Ueno Zoo sits inside Ueno Park in Taitō, Tokyo, and has operated continuously since March 20, 1882, making it Japan’s oldest zoological garden. Over nearly a century and a half it has grown from an early Meiji-era menagerie into the country’s most-visited zoo, home to roughly 2,500 animals across about 300 species on a compact 14.3-hectare (35-acre) site split into east and west gardens connected by a monorail.
The zoo is best known internationally for the giant pandas that lived there from 1972 (with a gap after Ling Ling’s death in 2008) until the last pair, twins Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, returned to China in January 2026, ending Japan’s decades-long era of panda diplomacy at Ueno. Beyond pandas, the zoo houses Sumatran tigers, western lowland gorillas, and a wide range of other species, and it also carries a somber wartime history: in August 1943, zoo administrator Shigeo Ōdachi ordered the killing of the zoo’s large and ‘dangerous’ animals, an event now marked by a memorial erected in 1975.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Taitō, Tokyo, Japan
- Opened: March 20, 1882
- Size: 14.3 hectares (about 35 acres)
- Species/animal count: About 300 species, roughly 2,500 animals
- Annual visitors: About 3.3 million (FY2023)
- Famous for: Japan’s oldest zoo and, until early 2026, its giant pandas
A Zoo Steeped in History
Ueno Zoo opened in 1882 under the Meiji government as part of a larger national museum complex, predating every other zoo in Japan. It expanded over the decades into an east and west garden joined by a monorail, and survived the upheavals of the 20th century, including the tragic 1943 order to kill its large animals during World War II as a wartime safety measure, an event the zoo now commemorates with an on-site memorial.
Pandas and Present-Day Exhibits
Giant pandas first arrived at Ueno in 1972 as a gift marking normalized Japan-China relations, and they became the zoo’s signature draw for most of the following five decades. A new pair, Ri Ri and Shin Shin, arrived in 2011 and produced several cubs, including twins Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, before the whole family was returned to China by early 2026. Today the zoo’s roughly 2,500 animals still include Sumatran tigers, western lowland gorillas, and hundreds of other species spread across its Tokyo grounds.
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Ueno Zoo FAQs
Is Ueno Zoo the oldest zoo in Japan?
Yes. Ueno Zoo opened on March 20, 1882, making it Japan’s oldest zoological garden.
Does Ueno Zoo still have giant pandas?
No. Its last pandas, twins Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, were returned to China in January 2026, leaving Japan without any pandas for the first time since 1972.
How many animals live at Ueno Zoo?
The zoo houses roughly 2,500 individual animals representing about 300 species across its 14.3-hectare grounds in Taitō, Tokyo.
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