Okinawa Zoo & Museum — Attraction in Okinawa

Where we are from in the states, there is a huge zoo. But at the zoo in our hometown they don’t have a museum or rides. My daughter thoroughly enjoyed being here. As you can see in photo of the oldest looking upset, we were leaving and she was MAD. Haha She has been asking to go back ever since! We will definitely be purchasing season passes so we can do the wonder museum and rides as well. The oldest loved everything about the zoo and the museum. She is 4 years old and our youngest is turning 2 soon. Our 4 year old is more verbal and can inform us as to what her likes and dislikes are. They have a few kiddie rides, you just have to purchase tickets for those. They also have horseback riding and at certain times you can feed and pet some of the animals. If you are an adult, you may not enjoy it as much. But we enjoyed seeing the huge smiles on our daughters’ faces. It was worth it!! We have heard bad reviews so we weren’t sure what to expect. Our expectations weren’t high at all. However, we were not let down. The zoo in general is okay, the one in our hometown is better because the animals have more room to roam around and it’s larger. But we didn’t really go here for the animals. Our daughters wanted to play on the equipment, run around, ride rides, and play in the museum more than they wanted to look at the animals. (Other than the horses. The oldest loved riding a horse for the first time on her birthday.) Our youngest was too small for the horseback riding, but could still ride the kiddie rides. If you have smaller children, I think it’s 100% worth it. Plus it’s cheap!!

The oldest was upset because we were leaving and it was...

You have to purchase a ticket into the zoo, and then a separate ticket into the Museum. It is very affordable for both.

The Wonder Museum is a great stop for kids! Three floors of activities and things to make you think. Parking is easy, yen/card.

I’ve purposely avoided the zoo-side because of the rumors of it being so run down & sad to walk through (compared to zoos in the U.S.). After walking through it I will say that some of the enclosures were very sad and tiny with little to no effects, and some appeared expansive.

The chimpanzee main enclosure seemed ok, but to the right there’s a lone adult chimp in a small cement room with some climbing poles and a blanket.

The hippo exhibit is a semi-large deep pool with a concrete ramp in and out.

Some of the forest-animal exhibits seemed expansive, while some of them were in small wired cages pacing back and forth.

I will say, the animal keepers that we saw and interacted with throughout the zoo seemed to truly care about the animals. We watched as the keeper for anteaters fed them and he patiently stood and gently called for quite a while to one of them until that anteater came out of his cement enclosure to make sure he found and ate his meal.

The actual landscape of the zoo is lovely and well kept.

We would definitely return for the Wonder Museum, but probably wouldn’t walk through...

Urgent Concern Regarding Animal Welfare at zoo

I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the condition of some animals at [Zoo Name], which I recently visited. During my visit, I observed what appeared to be signs of distress and neglect among certain animals, particularly an otter that was continuously making distressing noises while pacing its enclosure. This behavior persisted for over an hour, drawing the attention of many visitors who, like me, were deeply saddened by the situation.

I reported my concerns twice to zoo staff and waited for several hours, but unfortunately, no intervention seemed to take place. It was truly heartbreaking to witness this and not be able to help. Additionally, I noticed that many animal enclosures appeared unclean, further raising concerns about their welfare.

I kindly urge the authorities to look into these matters as soon as possible to ensure the well-being of the animals under your care. Zoos have a responsibility to provide a safe, clean, and enriching environment for their animals, and I sincerely hope that steps will be taken to improve...