Izu Shaboten Zoo

I’ve been to this zoo before, and one of the highlights was getting to see the capybaras taking a bath. We also had the chance to feed them, which was a fun and memorable experience. The zoo is a bit out of the way, but you can buy food there and feed many of the animals, making the trip well worth it. I came back to experience it again, but I wouldn’t recommend visiting during the summer. The heat makes the animal smells much stronger, which can be quite unpleasant. Visiting during a cooler season would make the experience far more enjoyable.

If you like capybara‘s, this is the place to go. I’ve been to a capybara Café before but this zoo cannot compare. You get to feed the capybara. You get to touch them. There’s like 40 of them if not more and even the other animals in the other part of the zoo is worth the visit. It is super unique and really really cool experience. You have a lot of rabbits and other animals that you’re also get to pet and feed. You can also go up Mount Otoru nearby and walk around there. This area is really lovely and it is worth a visit.

If you love capybaras, Izu Shaboten Zoo is the place to go. Seeing the capybaras in winter, quietly soaking in their yuzu baths, was such a simple joy. The zoo has a very laid back, open feel, making it easy to wander around and enjoy the animals at your own pace. On top of that, there was a fantastic view of Mount Fuji from the zoo, which made the whole experience feel even more special.

Zoos in Japan can apparently be notoriously bad in terms on animal welfare standards. This one was good in some ways/parts, bad in others. It is quite a large zoo, with many different areas, and glasshouses for lots of different plants. It seems that thought and care has gone into making some of the outdoor enclosures feel natural and enriching for the animals. Places like the walkthrough enclosures and free roaming animals (the bird paradise, the wallabies, farm animals, around the lake, the peacocks) were mostly good as it was the people that were kept to a small portion, not the animals, who had sufficient space to do their own thing. Although the kangaroos seemed perhaps drugged (eyes closed) to make them docile around humans which isn't good if so. The capybara onsen was great, and it was nice to feed the capybara in other parts of the park, although the keepers were prodding them around unnecessarily. But this zoo just had too many animals to house and care for them all sufficiently. The largest animals (giraffes, tapirs?) didnt really have enough space. In particular the animals kept in small indoor tanks/enclosures seemed stressed and unhappy. I'm not sure if they were indoors just for the winter cold weather (some of the outdoor animals seemed a bit chilly) or at all times of year. The fact that visitors can feed them seems with some animals be a bad idea because the animals with not much else to do then end up unnaturally begging for food from all visitors, and its quite sad (binturong, cloud rats). In particular the indoor-only primates seemed unhappy (marmosets, lemurs in cage). I'm not sure if perhaps they were being kept indoors because they were ill and needed monitoring or if this was where they spent all their time. The zoo should reduce the number of animals, rehoming some of those who don't have enough space or things to do (particularly the mammals- monkeys, kangaroos, large animals like giraffes and tapirs), giving more space to others and focus on the ones that are more suited to the areas and to being in a captivity (amphibians, reptiles, birds, farm animals, very chill animals like capybara ).

If you’ve just ridden the Mt. Omuro cable car (the tram that takes you to the top of the grassy volcano), turn around and walk literally across the road — that’s where you’ll find Izu Shaboten Zoo. It’s the perfect laid-back half-day activity after the view from the summit. This isn’t one of those massive, exhausting zoos. It’s compact, shady, and genuinely cozy. On the weekday I visited, it felt almost private — hardly any crowds, just the sound of gravel underfoot and the occasional peacock screech. Of course, the undisputed stars are the capybaras. They have a huge outdoor area with a hot-spring bath (yes, the capybaras actually soak in an onsen in winter — adorable doesn’t even begin to cover it). Even in summer they’re ridiculously chill, lounging in the water or munching grass while visitors watch in quiet awe. Other highlights: • Free-roaming peacocks that follow you around like they own the place (one decided to walk with me for a solid ten minutes — best escort ever). • A fantastic walk-through bird zone where flamingos, sacred ibis, ducks, geese, and spoonbills wander right past your feet. No cages, just a big netted area — you really feel like you’ve stepped into their world. • Classic zoo lineup done well: cheeky otters, wallabies, antelopes, donkeys, turkeys, parrots, even a few lazy sloths hanging in the greenhouse section. My only tiny disappointment was that the shoebill wasn’t on display the day I went (apparently he sometimes takes “days off” inside). Next time! Everything feels lovingly maintained, the paths are easy, there are plenty of benches in the shade, and the whole vibe is relaxed and happy. Combine it with the cable car and the cactus greenhouse (the “shaboten” part of the name) next door, and you’ve got yourself a perfect easygoing afternoon on the Izu Plateau.

Pro: super cool, free roaming peacocks, capybara, and other cute critters. They have a ton of different animals, reptiles, birds, ect… it’s a really deep, extensive zoo, more than I thought it was gonna be. I would plan a whole day for this place. Cons: quite the hike to get to the front gate.

A small zoo, but you can get very close to the animals. We managed to feed the capybara and even watch them relaxing in the onsen. It is easy to walk around, and parking is very convenient. Highly recommended for kids.

Prolly best zoo I have been in Japan 🥹 Really fun to walk around most of the open enclosures and being able to feed most of the animals too, only con is probably the car drive to the zoo damn scary cause it’s in the mountains and the roads very narrow and squeezy. But worth it!

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.