Izu Shaboten Zoo

As an avid animal lover, this zoo was perfect for me! You get hands-on with so many wonderful animals and birds. To be able to feed and pet almost all the animals, there was so much fun. There are no large animals here. The largest was either the Chimps or the Lamas, but so many cute and small little monkeys, lemurs, birds, goats, cappabarras, rabbits, and foxes.

Interesting “feeding” zoo where you can feed many animals and the main attraction is definitely the capybaras. In the greenhouses, you can find an array of cacti. you can also design and build your own cacti. I find that some enclosures for some animals and birds are just way too small, such as those for the owls and the binturong. There were live wriggly feed for otters and some other animals as well. You can get a slight discount if you visit Mt Omuro on the same day.

One of the most interactive animal experiences I have done in Japan. Not only can you pet and feed numerous types of animals but the wide open layout of the zoo is a refreshing sight compared to seeing many animals enclosed.

I visited this place as a little detour, expecting a small petting zoo with famous capybaras. This place is an abomination. Animals don't have food in their cages, most of their water bowls (if there are any) are completely empty on a hot and stuffy day. Animals are all apathetic, but run to the feeding spots as soon as they see visitors simply because they are starved and hope for a few treats (and look the part). In petting zoo areas barn owls are locked in an empty dog cage, a random hen is sat on the floor next to the sink, in enclosed kids area meerkats are separated from one another (for highly social animals it's the highest form of torture), one running up and down tiny cage unable to eat because of its long claws. It dropped food to the bottom of the cage it couldn't even reach. There were wild rats running around apathetic animals. As I was leaving, a peacock wandered out and far down the busy road leading from the parking. I went back to say the peacock has wandered off, but they said oh, as long as it's owned by the zoo it's okay.

Quite a sizeable zoo with many different areas and animals. The charm of the zoo is that they don’t have any large animals, but they showcase a lot of other medium and smaller sized animals that are just as interesting. The capybara onsen bath only occurs during the winter months and is definitely one of the highlights of the zoo. For most of the exhibits, they also allow you to purchase food so that you can feed the animals yourself. You could definitely spend a few hours here strolling through all the exhibits.

They have Capybera onsen everyday during the winter. Be sure to check the official website for the schedule. It's only between 1:30-2:30 PM for weekdays when we went. There was a big crowd that died down after 20 minutes. Plenty of other cute animals to see but be aware the zoo chains up all the owls so not the best treatments like most Asian zoos. From Ito station, taxi cost about 4000-5000 yen while bus is 880 yen per person.

Because they are not ferocious beasts, most animals can run around and interact with people. For 200 yen, you can buy a small amount of food to feed. Reserve minimum 2 hours if you like enjoying all spots.

Highly recommend this zoo for everyone!!! All the animals and plants are so cute. You can feed the animals, some of them will let you pet them. I love cactus plants , the mini cactus farm and the Hinamatsuri cactus are beautiful.

The Izu Shaboten Zoo is simply a huge delight to visit. The size of the zoo is massive with a ton of various sights and exhibits. One of their main attractions is their capybara onsen show. Watching the hot springs fill up with water and the capybaras slowly walk into the bath is simply a joy to watch. That being said, this is certainly not the only fun to have at the zoo as the other exhibits and areas are just as great. For example, there's a bunch of green houses with a wide variety of cacti and other plants, a bird area where there is no boundary between the visitors and the animals, and a ton of interactive exhibits where the animals can be pet and/or fed.

After a morning seeing the Capybaras in the Izu Shaboten Zoo soak in their onsen, seeing the huge variety of other animals, walking through the cactus greenhouses, and shopping for capybara souvenirs, Forest Animal Restaurant was the perfect place for a lunch break. The restaurant was themed after animals in the zoo and even featured huge stuffed versions sitting at every table! To eat, we had the Teriyaki Burger, which was built on the most adorable capybara-shaped bun, along with lettuce, tomato, and cheese. Another animal-shaped dish was the Omurice, made of ketchup-flavored rice wrapped in an omelet, topped with a scoop of potato salad, and served with broccoli, sausage, and a corn and cheese croquette. The omurice was made to look like a duck and came with a savory demiglace sauce on the side. Finally, we had the Taco Rice, which wasn't shaped like an animal, but came with ground beef, cheese, crushed tortilla chips, greens, cherry tomatoes, and salsa, all on a bed of white rice. The dish was also served with a bottle of hot sauce, which was incredibly spicy and flavorful. Overall, while the food here wasn't culinarily all that special, the theme of the restaurant made for a great experience to coincide with a visit to the zoo!

This was one of my favorite places that I visited in Japan! I specifically came here for the capybaras, which have specific showing times twice a day for one hour each showing. Even though it was for a short time, it was definitely worth it, especially since this was my first time seeing a Capybara! They also had many other animals, including animal enclosures that people could go inside, which I was not expecting. The bird and kangaroo enclosures were open for people to walk around freely, which was super cool and fun! In the kangaroo enclosure, people should be careful not to get too close to the kangaroos though in case they might kick you. Surprisingly also, the ramen was delicious! I usually don't expect food at zoos to be particularly tasty, but this was probably the best food I had ever eaten at a zoo. Service was in Japanese at the time of my visit on March 29th. Definitely visit this place if you plan to go to Japan!

My favorite animal park near Ito city. Some animals such as peacocks, monkeys are walking around the park. Compared to other zoos in Japan, you have much chance of watching animals nearby.