or, Manul Manual.

Hey guys, I visited Japan in May and thought I would share my experience and general knowledge for people interested in going on their own pilgrimage, especially in these particularly trying times.

If I do have anything wrong, please let me know.

Attached images of Polly, Nar, Lotus, and Az moving very fast during snack time.

This is current as of today (9th of July, 2025). All prices given are adult prices. Children's tickets are cheaper.

**ZOOS I VISITED**

**Ueno Zoo**

Residents: Primula, Figa, Doroo, Naima, Yus, Safran, Klyon

Entry fee: 600 yen

Opening Times: 9:30AM-5PM. Closed Mondays.

Location: Near Ueno Station. I recommend entering via the Benten Gate or the Ikenohata Gate if you are only really interested in the Manuls. The Ikenohata Gate opens slightly later so don't go there if you're entering at opening.

Manul enclosures are located in the small mammal house, on the left side of the park. It opens at 10 AM, 30 minutes after the park opens. Follow the path and you will see Figa, Primula, and Doroo's enclosures on the top floor, then go down to the nocturnal bottom floor, and you can find Naima down in the back right corner. The enclosures are not great, but Naima is remarkably active for his age and absolutely charming.

It can be quite busy in there, but it may be a little slower on weekdays as I could only go on a weekend.

Yus and Klyon live in the backyard. Safran is currently undergoing treatment for her leg injury. Doroo seems to be off right now too (possibly also due to injury, he is very old.)

**Saitama Children's Zoo**

Residents: Oliva, Lotus

Entry fee: 900 yen from July 1st 2025

Opening time: 9:30AM-5PM. Closed Mondays.

Location: Take the Tobu Tojo Line to Takasaka Station. From that station, take the Hatoyama New Town (鳩山ニュータウン) Bus, which has a SCZ stop. Don't trust Map apps, take this bus. Trust me they will send you to the other side of the park if you're unlucky.

You can also drive if you plan on renting a car, there is a rather large car park.

Manul enclosure can be found by taking the right hand path on entry. you will pass a farm area and a barn,  and then you will reach manul rock. There is an outdoor enclosure that is sometimes closed due to heat in summer, and that the manuls probably won't go out to if it's raining (it was raining when I went and Oliva stuck her head outside for about 2 seconds before going back in lol).

Inside, there are two halves. Oliva is in the left enclosure, and Lotus is in the right. They take it in turns going outside.

If you go further along the path just a little, you'll find the Eco House and can see the sand cats Amira and Kisaku too. I personally didn't get to explore the zoo more due to pouring rain and getting horribly lost on the way there, but it's quite spread out! There's a 'train' that can take you to the other side of the zoo if you don't want to walk.

**Kobe Oji Zoo**

Residents: Iris

Cost:  600 yen

Opening hours: 9AM-5PM. Closed Wednesdays.

Location: A very short walk from Ojikoen station in Kobe. If you stay in Kobe, I highly recommend staying near Sannomiya station if possible as it is easy to get to both Kobe zoos.

Iris is currently in a temporary enclosure due to works within the zoo, so this may not apply in the future, but currently he is on the far left of the park in a row including porcupines and a binturong (Kou-kun, who he seems to absolutely hate).

We arrived just after zoo open, and he hadn't gotten out of bed yet! A sign advised that animals may be viewed in the backyard on the other side, and sure enough I saw him in his little box in the back, before getting up and heading into the front. According to one of the zoo regulars, it was quite a surprise that he wasn't up already!

The current enclosure isn't ideal, but hopefully Iris will have a nice new home in the future.

The big cat pavilion on the other side of the zoo might also be of interest, they have a number of other cat species there.

**Kobe Animal Kingdom**

Residents: Nar, Az, Oto, Mei

Cost: 2400 yen\*

Opening Hours: 10AM-5PM. Closed Thursdays.

Location: The best way to get to Kobedo is by taking the Portliner Train (ポートライナー), without a doubt. You can get a ticket bundle of a zoo and a train ticket for the same price zoo entry would normally cost. To get this at Kobe-Sannomiya station, follow the signs that point to the Portliner through the station, and there is a JR office just before the ticket gates. Go inside and ask them for the "Kobe dobutsu oukoku" and portliner ticket, and they should sell you an envelope that contains a Kobedo ticket, and two small portliner tickets for the ticket machines (one for each way) for 2400 yen. Keisan Kagaku Center Station is right outside the zoo entrance, and you can't miss the Kobedo branding on the platform.

Kobedo is a compact maze of a zoo, and there's something just about everywhere. The manul enclosure is located in the Asian Forest section, which can be reached from the entrance by walking through the "Big Bill" shoebill enclosure. The two sections of the enclosure are immediately on the right when you enter. Nar in particular is very photogenic, and you can spend some time watching the family interact in a relaxed environment.

Mei and Oto will likely be separated from Az before long, but they seem to get along very well, and the only signs of aggression I witnessed was Az being a little feisty at meal time (she beat her girls to most of the meat but wasn't particularly aggressive)

**Nasu Animal Kingdom**

Residents: Nagomu, Abrikos

Cost: 2600 yen (cheaper in Winter, you can also get free entry on your birthday)

Opening Hours: 10AM-4:30PM weekdays, 9-5 weekends/holidays. Closed Wednesdays. Also closes at around 4 in winter, and occasionally has to close due to excessive snow.

Location: Nasu is a couple of hours outside of Tokyo, and there are a few options to get there, but it's a bit out of the way. The area is big with domestic tourists, but not super equipped for foreigners.

Personally, I don't have an international driver's permit and neither did my travelling companions, so public transport was our only option this time. I recommend taking the Tohoku Shinkansen to Nasushiobara Station, it's like 5k yen and takes \~40 minutes. Note that this is JR East, so you need to book tickets through them, not JR Central.

From Nasushiobara station, you can get the[ Nasu Animal Kingdom Shuttle Bus](https://nasu-oukoku.com/access/) (シャトルバス) directly to the park. Note that this is ONCE a day at a set time (9:10 AM sharp), and you must book it online before 5pm the night before for each way. The form is also not very foreigner-friendly. You need to enter your name in katakana in one field, and then you can enter your name freely in the next. You also need a phone number, so I recommend entering your hotel's details.

Shuttle Bus will be waiting outside the west exit in bus bay 2. Give them your name and they will check off your reservation. It's free, you just have to pre-book. The return bus is at 4 or 4:30 PM depending on time of year.

There will likely be only one shinkansen that matches up well with the Shuttle Bus departure time, so make sure to book that in advance as well.

Otherwise you can rent a car either at the station, or in Tokyo, but be warned the area is very rural with lots of winding roads, so it may be a challenge to navigate.

Manul enclosure is essentially in a straight line from the entrance, after walking around the complex that has Squirrels, a Serval (Ia-chan) and a Tiger (Rei-kun).

Abrikos and Nagomu are planned to be rotated after Abu debuts. It's only a rumour that they plan to breed them together, so it's unclear if they will cohabit in the future.

If you want to visit the Nasu animal memorial to pay your respects to Bol, Polly, and Lev, it's located around the back of the Yamaneko Terrace restaurant. Nasudo doesn't generally accept floral tributes.

**OTHER ZOOS**

* **Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens** (Honey, El, Minya, 3 kittens!!) is located reasonably close to the Nagoya shinkansen station. You could probably stop over if you were already travelling south from Tokyo to Kobe, Osaka, or Kyoto. I couldn't make the time in my schedule, unfortunately. The kittens will likely debut around 2 months old, but Minya is very shy so they may be hard to view.
* **Asahiyama Zoo** (Grusha) is all the way in Hokkaido, and that wasn't practical for my trip but I'm sure it's worth it if you can make it up there. There are planned renovations to Grusha's enclosure for the rest of the year, so it may be difficult to see him at times.
* **Nogeyama Zoo** doesn't currently have manuls, but they are currently building a manul exhibit! It's likely some of the kittens born last year (Oto, Mei, Figa and Safran) will end up there when it is done. It's located in Yokohama and admission is free, so it should be very easy to access.

**GENERAL TIPS**

* People are generally very friendly! Lots of people go specifically to see the manuls, so don't be afraid to say hello and try and make conversation, even if your Japanese is bad. It's usually appreciated that you came all this way to see them. I even got gifted some manul goods by a couple of the enthusiasts, including a Polly birthday card because it was her birthday.
* That said, always be respectful and don't crowd the enclosures, especially when busy. Make sure your flash is off, don't tap the glass or harass the animals, all that common sense stuff.
* Feeding times don't seem to be entirely consistent, and may or may not occur. I only got to see feeding time at Kobedo.
* Photographers and enthusiasts can often be seen in mostly black clothing, to reduce the glare on the glass when they take photos.
* Zoos tend to be open if their scheduled close day is a holiday. They instead close the day after the holiday.
* Don't be afraid to google translate the zoo websites, it's mostly understandable.
* Use the Japan Transit app for public transport navigation.
* Make sure you always have cash. Card is generally accepted at the zoo gift shops, but it's pretty inconsistent across Japan and I'm not sure some of the ticket gates take card.

Anyway, enjoy yourself if you manage to get over there! There aren't any manuls in my entire hemisphere, let alone country, so it was a very moving experience to get to visit them all. Especially Polly, who has just been reunited with her beloved Bol :(



A Rough Guide to Visiting the Manuls of Japan