is a municipal zoo in

Chūō-ku, Sapporo is one of the ten wards in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. Chūō-ku means "central ward" in Japanese. City administration and entertainment facilities are centred in this ward. History During Meiji Period, Sousei river, precursor of Susukino distric ...

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The lar ...

, Japan. It opened on May 5, 1951. The zoo is located within

Maruyama Park is a park in Kyoto, Japan. It is noted as the main center for cherry blossom viewing in Kyoto, and can get extremely crowded at that time of year (April). The park's star attraction is a weeping cherry tree (''shidarezakura'') which becomes li ...

in western Sapporo, and is the oldest zoo in Hokkaido.

History

Sapporo Maruyama Zoo officially opened in 1951 with its origin stemming from hosting a travelling zoo for the "

Ueno Zoo The is a zoo, managed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and located in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is Japan's oldest zoo, opened on March 20, 1882. It is served by Ueno Station, Keisei Ueno Station and Nezu Station, with convenient access fr ...

". While hosting the travelling zoo, it received such a overwhelmingly good response from the residence that the City of

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous cit ...

decided to open a zoo itself. 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.

Incidents

Starting in 2010, the zoo tried for four years to mate two hyenas until they discovered they were both males.

Access

The zoo is approximately 15 minutes' walk from

Maruyama-Kōen Station is a Sapporo Municipal Subway station in Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. The station is numbered T06. The station takes its name from the Maruyama Park, located 300 m west of the station. Platforms Surrounding area * Maruyama Park ...

on the Tōzai Line.

Attractions and Animals

Sapporo Maruyama Zoo covers an area of 22.5 ha, and is home to 168 different species and 737 animals.

References

External links