Ueno Zoo Opening Day

What Is Ueno Zoo Opening Day?

Every March 20th is "Ueno Zoo Opening Day" (上野動物園開園記念日, Ueno Dōbutsuen Kaien Kinenbi) in Japan. On March 20, 1882, the "Imperial Household Museum's Agricultural Exhibition" at Ueno Park in Tokyo opened a zoological exhibit — the first public display of live animals in a dedicated zoo facility in Japan. This exhibit, which subsequently became the "Ueno Imperial Household Zoo" (上野動物園) and eventually the current Ueno Zoological Gardens (恩賜上野動物園), is Japan's oldest zoo and remains one of its most visited cultural institutions.

Japan's First Zoo

The Ueno Zoo's 1882 opening as part of the Imperial Household Museum complex reflected the Meiji government's policy of creating Western-style cultural and scientific institutions alongside industrialization. A zoo — displaying living animals from around the world in a setting open to the public — was a characteristically Western institution that the Meiji modernizers adopted alongside museums, botanical gardens, and libraries. The zoo was transferred from Imperial Household to Tokyo Metropolitan Government administration after WWII, becoming the "Onshi Ueno Zoological Gardens" (恩賜, meaning "imperial gift").

Ueno Zoo's Panda Connection

Ueno Zoo has been Japan's primary home of giant pandas since 1972, when China gifted two pandas (Kang Kang and Lan Lan) to Japan as diplomatic gifts marking the normalization of Sino-Japanese relations. Subsequent panda births and arrivals at Ueno Zoo have been major national events — panda cubs' first public appearances draw enormous queues and extensive media coverage, reflecting the extraordinary appeal of giant pandas to Japanese audiences.

Fun Facts

• WWII elephant tragedy: Ueno Zoo's elephants were killed during WWII under orders from the military government, which feared that bomb damage to the zoo could release dangerous animals into Tokyo. The story of the zoo's "faithful elephants" (かわいそうなぞう) has become one of Japan's most poignant wartime children's books.
• Visitor numbers: Ueno Zoo attracts approximately 3-4 million visitors annually, making it consistently Japan's most visited zoo. Panda-related events can draw extraordinary single-day crowds exceeding 10,000 visitors.