🦜 Kobe Animal Kingdom

Though the entire park may appear to be a temporarily constructed vegetable greenhouse from the outside, and the entrance seems smaller than the one at your local market, if you dismiss this place based on that, you'll miss out on a chance to get up close and interact with animals. ⚠️ Strongly not recommended to make Kobe Animal Kingdom your last stop before heading to the airport for a flight; you might miss your plane—it's impossible to see everything in just one day. For a park map reference, see 📷16. Must-visit areas: To the left as you enter are two interactive zones where you can touch kittens, puppies, and rabbits; if it's crowded, you can come back later. To the right is the water lily area, home to the shoebill (the bird with the largest head, possibly fewer than 10,000 left globally), red pandas, and binturongs. The central African Wetlands area is essentially a small open space where ring-tailed lemurs, flamingos, red-breasted geese, mandarin ducks, swallows, white herons, and various other animals freely roam around you. A wigeon followed me for 5 minutes, probably hoping to be fed... The capybara area in the outdoor zone, which opened in April 2024, allows you to pet capybaras until they lie down; their personalities are truly one of a kind. The squirrel area is also great, with squirrels darting around at your feet. The kangaroo plain lets you feed kangaroos. Previously, in Brisbane's zoo, I didn't dare touch so many wallabies, but here I did, and their fur is very soft—much more comfortable than a capybara's. Additionally, there are horse riding (kids can ride ponies) and camel riding activities, but you need to get a ticket with a limit on the number of participants; see the comment section for pictures. #KobeAnimalKingdom #KobeTravel #TradeAZooPhoto #KobeTravelGuide #KansaiTravel #HyogoTravel #KobeDayTrip #Capybara #MrCapybara #Shoebill