Ueno Zoo

So I visited this Zoo in while I was in Japan and Ueno is a traditional town and a cute village. I had mixed feelings about the Zoo itself though. As a member of the Zoological Society form when I worked at Chester Zoo I believe that some of the enclosures were far to small. The entry fee was very low at 600 Yen and Children enter free if they are under 12. I would have been happy to pay more so the Zoo could have better enclosures for the animals.

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They had lots of cute animals and I was most exited to see the Giant pandas as they are the main attraction of the Zoo and Never seen one in person before. The panda enclosure view point was busy at all times but I did manage to get a peak of one.

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They had a lot of mixed breeds together. There was a zebra with a few sheep which I did not think was healthy, A tiny penguin enclosure with only a small body of water and the polar bear was pacing the same pattern up and down in a small fake ice themed enclosure. While watching the polar bear it ran up to me aggressively and stared at me though the glass. Everyone was laughing and saying it was cute but I do not think the bear had a good mental state.

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I did enjoy the zoo with my favourites being the Red Pandas who tirelessly kept climbing up or down the tree to avoid me and seeing a bush baby who had huge eyes and the Forest cat who was content cleaning himself but could have been more content if he was back home with me getting lots of love.

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Asian Zoos are less developed than ours and it did make me thankful that the Zoos in the UK are at a higher standard and care about the cultivation and protection of animals. The whole day left me feeling very thoughtful about how we should let animals be free in the wild where they belong and protect their habitats and environments they live in, Rather than dragging them into enclosures in our cities.

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Ueno itself is a beautiful place to visit and the park surrounding the zoo is gorgeous and just starting to bloom Sakura when I visited in March. It is a key Date spot for couples and I wish I spent more time exploring round Ueno rather than slightly depressing myself in the Zoo on my own. I would recommend to visit Ueno but possibly give the Zoo a miss if you are easily upset by Animal Welfare differences.