While many Tokyo zoos and aquariums are temporarily closed due to the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak, some facilities have decided to bring the animals to us with daily updates on our favourite critters via photos and videos on social media.
本日のジャイアントパンダです。#臨時休園中#デイパン#休園中の動物園水族館 pic.twitter.com/pTxnELKO4Y
— 上野動物園［公式］ (@UenoZooGardens) March 11, 2020
Ueno Zoo, for example, is closed until March 15 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, but zoo staff have been providing photos and short videos of their perennially popular giant pandas and other zoo animals on the official Ueno Zoo Twitter account.
おいでー
— サンシャイン水族館 (@Sunshine_Aqua) March 13, 2020
シュガー♂#モモイロペリカン #休園中央の動物園水族館 pic.twitter.com/gCcekGDloU
Ikebukuro’s Sunshine Aquarium, also closed until March 15, posts daily updates on Twitter as well, but more noteworthy are the daily Instagram live streams, where the staff introduce you to different fish and other animals, and give background information on how they feed them and clean the tanks.
臨時休園中も、#おうちでかさりん を楽しんでください！
— 葛西臨海水族園［公式］ (@KasaiSuizokuen) March 12, 2020
今日は「バハカリフォルニア」水槽のジャイアントホークフィッシュの様子をお届けします。#ツイッターで楽しむ水族館 #エア博物館 pic.twitter.com/FQb026IKOk
Tokyo Sea Life Park, located on the shores of Tokyo Bay near Tokyo Disney Resort, is also closed until March 15. On the park’s Twitter account, you can see daily updates on the aquarium inhabitants, such as the giant hawkfish pictured above.
きょうは13日の金曜日… 気にしない気にしない#Twitterで楽しむ水族館 #ドクウツボ pic.twitter.com/fg0kdewmHR
— 新江ノ島水族館 (@enosui_com) March 13, 2020
Further afield, the Enoshima Aquarium – on an island close to Kamakura in Kanagawa prefecture – is also closed, this time until March 19. However, on the attraction’s official Twitter and Instagram accounts, you can watch fun videos of seals, clown mantis shrimp, capybara and more adorable creatures, plus see photos of Mt Fuji. You can also follow the aquarium’s official YouTube channel and enjoy live streams of all the weird and wonderful sea creatures.
If all that just makes you want to visit a zoo in person, then don’t worry – some places, such as the Tama Zoo and the Inokashira Nature & Culture Park, are still open.
To find more videos and photos from zoos and aquariums across Japan, keep an eye on these hashtags on Twitter: #休園中の動物園水族館 and #ツイッターで楽しむ水族館.
Plenty of venues in Tokyo are still open despite coronavirus. If you love animals, you’ll love these cute and crazy Japanese pet products.
If all that just makes you want to visit a zoo in person, then don’t worry – some places, such as the Tama Zoo and the Inokashira Nature & Culture Park, are still open.
To find more videos and photos from zoos and aquariums across Japan, keep an eye on these hashtags on Twitter: #休園中の動物園水族館 and #ツイッターで楽しむ水族館.
Plenty of venues in Tokyo are still open despite coronavirus. If you love animals, you’ll love these cute and crazy Japanese pet products.