The is a municipal zoo that opened in July 1967 in Asahikawa, Hokkaidō, Japan, and is the northernmost zoo in the country. In August 2004, over 320,000 people had visited the zoo, the second-highest number of visitors among all the zoos in Japan. Located in Higashi Asahikawa, on the outskirts of Asahikawa, the Asahiyama Zoo is accredited by the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums (JAZA).
History
The Maruyama Zoo in Sapporo and the Obihiro Zoo predate the construction of the Asahiyama Zoo. In 1964, the mayor at the time, Kōzō Igarashi, budgeted for the Asahiyama Zoo project, and chose Mount Asahi as the building site due to its geology and traffic convenience. Construction of the Asahiyama Zoo began in April 1966, and was completed in June 1967, at a total expense of 250 million yen. The zoo was inaugurated on July 1, 1967, with 75 species of animals including 200 common carp. Driven by a decline in visitors, the park erected a steel roller coaster which was dismantled in 2006.
As the population of Asahikawa has increased, the number of visitors rose to a peak of 597,000 in 1983. In 1994, when a western lowland gorilla and a ring-tailed lemur in the zoo died of an echinococcus infection, the zoo was closed before the regular season to prevent the disease from spreading. This resulted in a decline in the number of visitors.
Since 1997, the zoo has undertaken the construction of unique interactive animal viewing facilities, initiated by chief manager Masao Kosuge. After "Totori no Mura" (Totori's Village), which enables visitors to see birds flying freely in a huge cage, the zoo continued to install new facilities including Polar Bear Aquatic Park, a "walk-through" penguin aquarium, an orangutan trapeze, and a seal aquarium which includes a vertical tube through which the seals can swim.
In August 2004, the monthly number of visitors exceeded 320,000, which surpassed Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. In 2006, the annual number of visitors reached 2 million, and the following year, the number was 3 million, which was surpassed only by the Ueno Zoo (about 3.5 million people in the same year). Over the years, the Asahiyama Zoo has drawn a number of media attractions, and some TV programs and publications featuring the zoo's success have also been created.
Animals Polar bear house
Polar bear
Seal house
Spotted seal Slaty-backed gull
Penguin house
Gentoo penguin Humboldt penguin King penguin Western rockhopper penguin
Fierce animal house
Amur leopard Amur tiger Lion Snow leopard
Forests of wolves and sika deer
Timber wolf Yezo sika deer
Monkey house
Abyssinian black-and-white colobus De Brazza's monkey Ring-tailed lemur
Chimpanzee forest
Chimpanzee
Spider monkey and capybara house
Black-handed spider monkey Capybara
Hippopotamus house
Common ostrich Crested porcupine Hippopotamus
Gibbon house
Lar gibbon Reeves's muntjac
Monkey mountain
Japanese macaque Japanese wild boar
Flying bird and flamingo house
American flamingo Bar-headed goose Black swan Chilean flamingo Eastern spot-billed duck Greater flamingo Mallard Snow goose Tufted duck Whooper swan
Orangutan house
Bornean orangutan
Hokkaido Small Animals Area
Common raccoon Eurasian eagle-owl Ezo flying squirrel Ezo mountain hare Ezo red fox Great spotted woodpecker Japanese raccoon dog Japanese scops owl Mandarin duck Mountain hawk-eagle Steller's sea eagle Ural owl White-tailed eagle
Amphibian and reptile house
Ezo salamander Iberian ribbed newt Japanese four-lined ratsnake Japanese grass lizard Japanese pond turtle Japanese rat snake Mamushi
Ezo brown bear house
Ezo brown bear
Children's Pasture
Chicken Common peafowl Domestic duck Domestic rabbit Goat Guinea pig Pig Sheep
Notable species
Blakiston's fish owl Pallas's cat Red-crowned crane Red panda Reindeer Reticulated giraffe Snowy owl
Notes
References Kenji, Furutachi, 旭山動物園物語 (Story of Asahiyama Zoo), Juritsu-Sha, 2005, Masao, Kosuge, 「旭山動物園」革命 ("Asahiyama Zoo" Revolution), Kadokawa Shoten, 2006,
External links
JR Hokkaido Asahiyama Zoo Train Page