Kyoto City Zoo
Okazaki, Kyoto
1 Dec to 29 Feb
- Tue to Sun
- 9:00 to 16:30
- Mon
- Closed
Rest of the year
- Tue to Sun
- 9:00 to 17:00
- Mon
- Closed
Last entry 30 minutes before closing. When Monday is a public holiday it closes the next weekday instead. Closed 28 December to 1 January.
Source: zoo.city.kyoto.lg.jp, checked 11 Oct 2026.
Kyoto City Zoo opened in Okazaki Park on 1 April 1903, starting with 238 animals of 61 species. It's a short walk from Heian Shrine and the Okazaki museums, so it fits easily into a day in the area.
Insider tip
Entry is ¥750, and children of junior high school age and under get in free. It's closed on Mondays. If you park at Okazaki Park, show your zoo ticket for ¥100 off.
What the guides say about Kyoto City Zoo
It's a daytime neighbourhood. The sights close by 17:00 or 18:00, so if you want bars near your bed you're better off near Kawaramachi. Travelling with kids? Kyoto City Zoo lets children of junior high school age and under in free.
What's on at Kyoto City Zoo
Upcoming events at Kyoto City Zoo and within a ten-minute walk, from the weekly Kyoto events calendar.
Kyoto City Zoo Autumn Night Opening
京都市動物園 秋の夜間開園
Time 10 to 12, 17, 24 and 31 Oct and 7 Nov, open to 20:00 (last entry 19:30) Station Keage (Tozai Line), 7 min walk
On seven autumn days the zoo stays open until 20:00 and is lit after dark, with keeper talks at 17:30, 18:00 and 18:30 and an outdoor film at 19:00 from 12 Oct. Entry is the usual ¥750, free for junior high school students and younger, and gorillas, monkeys and some birds aren't on show at night.
inunami, CC BY 2.0 Thinking Sculptors: Raphaël Zarka and Horiuchi Masakazu
思考する彫刻家 ラファエル・ザルカと堀内正和（仮称）
Time 10:00 to 18:00 (last entry 17:30), closed Mondays except 22 March and 3 May Station Higashiyama (Tozai Line), 8 min walk
The Paris sculptor Raphaël Zarka, known for sculpture you can skate on, shown with the Kyoto-born abstract pioneer Horiuchi Masakazu through finished works, sketches, notebooks and models. Zarka is researching at Villa Kujoyama and will show new pieces made there.
そらみみ, CC BY-SA 3.0 Gilbert & George
ギルバート＆ジョージ展
Time 10:00 to 18:00 (last entry 17:30), closed Mondays unless a holiday Station Higashiyama (Tozai Line), 8 min walk
Japan's first big Gilbert & George show in 30 years, from the 1969 film of their Singing Sculpture to the huge recent photo pictures. Photos and films from their 1970s visits to Japan are planned too.
そらみみ, CC BY-SA 3.0 Yamaga Seika: Textile Artist of Soaring Imagination
特別展 生誕140年記念 染織家 山鹿清華 宙翔ぶイマジネーション
Time 10:00 to 18:00 (last entry 17:30) Station Higashiyama (Tozai Line), 8 min walk
The first retrospective in 40 years of Yamaga Seika, who designed, chose the thread and wove his own tapestries, from Gion Matsuri float hangings to wall pieces showing locomotives, rockets and Tokyo Tower. It's closed on Mondays unless they're holidays.
そらみみ, CC BY-SA 3.0 Zen and Ghibli
「禅とジブリ」京都展
Time 10:00 to 18:00 (last entry 17:30) Station Higashiyama (Tozai Line), 8 min walk
Built on producer Suzuki Toshio's book of conversations with Zen monks, this hands-on show looks at Ghibli films through a Zen eye, set in the world of Miyazaki Hayao's The Boy and the Heron. It's closed on Mondays unless they're holidays, and numbered entry tickets may be handed out when it's crowded.
そらみみ, CC BY-SA 3.0 Nearby
Around Okazaki
Art museums, Meiji gardens and Nanzen-ji along the Lake Biwa Canal
Okazaki is Kyoto's museum quarter. Two art museums sit either side of the approach to Heian Shrine, by its giant torii, and the zoo, a crafts museum and ROHM Theatre Kyoto are a few minutes away round Okazaki Park. Follow the Lake Biwa Canal east and you're at Nanzen-ji, with Eikan-do and Murin-an a short walk from its gate.
Okazaki has 27 places on the Roam Kyoto map: 9 shrines and temples, 6 museums, 4 restaurants, 2 cafes, 2 shops, 2 landmarks and 2 parks and gardens. Read the Okazaki guide.
Good to know
- What is the address of Kyoto City Zoo?
- Okazaki Park, Okazaki Hoshojicho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto (in Japanese: 京都市左京区岡崎法勝寺町岡崎公園内).
- What are the opening hours of Kyoto City Zoo?
- 1 Dec to 29 Feb: Tue to Sun 9:00 to 16:30; Closed Mon. Rest of the year: Tue to Sun 9:00 to 17:00; Closed Mon. Last entry 30 minutes before closing. When Monday is a public holiday it closes the next weekday instead. Closed 28 December to 1 January.
- How do I get to Kyoto City Zoo?
- The nearest station is Keage (Tozai Line). Kyoto City Zoo is in Okazaki, Kyoto.
- How much does Kyoto City Zoo cost?
- Kyoto City Zoo is cheap, marked ¥ on the site's price scale.
- How long do you need at Kyoto City Zoo?
- Plan for 2 hours.
- When is the best time to visit Kyoto City Zoo?
- Weekday mornings.
Stay near Kyoto City Zoo
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