Nasu Animal Kingdom
| The Good | The Not-So Good |
| Open exhibits | Birds of Prey in cages |
| Very family friendly | No train access |
Nasu Animal Kingdom is more of a local tourist attraction that a place for foreign visitors to flock to, however the area is also notable for numerous hot spring resorts, is close to Utsunomiya, and not far away is another Safari Park (not as recommended) and Amusement Park (not as hardcore as Fuji-Q but good for beginners).
There is a functional English website with information and ticket prices. There are a lot of shows and exhibitions areas to see. The standout habitats are the wetland and tropical habitats. You can walk around a recreation of the environment where the animals are free to wander without restriction. Prepare to dodge tortoise walking in your path and monkeys play fighting as they zip along the trees and in and out of the walkways. In the wetland habitat is a solitary Shoebill Stork, which is fairly unnerving to watch.
There is an extensive YouTube channel with a ton of videos of the park animals. Some of the animals are impossibly cute. The park is separated into two sections by a short 2 minute shuttle bus ride. As well as the more exotic critters (depending on where you come from) the secondary area is full of larger, more outdoor animals such as horses, sheep and a few kangaroos. The main area also contains more mundane animals of the smaller variety, with petting areas for cats, rabbits, and a camel ride. There is even a dog rental service where you can hire out a variety of dogs for the day to be your companion.
There are a number of highlights, including impossibly cute red pandas that tend to slouch on top of branches overlooking visitors. Apart from the jaguars, there are hardly any fixed barriers between the animals and the visitors to the point that you wonder why they don’t just jump down and run out the door.
A fun experience for anyone has to be the adorable but immensely lazy Capybara. Their laziness isn’t surprising as tourists spend the entire day constantly walk up to them with food that can be purchased in the enclosure. Poke leaves in the capybara’s faces and watch them barely deign to turn their heads in order to chomp on the handouts.
Access to Nasu Animal Kingdom
There is no public transport direct from any train station to the Animal Kingdom, so as with many places in the Japanese countryside it is better to hire a car if possible. The most direct route by bus is to take the Red Line from the Hotel Epinard (02) or the Michi no Eki (01), both of which can be reached by local bus or Taxi, the route is here. From there you can catch the Red Line around all the major tourist locations. The Animal Kingdom is No. 31 and the Highland Park is No. 25. There is also the Nasu Ropeway however there is no stop within walking distance on the Red or Yellow lines. However, the bus you take to the Michi No Eki goes direct to the Ropeway also.
There is also a Yellow Line which will not take you to the Animal Kingdom.
