February/2/2019
Did you know that there’s a jungle in Fukui Prefecture where animals live? A zoo called Happy Jungle opened in Fukui in 2018. It takes about 40 minutes to get there from Fukui Station on foot. There’s also a regular zoo next to Happy Jungle.
Happy Jungle is an indoor zoo, and you can go in for free. The zoo has two floors, and the second floor is a rest area where you can buy food and see the animals through the windows. The first floor is the main part of the zoo.
When I went inside, I smelled the animals right away. It was hot and humid inside the building, which was smaller than I’d expected. There were about 15 people, and some of them were feeding the capybaras. You can buy feed for the capybaras for 100 yen, so I did that.
The capybaras were really cute. They moved slowly and had a relaxed attitude, and they seemed happy and content. I felt like I wanted to be like them.
There are no fences in the zoo, so you feel like you’re in the jungle. The animals walk and fly around you.
There was a small monkey called a common marmoset. It was constantly moving and seemed to have a lot of curiosity.
The toucans were very cute, with large yellow beaks and cute eyes. However, they chirped like large toads.
The two-toed sloth was asleep when I got there. I wanted to see its face but couldn’t. Then it was time for the sloth to eat. A staff person poked it with a piece of fruit, and it woke up and climbed slowly up the tree. The people at the zoo gathered around to watch the sloth, which ate while hanging upside-down from the tree. The staff explained that two-toed sloths sleep 20 hours a day and wake up only to eat. This sloth is named Asahi-kun.
I realized that there are three good points about this zoo:
- Happy Jungle is an indoor zoo, so you can enjoy it all year round.
- The distance between the animals and the visitors is very small.
- The animals in the zoo are cute.
If you go to Happy Jungle, you’ll surely enjoy it!
—–Happy Jungle Information—–
(Opening Hours) 9:30 a.m.～4:30 p.m. (You should enter the zoo until 4:00 p.m.)
(Closed) Every Monday (If Monday is a public holiday, it’ll be closed on Tuesday.)
(No Available Days) Dec.29th～Jan.3rd
(Admission)Free
(Parking) There are some parking lots.