Japanese at a Zoo and Aquarium: Tickets, Feeding Times and Signs

Buying tickets at the entrance

Tickets are sold at a ticket window, kippu uriba or chiketto uriba, or at a ticket machine. Entry is nyūen for a zoo and nyūkan for an aquarium, so the fee is nyūenryō or nyūkanryō. Prices are set by age band, such as adults, secondary school pupils and younger children, and very young children are often free. Age bands and prices differ between facilities, so read the board.

Many places also sell online tickets, and some sell tickets at convenience stores. If you plan to leave for lunch and come back, ask about re-entry, sainyūen or sainyūkan, before you go out; some facilities stamp your hand or ticket, and some do not allow it.

Feeding times, shows and talks

The best parts of a visit are usually scheduled. Near the entrance you will find a board or leaflet listing today's events, kyō no ibento, with times and places. Feeding is esa or esayari, and many zoos turn it into a short talk by a keeper, shiikuin, explaining the animal. Some call it mogumogu taimu; aquariums may write ogyo taimu for fish feeding.

Aquariums often have dolphin or sea lion shows, iruka shō and ashika shō, in an outdoor stadium. Seats near the front can be marked as a splash area, and the sign is serious: you may get soaked. Shows can be cancelled or changed for weather or the animals' condition, which is written as chūshi.

Animal words for zoo signs

Enclosure signs usually give the animal's name in katakana, which makes them easier to read than you might expect once you know the pattern. Animal names in scientific or formal use are often written in katakana even when they have kanji, so a lion is ライオン and a giraffe is キリン.

Many signs also show a status: an animal may be resting indoors, in its bedroom, or not on display that day. Kyūsokuchū means resting, and naishitsu means the indoor room.

Sea creature words for aquarium tanks

Aquarium labels follow the same katakana habit. Some creatures are famous favourites in Japan, such as the ōsanshōuo, the giant salamander, and the chinanago, garden eels, and jellyfish exhibits, kurage, are hugely popular. Touch pools, tacchi pūru or fureai kōnā, let children touch starfish or sea cucumbers under supervision, with their own rules about washing hands and handling gently.

The rules on the signs

Rule signs at zoos and aquariums are short and polite, usually ending in kudasai, please. They are worth knowing, because staff do enforce them, and the reasons are mostly the animals' wellbeing: tapping the glass and flashes stress animals, and outside food can make them ill.

Keep an eye out for signs about restricted areas and drones, and for facilities where strollers are not allowed on certain paths or stairs.

Visiting with children

Japanese zoos and aquariums are built with families in mind. Many rent buggies, bebīkā, near the entrance, and have nursing rooms, junyūshitsu, and baby-changing tables, omutsu kōkandai. Maps usually mark these with pictograms, but it helps to be able to ask.

Children will hear their own words for animals, and Japanese parents often use cute forms: zō-san for an elephant, kirin-san for a giraffe. Hearing and repeating these is a gentle way for children to pick up Japanese too.

When something goes wrong: lost children and lost items

Busy weekends and holidays make it easy for children to wander off. A lost child is maigo, and facilities usually have a place where lost children are looked after, often at the information desk, which may be called the maigo sentā. Go to the nearest staff member straight away and describe the child's age, clothes and name clearly.

For a lost bag, phone or ticket, ask at the information desk, infomēshon, and describe the item and where you last had it. If you realise after leaving, call the facility with the same description.