Zoo & Aquarium · Omachi (Ichikawa)

Ichikawa City Zoological and Botanical Garden 市川市動植物園

A small, cheap municipal zoo in Ichikawas green Omachi hills that became world-famous in 2026 thanks to Punch, the baby Japanese macaque who clung to an IKEA orangutan plush; also known for red pandas.

About

For decades Ichikawas zoo was a local secret: a compact, wooded zoo and botanical garden on the Omachi hillside with red pandas, otters, meerkats, gibbons, a petting area and a rose garden, all for a few hundred yen. Then in early 2026 videos of Punch, a baby Japanese macaque rejected by his mother and hand-raised by keepers, carrying a stuffed IKEA orangutan everywhere went viral under #HangInTherePunch, crowds surged, and the plush sold out worldwide. Punch has since been gradually accepted by the troop on Monkey Mountain. Beyond the celebrity, the zoo has bred Sichuan red pandas since 1986 (a gift from sister city Leshan), and the attached botanical garden, nature trail and nearby pear orchards make for a gentle half-day.

Highlights

• Punch the viral baby macaque on Monkey Mountain
• Sichuan red pandas bred here since 1986
• Otters, meerkats and gibbons in a wooded setting
• Botanical garden, rose garden and nature observation trail
• Pear orchards along the road in August-September

Tips

• Weekday mornings avoid the Punch crowds; keepers post updates on the zoos social media.
• Take a bus from Motoyawata or Ichikawa-Ono Station to Dobutsuen-mae.
• In late summer, buy pears from the farm stands on the way in.
• Closed Mondays (Tuesday if a holiday).

Open in Google Maps · Info checked 2026-10-09

Nearby

• Ichikawa Pear Picking (Omachi Nashi Kaido)Activities & Experiences · 700 m away
• Shimousa KokubunjiTemple · 4.8 km away
• Nakayama Hokekyo-jiTemple · 4.9 km away
• Ichikawa Higashiyama Kaii Memorial HallMuseum · 5.0 km away
• Katsushika HachimanguShrine · 5.2 km away
• Junsaiike Green ParkPark · 5.4 km away
• Yawata no YabushirazuLocal Secret · 5.5 km away
• Tekona ReidoShrine · 5.6 km away