For anyone who likes birds, plants and animals but isn’t into the whole dirty and bug-infested wilderness thing, there are a variety of places in Japan where you can take in “nature” without lathering up in DEET.

If you’re in Kobe, a great option is Kobe Animal Kingdom. It was created by Japanese botanist and collector Kamo Mototeru, who is known for having created several bird and flower theme parks.

However, the business was sold a few years ago to a larger company that has improved the attraction a great deal by making the enclosures more like the natural habitats of the animals.

Animals You’ll Find

Located on Port Island within a 16,000-square-meter greenhouse, the park offers a surprisingly-wide assortment of exotic birds, flowers, and plants, many of which you are able to experience up-close, even touching or feeding them in some cases.

Some of the most notable animals include:

  • Meerkats
  • Capybaras
  • Patagonian mara
  • An assortment of owls, including Northern white-faced owls
  • Two-toed sloths
  • Southern tamanduas
  • Aldabra giant tortoises

Not willing to relegate themselves to the unusual and interesting, Kobe Animal Kingdom also has a large collection of the more pedestrian house pet types of animals, such as American short hair cats and pekinese dogs.

This place may not have it all, but it has a lot.

Experiences and Events

Beyond seeing the animals in their enclosures, you’ll have the chance to learn more about them by seeing them in action through some of the free events. There are performances to watch birds soar, dogs carry out tricks, and a flock of pelicans taking off over a pond together. There are also various talks about animals including otters, red pandas, ring-tailed lemurs, and pygmy hippopotamuses.

Guide to the Areas

Kobe Animal Kingdom is split into the Inside Park and the Outside Park.

The Inside Park has some of the more exotic animals. This includes Wild Night Animals, an exhibit that reverses day and night to allow you to see nocturnal animals while they’re active. It’s dimly lit to resemble a forest at night. There’s also an Asian forest with endangered binturongs and a Pallas’s cat as well as a Sumatran tiger ecological garden. In addition, it’s here where you’ll find some of the flora of the park, including the Flower Shower glasshouse and water lily pond.

Some highlights of the Outside Park include the chance to feed treats to alpacas or sheep and ride a camel or horse. Plus, there’s Aqua Valley, which has most of the water-dwelling animals of the park, including the South American fur seal and Cape penguins.

How to Reach the Park

To get to the park via public transport, head to Kobe Sannomiya station, which has connections with Osaka, Umeda, Himeji, and Shin-Kobe. From there, it’s just 14 minutes on the port liner to Keisan Kagaku Center Station, which is right outside Kobe Animal Kingdom.

Since around 70% of the park is indoors, this an all-weather attraction. While it may not be large enough to be worthwhile spending an entire day here, it is located near to a variety of Kobe’s other most famous attractions, making it a good option to include in a day out.

Address: 7-1-9, Minatojima Minamimachi, Chuo Ward, Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture 650-0047 (map link)

Hours: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (closed Thursdays)
Telephone: 078-302-8899
Website: http://www.kobe-oukoku.com

Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons