The Manul Tour of Japan - The Definitive Guide

Greetings fellow manulovers! 

In October 2026 I travelled to Japan with the intention of seeing all nine zoos in the country with manuls. Fortunately most of the zoos are in the major metropolitan areas (Tokyo and Osaka/Kobe) however a few of them required a bit of a journey to get to. I started writing down notes that I learned from other manulovers before I went, and thought maybe a detailed guide to visiting may be helpful to some others. I appreciate all the information that I received before my visit, and I tried to fill in the blanks with the rest. Some of the details may be a bit mundane but hopefully they will help any manulover who wants to go see our friends. 

If you have questions, feedback, or would like more information, please feel free to drop me an Instagram DM at @speedbrian747. I am work in the travel industry so I enjoy putting together things like this. I would also like to note that Japan Airlines offers special tourist fares for flights within Japan, if you are a foreign visitor. They provide very good savings (I used one of these tickets to go to Asahiyama to see Grusha and Hide, as well as a couple of other connections) and I am happy to help anyone book these that might want to, it can be done through a different web link than standard Japan Airlines tickets.

I have included which day of the week I went to each zoo, because it took some coordinating to not go on the day they are usually closed. It took a lot of trial and error to get them in the correct order where I was not backtracking on my journey, but I would suggest confirming the zoo opening days/hours before you go as they change during some times of the year. I also included whether or not the manuls are behind glass for viewing. If you are interested in taking photos, I have found that wearing dark clothing reduces reflections on the glass, so I would wear something dark to the locations where they are behind glass.

(Skip this paragraph if you are not interested in travel options for getting around) I’m not sponsored or advertising any of the following, but having been to Japan many times before, I would like to offer a few recommendations for those who are new and the apps that have worked for me. Downloading an IC card is important (either Pasmo or Suica) - this is the best way to pay for trains, buses, taxis - even many vending machines take IC payment. Some of the train and subway lines do not accept regular tap card payments, and you can download the IC card to your phone’s wallet and add value as you go. I also recommend using the Klook app for the longer distance trains (this does not include the local subways) - you pay a small booking fee but Klook takes the guesswork out of making sure you have the right ticket. The different types of Japanese rail tickets, especially those on JR (Japan Railways) can be very confusing, and I do not suggest buying the JR tourist pass unless you plan on being on their trains every day or taking very long journeys. There is also another train app called Navitime which I have heard is very good, however I have not used this one so I can’t comment on it. Finally, I suggest the GO app for taxis in the major cities. Uber does work in Tokyo, although GO seems to be used by more drivers across Japan these days.

Lastly, there were manulovers at pretty much every zoo I went to, they always hang out around the manul enclosures and usually have some manul merch on their backpacks. I do not speak or read Japanese, but using Google Translate it was so nice to meet them. Many of them have Instagram accounts where they publish their manul photos, and by asking them ‘manuru neko?’ - they knew I was part of the club even though I’m a white guy who speaks minimal Japanese, and were happy to share what they knew about the manuls here.

Thanks for reading. Now on to the good stuff!

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Day 1 (Friday) - Asahiyama Zoo - Asahikawa, Japan

Manuls on display - Grusha, Hide

Grusha is partially behind glass, Hide is behind metal netting (no glass).

Zoo hours - 9:30am-4:30pm, open every day

Cost to enter - ¥1000

I arrived into Tokyo the night before, and flew to Asahikawa the next morning as a daytrip. Asahikawa is located on Hokkaido island in northern Japan, so flying is the most efficient way to get here. Sapporo is the main city on Hokkaido and has plenty of flights, but Asahikawa also has its own airport with some flights from Tokyo (only from Haneda Airport). From Asahikawa airport, it is around a 25-minute taxi journey to the zoo. Asahikawa city also has a rail station if you are coming from somewhere else on Hokkaido Island and the taxi journey time to the zoo is around the same length from Asahikawa station.

There are two entrances to the zoo - I recommend using the West Gate Entrance next to Asahiyama Park as it is closer to the manul enclosure. There is also an East Gate Entrance however this requires walking through most of the zoo to get to the manuls, but there is a large car parking area here if you plan to drive yourself. When you enter through the West Gate, you will arrive in the main plaza with the gift shop and information booth - the penguin enclosure will be on your right. Walk up the hill and you will see a metal sculpture of some animals, the red panda enclosure will be on your left and the manuls are next to them in the corner in an L-shaped structure.

Hide lives in the enclosure next to the red pandas, and Grusha is in the larger enclosure next door. When I arrived at around 10:00, Grusha was sitting in his tunnel and when he is there, you can stand below and look up at him. Grusha had his feeding time that day around 11:45, and after that he came out of his tunnel and was more visible for photos. Hide likes to relax either on his rock, or on the shelf facing the red pandas. He particularly likes to watch them when they walk on their elevated walkway over the path.

The gift shop has lots of items with manul, and the cafe was also good. I have seen pictures of cans of beer with the different animals on them (including Grusha) but I did not see them this time, they had a draft beer instead. There is also an event during the winter where they walk the penguins around the zoo if there is snow on the ground, but the season had not started for that yet. When you are ready to leave I had no problem ordering a taxi with the GO app.

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Day 2 (Saturday) - Ueno Zoo - Tokyo, Japan

Manuls on display - Klyon, Saffron, Naima

All of the manuls are behind glass.

Zoo hours - 9:30am-5:30pm, closed Mondays

Cost to enter - ¥600

I do not recommend going to Ueno on a weekend, but Saturday was the only time that I knew I would definitely have time to go. Regardless, it is the largest and busiest zoo in Japan, so crowds are to be expected any day of the week. 

I entered through the main gate (which is closest to Ueno rail station), however if you are only interested in the manuls either the Benten gate or Ikenohata gate is closest to where the manuls are located - they live on the west side of the zoo, inside the Small Mammal House (which opens at 10:00, thirty minutes after the rest of the zoo). When you go through the entrance of the House, the enclosure where Klyon and Saffron live will be on your right. Naima lives in the basement level and likes to sit on his rock in front of the glass observing the visitors. I did not see Saffron at all during my daytime visit (more on that later).

A short distance away from the Small Mammal House is Cafe Chameleon, and in the same building is one of the zoo gift shops - there was an entire selection of manul merchandise available at this gift shop. I do not know if the gift shop near the main entrance has all of the same items, so I suggest going to this one. 

As a special note, Ueno Zoo was holding its night zoo during one of the days I was in Tokyo, which only occurs during a few evenings each year. Because it is such a limited time event it was extremely busy, but it also offers a good chance to see Saffron because I understand she is mostly active in the evening hours. I was hoping they would turn up the lights in Naima’s basement enclosure because he lives on a different schedule from the rest of the animals, but they did not.

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Day 3 (Sunday) - Gokatsuraike Animal Park - Taki, Japan

Manul on display - Mei

Mei is behind metal wiring (no glass).

Zoo hours - 10:00am-4:30pm, closed Tuesdays

Cost to enter - ¥900

Gokatsuraike is located in a fairly remote area of Mie Prefecture, and is the most difficult manul zoo in Japan to get to. I did not want to hire a car on this trip, but it would have been much easier if I did. Gokatsuraike has a guide on their website to help visitors get there without a car, however their suggestion is to take a shared taxi for the last part of the journey - which has to be reserved by calling, and if (like me) you don’t speak Japanese, this is not easy. If you do plan to do this though, I would certainly recommend following Gokatsuraike’s guide.

The closest major city to Gokatsuraike is Nagoya, and even Nagoya isn’t even particularly close. This is a boring travel related part of the guide but I learned through experience - if you do not want to drive, I would recommend taking the train to Matsusaka, then a taxi to Gokatsuraike. Neither the Uber or GO apps work here - when I arrived at Matsusaka I got lucky and there was exactly one taxi in front of the station. I do not recommend going directly to Taki rail station even though it is the closest if you use Google Maps for directions - it is highly unlikely that there will be a taxi there. When I arrived at Gokatsuraike I asked the wonderful staff if they could help me arrange a taxi to leave, and they were happy to call and reserve one for me due to my lack of Japanese (they scheduled it so I had a couple hours at the zoo, which was more than enough time to see everything). When you leave, you can take the taxi to either Taki or Matsusaka to get on the train. I left from Taki and was the only person at the station for the 20 or so minutes I was there.

Gokatsuraike is a very small wildlife park. When you enter through the main gate, you will go up the zig-zag ramp and a rest area with some picnic tables will be in front of you. Mei’s enclosure is behind this, sort of in the corner. She is able to go back and forth freely to the backyard, so if she is not there you may wish to walk around the rest of the park which can be easily done in 10-15 minutes, but she was outside the entire time I was there (a couple hours, between 1:30 and 3:30). There is a very minimal gift shop next to the main entrance, when I visited they did not have any manul merchandise yet other than a manul calendar. There is no cafe within the park, but if you walk next door there are a few places to eat as well as a nice view of the Gokatsura Pond. 

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Day 4 (Monday) - Kobe Animal Kingdom - Kobe, Japan

Manuls on display - Nar, Az, Bono, Haku, Komorebi, Nagi, Sun

All of the manuls are behind glass.

Zoo hours - 10:00am-5:00pm, closed Thursdays

Cost to enter - ¥2400

Kobe is a non-negotiable item if you love manuls. If you only have time for one zoo, go to this one. This was a particularly special visit for me, because Nar and Az were the first manuls I ever met, and seeing the children made me so happy. It’s also easy to do both Kobe zoos in one day - I stayed in Osaka and took a taxi between the two zoos, but if you want to stay closer to them, I suggest staying near Sannomiya rail station in Kobe.

The zoo is located in Kobe’s industrial area on the way from the city to the airport. If you wish to use public transportation, the Portliner (ポートライナー) train is the easiest way to get here and is an excellent value. You can purchase a ticket bundle from Sannomiya rail station that gives you Portliner roundtrip tickets as well as a standard zoo admission ticket, for the same price as just the zoo admission on its own. At Sannomiya station you will follow the signs for the Portliner and just before the ticket gates you will find a JR office. If you ask them for the ‘Kobe dobutsu oukoku’ and Portliner tickets, they will sell you an envelope with a ticket for Kobe Animal Kingdom as well as two rail tickets (one for each direction) for the same ¥2400 you would pay for entry at the zoo gate. The Portliner will take you to Keisan Kagaku Center station, which is right outside the entrance for the zoo.

The manuls are on display from 10:00 until 4:30. When you enter through the front gates, you will want to continue straight through the outside bird environment until you reach the shoebill enclosure, which you will walk through. The manuls are located in the Asian Forest section, and their enclosure is the very first one on the right as soon as you walk through the doors (most likely with a crowd of people around it). The enclosure is divided into two areas - Nar lives on his own in the left side enclosure, with Az and the babies living on the right side. 

The babies were active for the entire time I was there, playing and having a good time. It was one of the best things I have ever seen in my life. Az likes to relax in a cave at the top left side of the enclosure, so if you don’t see her down in the main area, look up to the ceiling and to the left - she is probably up there, although she does come down to spend time with her babies. I don’t know if the feeding times are consistent, but Nar’s keeper fed him around 10:00 so hopefully you can see him do his excited food dance.

The gift shop is located next to the exit from the Asian Forest area, which is close to the manuls (handy if it gets very busy and you want a break). Their gift shop has an incredible amount of manul merchandise, and the cafe is located adjacent to it. 

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Also Day 4 (Monday) - Kobe Oji Zoo - Kobe, Japan

Manul on display - Iris

Iris is behind metal wiring (no glass, except for the window into the backyard).

Zoo hours - 9:00am-5:00pm, closed Wednesdays

Cost to enter - ¥600

Oji Zoo is a nice stop to visit if you are also planning on going to Kobe Animal Kingdom, it is around a 20-minute taxi ride away. It is also a smaller park, so it’s easier to make a quick visit. If you prefer to use the Kobe subway, Ojikoen station is just around the corner.

Oji is an older facility, and is currently experiencing a bit of construction. Because of this, Iris is in a temporary smaller enclosure, but I do not know what his new home will look like or where in the park it will be located. When you enter the main gate, you will go straight up the hill toward the amusement park, then turn left and look for the polar bear exhibit. The manul enclosure is located behind the polar bears, in an older structure with several other enclosures arranged in a line.

When I arrived around 1:00, Iris was outside on his shelf looking at his neighbour (a binturong named Kou-kun). Iris does not like Kou-kun. If you do not see Iris in the outside area, he will be in the backyard which you can view by walking around the back of the building. There is a window that faces inside Iris’ house and you can see him there.

I don’t know if there is a cafe here (I did not look), but the gift shop near the entrance has a few manul items for sale. 

As a bonus, if you happen to have time to spare in Osaka, there is a fun cafe called Cafe&Bar Manul located centrally in the city which is open late. While it is not specifically manul themed, I will easily support anything with manul in the name. This restaurant is actually a cat cafe with a small bar/cafe in the front, and an area to play with the resident cats next to the bar area. They are happy to give you extra drink coasters to take home if you like, which say Cafe&Bar Manul on them.

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Day 5 (Tuesday) - Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Garden - Nagoya, Japan

Manuls on display - Honey, Eru, Minya, Yasu, Nobu

All of the manuls are behind metal wiring (no glass).

Zoo hours - 9:00am-4:30pm, closed Mondays

Cost to enter - ¥500

Higashiyama has its own subway station on the Nagoya metro (Higashiyama-koen) which is how I arrived here. The main entrance to the zoo is very close to the station. When you pass through the main entrance, you will continue straight along the path until you reach the ZoOasis cafe buildings on your left. The manul enclosures are located behind these buildings - they are a set of brown metal enclosures arranged in a straight line. There are also some picnic tables that face the enclosures.

There are three separate manul enclosures. If you are looking at them from the front, Eru has the enclosure on the left side to himself. Minya, Yasu, and Nobu are in the middle enclosure, and Honey lives on her own in the right side enclosure. Higashiyama allows their manuls to come and go from the backyard as they like, so if they are not there when you go by the first time, you may have to wait a while. I brought my laptop and sat at the picnic tables until I saw people gathering around the manul areas, then I would walk over and see who was outside. Fortunately, Japan is so safe you can leave your things at the table and not have to worry about them if you want to walk over to the enclosures.

I arrived around 10:00 and none of the manuls were in the outside area. Eventually Minya appeared around 11:30, along with Yasu and Nobu occasionally. Eru appeared around 2:00 to give us an ekekekekekek lecture. Honey did not come out at all as far as I saw, but I saw her resting in the backyard through the opening in the enclosure.

If you want a change of scenery, your ticket also includes access to the Botanical Garden in the park which is beautiful, but a bit far from the manul enclosures - however, if you visit during cherry blossom season, I would highly recommend it. The zoo’s gift shop is located next to the main entrance, and has plenty of manul items. I was also told after my trip by another manulover that the Higashiyama Sky Tower next to the zoo has its own gift shop with manul items, however I did not get there this time. Oh well, I guess I have to go back. The zoo’s cafe is also conveniently located next to the manuls, and you can sit at the picnic tables facing their enclosures.

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Day 6 (Wednesday) - Saitama Children’s Zoo - Higashimatsuyama, Japan

Manuls on display - Oliva, Lotus, Oto

All of the manuls are behind glass.

Zoo hours - 9:30am-5:00pm, closed Mondays

Cost to enter - ¥900

Saitama zoo is easily accessible from Tokyo by train and is an easy day trip, it is approximately a 1.5 hour journey to get there. If you take the Tobu-Tojo Line from central Tokyo, you will arrive at Takasaka rail station. The zoo is around a 10-minute drive from here by car. There is also the option to take the public Hatayama New Town bus (marked with 鳩山ニュータウン) which has a stop at the zoo. Another manulover advised to take this specific bus and not any others, despite what your map app of choice says, because you may end up on the other side of the park. You can also order a taxi through the GO app which is what I did.

When you enter the main gate of the zoo, you will go off to the right and follow the signs for the red pandas. This will lead you on a bit of an uphill journey, but soon you will see a barn and the cow’s area on your left. The manul enclosure is just past this, also on the left - they have their own building and it is marked with a large Pallas’s Cat banner. 

Saitama alternates the manuls that are in the viewing area. When I arrived around 10:00, both Oto and Lotus were out for viewing. Under the awning you will find Oto’s home on the left. If you do not see her at all, there is a tunnel between the two that is not viewable, and she seems to like to relax inside there sometimes. Lotus lives on the right side next to Oto, and Oliva lives in Tabby’s former home behind the viewing area.

The outdoor area (local manulovers call it Manul Rock) does not open when it is too hot. Apparently it does open when it is raining, but the manuls will most likely not want to go out in it. If you don’t see them at all, both manuls have a tunnel that goes outside so they may be inside there.

The zoo alternates which manuls are in the viewing area, and they switch in the afternoon around 1:00. There does not seem to be any way of knowing who will be there at any particular time although I suppose you could ask the staff and they may know. Normally, you can always view Oto and Lotus, however it is also possible to view Oliva on days where she is given access to the outdoor area. I was there on a day where Oliva was not out, so I did not see her at all.

There is a small cafe in the zoo that does very good crepes, as well as a gift shop near the main entrance with a few manul items. The zoo is fairly spread out and there is also a small train-looking vehicle that drives around the park if you want to ride on it. When you are ready to leave, there is either the previously mentioned bus service back to Takasaka rail station, or the GO taxi app works fine here.

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Day 7 (Thursday) - Nasu Animal Kingdom - Nasu, Japan

Manuls on display - Nagomu, Abrikos

The manul enclosure is behind glass.

Zoo hours - 9:00am-5:00pm, closed Wednesdays

Cost to enter - ¥2900

Nasu is a full day’s trip from Tokyo, but it is easily doable and still allows you to have your evening in Tokyo. I departed Tokyo rail station on the Shinkansen train to Nasushiobara at 07:44, and arrived at the front gate of the zoo on their shuttle bus at exactly 10:20.

Nasu offers a free shuttle bus from the Nasushiobara rail station which departs there at 9:15, gives you the entire day at the zoo, and departs the zoo at 4:30. This returns you to the rail station at 5:50. You do need to reserve the bus in advance through Nasu Animal Kingdom’s website - and you will need to reserve both the segment from the station to the zoo, and the zoo to the station separately. You will need to translate your name to katakana to do this, although this can be done online using a translator (it doesn’t have to be perfect, just enough to identify you when they check your name off at the bus). There is a Shinkansen train that matches up pretty well with the shuttle bus schedule, but if you arrive at Nasushiobara on an earlier train there is a coffee shop next to the station. Alternatively to all this, if you prefer to rent a car, there is a Toyota rental car office at Nasushiobara station if you walk through the shuttle bus parking area to the other side of the carpark.

When I arrived at the station, the shuttle was a large unmarked white bus, but the driver was in easily identifiable Nasu clothing. The shuttle departs from platform 2 at the bus stop outside of the station’s west entrance, and there is a permanent sign located here. The driver will check your name off, and once you board you may be offered a short optional survey to fill in (where are you from, what animals would you like to see, etc) which you can give to the person at the ticket desk when you arrive at the zoo - there is more than enough time to do this during the drive there. I wrote down that I was visiting to see the manuls, and I was given a small entry discount and a free manul keychain for completing the survey. There are also a couple of stops on the way to the zoo to pick up other passengers. The bus ride is a little over an hour in total but is very pleasant, so you may wish to bring a book or something to do.

The manul enclosure is not far from the main entrance. Once you go through the entrance gate, just walk straight ahead and you will see the Amur tiger enclosure in front of you. Next to that is a tunnel, and the manul enclosure is the first one there on the left. Only one manul will be on display at a time (either Nagomu or Abrikos), but they switch halfway through the day around 12:00-1:00. The keepers do a public feeding at the enclosure, but I do not know what time that occurs.

In your free time, there is also a free shuttle bus that goes over to the farm section of the park. One of the shuttles is shaped like a manul and meows when it drives, so that alone is worth the trip. It was also interesting to watch the sheepdog herding show they perform, with a shepherd from New Zealand who speaks fluent Japanese. Additionally, the memorial to the animals at Nasu that have gone over the rainbow bridge is not far from the manul enclosure. It is behind the Yamaneko Terrace restaurant, looking out over the valley. I spent time here visiting Lev, Polly, and Bol, and missing them very much.

There are two excellent gift shops on site, pretty much one right next to the other at the zoo entrance, and both have lots of manul items. There are also a few cafes in the zoo however not all of them are open every day - there is an information board near the entrance gate that will tell you which cafes are open that day. There isn’t really anything to do in the area outside the park if you do not have a car, but I had no problem filling my day inside the zoo before the shuttle back to the station (I actually would have liked to have stayed longer).

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Day 8 (Friday) - Nogeyama Zoo - Yokohama (Tokyo), Japan

Manul on display - Figa

Figa’s enclosure is behind metal fencing.

Zoo hours - 9:30am-4:30pm, closed Mondays

Cost to enter - free. There is a donation box near the zoo entrance.

Important note before you read further - Nogeyama is closing for a two-year long renovation of the entire zoo starting in January 2027, so most of this information will likely be different when the zoo reopens. The zoo has stated that Figa will remain at Nogeyama during this time, so I don’t expect him to be available for viewing elsewhere during their closure.

Nogeyama is located in Yokohama, which is basically part of southern Tokyo. It is easily accessible from either the Hinodecho rail station of the Keikyu Main Line, or the Sakuragicho station of the Tokyo Metro. From either of these stations it is a bit of an uphill walk to the zoo entrance. The zoo is free, so you can just walk in. What appears to be the zoo’s ticket counter is actually just an information desk which you can stop at if you like.

To find Figa, you will walk straight down the path directly in front of you from the entrance for a bit until you see a path that goes off to the right. If you reach the zebra exhibit, you went too far and you need the path before that. On the right side of this path you will see the tortoise’s enclosure, and Figa is at the end of this row, also on the right.

Figa was very active in his enclosure when I visited (between 10:00 and 12:00), and spent most of his time outside in the area where you can see him. The backyard area is open for the entire day and he can move freely between both areas. His keeper fed him in the outdoor enclosure around 11:00, and during his feeding time the door to the backyard is closed so he’s locked outside for a few minutes. During this time, the keeper goes into the backyard and rearranges all of Figa’s furniture, so as soon as they are done and the door opens again he goes to the backyard for a little while to inspect the changes. Other than that time, Figa was outside talking and looking at the visitors.

The gift shop near the entrance had a small manul section with a ‘Welcome Figa’ sign since he is fairly new to the zoo. They do love him here which I am very happy about, and if you understand Japanese they offer a series of talks with his keepers (the schedule is in front of his enclosure). I do not know if there is much of a cafe on site, I did not check - but since the zoo is free, you can come and go as you please if you want to go get something to eat.

Thank you for coming along on the manul tour of Japan. I hope this information benefits fellow manulovers!

Nar in Kobe Animal Kingdom, October 5, 2026

Mr. Nar, and your author.