can go). Coin lockers are just inside both gates on the left, bags too big for them can be left for a fee at a stroller rental point (the website and the map place it differently), and umbrellas are lent free at both gates when it rains.