Maruyama Zoo
Maruyama Zoo
4
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
About
An amusement park and penguin pool make this zoo a popular spot for children.
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
779 reviews
Excellent
251
Very good
379
Average
117
Poor
12
Terrible
20
Emmapotato
5 contributions
Jan 2020 • Solo
This is the most depressing place ive been too and i would like to credit the animals, especially the birdlife, for not committing suicide. Built by people who dont value animals as having intrinsic rights.
I shudder at the thought of there being tinier zoos in Japan.
I shudder at the thought of there being tinier zoos in Japan.
Written 2 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Donna G
1 contribution
May 2023
Deplorable conditions for some of the animals make this one of the most depressing places I’ve ever seen. How it isn’t illegal to treat animals this way is unbelievable. The hippos are jammed into an indoor pen and separated from one another. One stood with his head in the corner, his mate lay on the other side of the barrier, completely despondent. If there was something I could do, I certainly would…
Written 5 May 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nick
San Francisco, CA4 contributions
Mar 2023 • Couples
Depressing. Absolutely depressing. The tropical monkey exhibits looked like prison cells with cockroaches crawling throughout. Two of the three polar bears exhibited zoochosis, pacing back and forth nonstop (the third was asleep). The pool water was dirty with small plastic debris floating everywhere. The elephants looked sad, occupying a small indoor enclosure with no stimuli. Only a few of the animal enclosures simulated their natural environment.
Written 19 March 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Quang Kiet Le
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam1,079 contributions
Apr 2023 • Couples
Took us 10 minutes on foot from the subway station. The zoo was small but well maintained. We enjoyed walking around and seeing the animals encountering their living environments. The red panda, polar bear, giraffe were among our most favourable ones. Staff could speak the basic English.
Written 18 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Phi Somchai
Bangkok, Thailand3,738 contributions
Jul 2023 • Family
The zoo is very spacious and well maintained. It was very pleasant to stroll around here. You will need 2 hours to go around and see everything.
You will see some rare winter animals like the amur tiger, red panda, snow leopard, polar bear and wolf.
We enjoyed our visit here very much and highly recommend this place.
You will see some rare winter animals like the amur tiger, red panda, snow leopard, polar bear and wolf.
We enjoyed our visit here very much and highly recommend this place.
Written 9 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sahil J
Jersey City, NJ3 contributions
Jun 2015 • Family
Hi ,
I recently visited this zoo with my family and 3 year old niece. There was lot of hype all over the news in Sapporo and ads regarding the baby polar bear at the zoo, so wanted to check it out. I will say that everyone in my family was disappointed with the zoo visit , including my 3 yr old niece. Japan - Sapporo is very clean and green city and zoo is also located right next to the mountain , so I assumed it will be great experience. The animals are living in poor conditions, the cages stink badly. There was section in zoo which had monkey's and hyena's, next to the giraffe. All monkeys and hyena's were suffering from some skin issues, you can see from the skin conditions and hair falling apart, they were looking bald. Any animal owners can easily know that this is not normal and they need to checked up immediately. Most attention is given to the polar bear and his mother as they are the center of attraction, while rest of animals seemed ignored. The wolves also seemed unhappy and had their hair falling off and grown uneven...even my 3 year niece was asking us why the animals are bald ?
If you visit Japan then you will see that the people there have lot of fascination with animal cartoon characters, 8 out of 10 people you will see carrying some sort of teddy bear of cats , dogs , bear etc with them, no matter what age they are...but alas they seemed to love only cartoons and not carrying the real animals.
Hope the zoo authorities can read my review and do something for the animals.
I recently visited this zoo with my family and 3 year old niece. There was lot of hype all over the news in Sapporo and ads regarding the baby polar bear at the zoo, so wanted to check it out. I will say that everyone in my family was disappointed with the zoo visit , including my 3 yr old niece. Japan - Sapporo is very clean and green city and zoo is also located right next to the mountain , so I assumed it will be great experience. The animals are living in poor conditions, the cages stink badly. There was section in zoo which had monkey's and hyena's, next to the giraffe. All monkeys and hyena's were suffering from some skin issues, you can see from the skin conditions and hair falling apart, they were looking bald. Any animal owners can easily know that this is not normal and they need to checked up immediately. Most attention is given to the polar bear and his mother as they are the center of attraction, while rest of animals seemed ignored. The wolves also seemed unhappy and had their hair falling off and grown uneven...even my 3 year niece was asking us why the animals are bald ?
If you visit Japan then you will see that the people there have lot of fascination with animal cartoon characters, 8 out of 10 people you will see carrying some sort of teddy bear of cats , dogs , bear etc with them, no matter what age they are...but alas they seemed to love only cartoons and not carrying the real animals.
Hope the zoo authorities can read my review and do something for the animals.
Written 8 June 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MB4652324
Niseko-cho, Japan3 contributions
Apr 2014 • Friends
They have the tiniest cages, and the worst conditions. Especially coming from Australia and knowing how our native animals are supposed to live, seeing Kangaroos in cages was truly upsetting.
We also saw big animals such as lions, gorillas, bears, and hippos pacing their cage - as if they were extremely agitated.
The ONLY good thing was that we saw different animals that wed'd never seen before (bears and wolves) BUT would still not recommend this zoo to anyone.
We also saw big animals such as lions, gorillas, bears, and hippos pacing their cage - as if they were extremely agitated.
The ONLY good thing was that we saw different animals that wed'd never seen before (bears and wolves) BUT would still not recommend this zoo to anyone.
Written 8 April 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Michelle
Japan212 contributions
May 2015 • Friends
The zoo is a pretty sad place for the animals. All the enclosures are much too small and cramp, and the animals dont appear to be too healthy. For instance, the lions and leopards are kept in tiny cages and animals like the raccoons had bald patches on their fur. Maintenance is very poor and the enclosures dont look clean at all. I went into some area by the side of the zoo and realised to my horror that it is probably where they keep some of the animals indoors at night. It is just terrible because it is even smaller than their already tiny outdoor enclosures. I will recommend not visiting this zoo as it really is rather heartbreaking to see the state these animals are kept in.
Written 4 August 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
bullerboy21
Melbourne, Australia16 contributions
Nov 2015 • Solo
Being an animal lover myself, please give the zoo a miss. Coming from Australia as a contrast point, the animals are not treated well with their habitats consisting more of concrete than a natural habitat. Treatment of animals seems poor and none of them look happy, contented or even healthy. Please do not encourage the zoo and give it a miss.
Written 18 December 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gail P
2 contributions
Apr 2015 • Family
We visited this Zoo with our two children (5 + 7). The Zoo is quite small and run down. Each exhibit is too small for the animals that that live there. There are many indoor enclosures but they smell so bad that we left before our third breath. The Giraffe was stuck in a tiny pen inside a dpressing brick building. The whole experience made me feel terrible.
Written 22 April 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sammy
Jakarta, Indonesia
Is there a locker in the zoo to put luggages? How big are the lockers?
Written 18 December 2019
I couldn't remember seeing luggage lockers, but they have a very good customer service center, to your right upon entry. I'm sure they will be hospitable enough to keep your luggage during your visit.
If you want to be 100% sure, try giving them a call at local number 011-621-1426 found on website.
If you are going by train, I wouldn't advise walking with your luggage, because it is a 15-20 minutes walk up a little slope. If you are travelling by car right to the entrance, then it will be alright.
Written 29 December 2019
What are the attraction will be available during 2nd week of march? Planing to visit either Maruyama or Asahikawa Zoo
Written 28 May 2018
Both zoos have a variety of animals, polar bears being the main attraction at Sapporo Zoo with a glass tunnel which visitors walk through and the bears, plus seals (not in the same tank) swim overhead. in Asahiyama Zoo the seals swim up, or down, glass tubes. However, Sapporo Zoo will be opening their African wildlife area soon, cannot ait to see what exhibits will be there and how they have catered for the animals needs. If you get the chance visit both zoos. If you purchase a yearly pass for one zoo (only a few yen more than a daily pass) you get a discount at the other zoo. As we were staying in Sapporo we purchased a yearly pass for Maruyama Zoo.
Written 13 June 2018
Asahikawa Zoo is small but it is famous for action exhibition.
Maruyama zoo is much larger.
There are many kinds of animals and many events are held.
It is also nice to go by subway from the center of Sapporo.
Written 25 January 2018
How do we go to this zoo from Sapporo station? The website is in Jap language.
Is it easy assessible from train station?
Written 17 August 2017
The way we went was to follow the signs from the train station up to the bus station (the signs are in English/have the universal bus symbol). It's a bit confusing because you're essentially navigating a mall, but there are maps around to help. Once you're at the bus station you'll see which stop to wait at for the bus that goes to the Zoo (when we were there they had a pretty obvious ad for the Zoo in partial English attached to the proper bus line's posted schedule). Go to the correct stop and wait for the right bus number. If you're not sure about the bus number just wait for the Zoo express, which is covered in Zoo advertising.
When we went I believe the fare each way was 210 yen per adult. Get on at the middle door, take a numbered ticket, and hold onto it. When you exit you'll insert this ticket into the machine next to the driver and drop in your fare. Be sure to have exact change.
Alternately, just take a taxi. It's not as expensive as you might think. We took one from the Zoo to the Sapporo Beer Museum (about 2 km farther than from the Station to the Zoo) and paid less than 3000 yen for three passengers in the middle of the day.
Enjoy the Zoo!
Written 17 August 2017
Is park wheelchair accessible? Can one borrow/hire wheelchair from the park?
Written 16 July 2017
Not quiet sure either they provided or not. As far as I've known,Japanese facilities are quiet excellent here, even in Hokkaido area. Maruyama zoo has friendly facilities (toilets and elevator/walk-ways for wheelchair) , no need to worry for handicaps person want to pays a visit sometime.
Written 29 July 2017
Adults: 600 yen
Children: free
Groups (over 30 people): 540 yen
Season Pass: 1000 yen
Written 25 May 2017
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