Nogeyama Zoological Gardens — Attraction in Yokohama

It’s a free zoo where you can donate at the entrance or inside the zoo. I think it’s a great concept.

The zoo is on top of a gib hill. Even bicycles with electricity assistance have a hard time getting up there. Pushing a stroller up is hard too. But there is a bus line heading up. We ones walked, it was not too bad. Ones I came on my Mamachari and it was alright. Ones we came by bus. It’s a quick ride from Sakuragicho. About 10 min when coming from Yokohama station.

The zoo itself has many trees and bushes so there is plenty on shade. There are some benches and tables here and there to sit down and have a rest or snack.

The terrain is quite diverse with in- and declines, as well as many stairs. But there is always a ramp to access.

Toilets are clean.

The zoo is rarely packed so it’s always quite calm and quiet.

There is a old tram (streetcar) inside the zoo that you can enter and it’s great fun for kids to explore then drivers cabin in the front.

It’s a small zoo so there are not too many animals but the ones that are there seam to be taken care of alright. As in all zoos there is always room for improvement. Bigger better habitats for animals would always be nice.

It would be nice to have a couple more benches along the way. The information boards could be updated too. I understand the budged is small.

Overall this is a great place to come for a day. The park nearby is also nice and has a observation tower...

Went based off of reviews saying it was good, so first it was free and we got to see a red panda up close when it was fed, but that is pretty much the only good thing I can say about it, other than it seem accessible by wheel chair or with buggies. The zoo is very old fashioned notion of what zoos should be, massive iron bars and tiny spaces. I am glad it was free because I would be upset to have paid to see quite large aniamls intelligent animals kept like this. For example the huge male lion was pacing in circles in tiny back area in his cages because he was so bored and had so little to do and not enough space. The size of this zoo they really should not be keeping large intellgent mammals at all they do not have the space to build big enclosures. The Chimps looked sad and bored, but the smaller monkeys seem more active. The reptiles and some of the birds mostly seemed to have enough space but even the guinea pigs were rammed in. Even by the time we were leaving after maybe one hour the red panda was pacing in its small walled garden area. They seem to be doing some work I hope it is to enrich the space for the animals and birds. This zoo really should get rid of the larger animals and concentrate on smaller animals and enrichment of the enclosures given the size of the zoo I imagine it would be the...

For it's purpose this place is great. We love that they rescue wild animals from unfortunate situations and give them a home until they can be placed in a better facility, which means the zoo is constantly gaining and losing animals. It's a nice idea and with free admission that makes it a great place to go visit.

BUT

Beware of the routes that google maps or any map program may send you on to get there if you have a stroller or anyone who has difficulty climbing stairs. The zoo itself is even a bit steep at times so be prepared to hoof it up and down hill a bit while you are there. There is only 1 entrance/exit so you will be going up and down both ways. If you want to go visit there, head out to it from Sakuragicho station (or it's main road). There is an easier path to get up that way and with a little pushing you'll get up that way just fine.

The petting zoo is small and limited to guinea pigs, chicks, mice and a few large chickens. Great for kids, but even on rainy days don't be surprised it its busy with small classes...