Sapporo City Maruyama Zoo

**AMERICAN FAMILY VISITING**
Visited back in the Summer 2023. Arrived first thing in the morning just prior to opening. The zoo looks small at first but once you get in, it's spread out. The animals are well cared for and the staff seemed friendly.

At at the 'coke' restaurant where I grabbed some curry. It was hot and delicious with fair pricing. Staff was friendly. Not much English should be needed minus when buying tickets which was really simple.

We visited specifically for the Red Pandas which were lazying about outside on our arrival. There is an indoor area where it looks like the red pandas can venture into while people are around but that wasn't happening while we were there.

Great visit, and an easy trip by bus or taxi. The zoo is an uphill walk if you don't go all the way to the top via vehicle but there is a lovely mountain forest with a temple and lovely little creek that leads up to it. (The mountain is a great visit too!)

**Aussie** I came here during Japan's winter, so my experience may differ to everyone else's.
I loved it. Was cool to see animals that aren't a kangaroo or a koala. My two nieces loved it too, so definitely a great place to bring kids - especially if they're being rascals and wolves are hungry.

The animals look well fed and taken care of, the viewing experience is really quite unique, you can view some animals from underneath the water in a glass tunnel, there are many restaurants and gifts shop inside, the bears were the best experience in there.

I was pleasantly surprised by our visit here. The variety of animals is impressive as is the size of the complex. Give yourself a few hours to explore and it’s best to go in the middle of the week as very few people are present. It’s definitely one of the better zoos in Japan and elsewhere.

Been here for the animals such as polar bear and penguins. Unfortunately the polar bear was not available due to its health conditions. But we are very fortunate to have experience the magical winter surroundings such as high snow and warm weather. Very recommended to check here on winter even though the animal exhibit is not much.

Sapporo Maruyama Zoo officially opened in 1951 with its origin stemming from hosting a travelling zoo for the "Ueno Zoo". While hosting the travelling zoo, it received such a overwhelmingly good response from the residence that the City of Sapporo decided to open a zoo itself.[2] The theme and the overarching philosophy of the Maruyama Zoo was to create habitats that mimic the natural environments that the animals originate from. Therefore, the exhibits host a variety of different habitats for various different animals with themes that correspond to their natural habitat. Throughout the decades the Zoo has opened new exhibits, notably the Wakuwaku Asia Zone that opened in 2012, and the Polar Bear Pavilion that opened in 2018; with the Polar bear Pavilion being the largest polar bear exhibit in Japan.

Sapporo City Maruyama Zoo is a well-designed zoo located next to Maruyama Park. The zoo is home to a variety of animals, including rare winter animals such as the red panda, snow leopard, polar bear, and wolf. The environment is clean and family-friendly, making it an ideal place to spend a weekend with your family. The zoo's cages may not look large, but the animals seem to be treated well. It also has different types of restaurants located in different areas of the zoo for people to get food.

Overall, Sapporo City Maruyama Zoo is a great place to visit for those who enjoy meeting the animals.

The zoo was a delightful place to visit. We spent half a day seeing the animals in close proximity. Well designed spaces and creative nooks, but nonetheless, we felt some creatures aren't really meant to be caged up. Nonethelesss, groovy to see the wolves, bears, and the highlight was, of course, the polar bears!

Great experience there, but the closure dates were not updated in google. Do check out their website before heading down.

We always love visiting zoos and this was definitely a fun experience with lots of snow! There was indoor exhibitions to keep warm and some snack stops along the way. We spent about 3 hours at the zoo and was able to see most of the park within that time period to include snack breaks!

Worth a Couple of Hours.

Visited the zoo in winter. This is a zoo that has quite a few key animals. Elephants, Giraffes, some giant birds (and wild crows that tried to steal their food ! - you can imagine how noisy the place became). The ones that made an impact for me were the wolves and the bear. Both came up really close to the glass and were very active. One can see how big a bear really is.

easy to access this location as a lot of vehile passby. mostly has baby size animals such as small red panda & small pinguin. This zoo not too spacious so wont feel tired to explored.

Whilst you do feel for some of the animals, this zoo was worth every yen of the 800 paid and more.
You can get really close to the animals (esp the bears) which greatly enhanced the viewing experience.

Visited in Feb 2023

Small but very nice zoo! Some interesting animals and only 800yen. Good value for 3-4 hours outings. The animals are shy and will not look at you. Would come again

Visited the zoo in winter. Seeing animals that I don't normally see was fun. I was curious if the zoo participates in conservation efforts and I was glad to see that they do. The red panda and the polar bear were my favorites.

It was much more than I thought.
It was snowing , freezing cold and windy . Thought my kids will not like my half day plan going to this zoo. BUT it was total fun visit.
Kids wanted to stay for more.
Winter time special indoor cages were the best.
Underwater observing window were awesome. Underwater aquarium was awesome. Carrying zoom lenses would be the best for photography lovers.
It was Friday ( weekday ) and bad weather ( it matters may be).Not much people around .
Big zoo boundary as well parking lots ample.
Polar bear was the famous one out there.
Very playful mood it was that day. Lucky us.
Highly recommended.
Note : check the pic for the entry fees.
Parking I paid 700¥ for half day.

Not a lot of animals to see in winter but a good experience nonetheless

As it was winter, the zoo was not crowded. All the tropical animals were indoors. Am very impressed by the cleanliness of the zoo surroundings and animal enclosure, well taken care by the zoo staff. Nice easy and enjoyable walking in the crisp cool air.

Going there during winter for my son, he have a blast there despite most of the warm weather animal are kept inside the building (which is quite cool to see, makes it a bit different from most zoo we went during summer or spring). Food is good, people are friendly and the zoo is clean.

Great zoo! I specially love polar bear, wolf, hippo, alligator swimming zones. I admit that some cages are small comparing with foreign zoos, but summer time many animals enjoy much bigger area outside!
Highly recommended this zoo!