Ichihara Elephant Kingdom ten elephants in Chiba

Ichihara Elephant Kingdom (市原ぞうの国) is a zoo in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture that centres its collection on elephants and close-contact exhibits. The site occupies about 3.5 hectares and the park keeps roughly 70 species and about 350 individual animals.

Management and organisation

The park opened on April 28, 1989 as the Yamagogawa Farm Animal Club, established from the company Shonan Animal Production. In 1996 the facility was renamed Ichihara Elephant Kingdom. In 1998 the original Shonan Animal Production changed its corporate name due to management independence; the current Shonan Animal Production (based in Narita City) is a second-generation corporation established after that split and has no business or capital relationship with Ichihara Elephant Kingdom or the renamed company.

Ichihara Elephant Kingdom is a member institution of the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Since March 23, 2021 the park and its nearby facilities were relaunched under a unified name as the Animal Wonder Rezourt (ANIMAL WONDER REZOURT), a configuration that groups Ichihara Elephant Kingdom together with Sayuri World.

Elephants and exhibits

As of June 2021 the park keeps ten elephants in total: nine Asian elephants and one African elephant, the largest number kept by a single institution in Japan. Over time Ichihara Elephant Kingdom has taken elephants in from other zoos and circuses, including animals from facilities that later closed such as Tsukioka Zoo (closed 1991), Koshien Hanshin Park (closed 2003) and Nanki Shirahama World Safari (now Adventure World).

The park presents a concentration of elephants alongside other species and runs an on-site facility called the Elephant Knowledge Hall, which introduces the status of elephant husbandry and ecology in Japan and is used to carry out public education about elephants.

Visitor experiences with elephants

The park’s public programme includes a scheduled elephant show referred to as the “elephant performance time.” Live demonstrations are handled by the park’s mahouts; the handlers who work the performance are all Thai.

Hands-on experiences available at the park include an elephant ride (marketed as an elephant ride) that lets visitors ride on an elephant’s back, and an attraction called the elephant lift that lets participants hang from an elephant’s trunk. These interactions are part of the park’s emphasis on close-up contact between visitors and animals.

Satellite parks and accommodation

Ichihara Elephant Kingdom operates a nearby satellite park called Sayuri World. Sayuri World functions effectively as an annex of the main site: animals are displayed without fences in places so visitors can approach giraffes and kangaroos at close range, and animals move between Ichihara Elephant Kingdom and Sayuri World as part of the same organisation. Sayuri World offers a programme called “Giraffe Brunch” in which visitors share a meal experience with giraffes. Sayuri World lies a short walk from the main park (about five minutes on foot) and a free shuttle bus also operates between the two; set admission tickets that cover both parks are available.

Attached to Sayuri World is Pension OWL, a members-oriented pension where rooms provide views of giraffes. The pension’s name is OWL (not Giraffe), and “Sayuri” is the park director’s name; the lodging is described as having a private-garden atmosphere.

The organisation also established Katsuura Elephant Paradise in Katsuura, Chiba in 2005. That facility was laid out on 13 hectares of natural hillside and operated as a members-only retirement area for elephants where participants could take elephant trekking with a mahout into the mountain. As of November 2025 Katsuura Elephant Paradise is closed.

Getting there

By rail: the Kominato Railway serves Takataki Station (高滝駅); a free shuttle bus runs from Takataki Station to the park with a travel time of about 10 minutes.

By highway and car: from the Ken-O Expressway (Metropolitan Inter-City Expressway) the closest interchange is Ichihara Tsurumai IC — from there take Prefectural Route 168 toward the Takataki area for approximately 2 kilometres. From the Tateyama Expressway the Ichihara IC connects to National Route 297 toward Katsuura for about 25 kilometres.

By bus: a free shuttle bus also runs from Ichihara Tsurumai Bus Terminal to the park.

Sayuri World is within a short walking distance of Ichihara Elephant Kingdom (about a five-minute walk) and is also linked by the free shuttle bus service between the two sites.

Timeline highlights

• 1989-04-28: Opened as Yamagogawa Farm Animal Club with Shonan Animal Production as the base organisation.
• 1996: Renamed Ichihara Elephant Kingdom.
• 1998: Corporate name change at the original Shonan Animal Production following management independence.
• 2005: Katsuura Elephant Paradise opened in Katsuura as a 13-hectare elephant retirement area.
• 2011-07-30: Sayuri World and Pension OWL opened (initial/partial opening).
• 2021-03-23: Ichihara Elephant Kingdom and Sayuri World were relaunched together under the name Animal Wonder Rezourt (ANIMAL WONDER REZOURT).

FAQ

How many elephants are kept at Ichihara Elephant Kingdom?

As of June 2021 the park keeps nine Asian elephants and one African elephant, ten in total, the largest number in Japan.

Does the park operate any satellite facilities?

Yes; it operates Sayuri World and Katsuura Elephant Paradise, and Ichihara Elephant Kingdom and Sayuri World together form the Animal Wonder Rezourt.

Who works as the elephant handlers during performances?

The mahouts who handle elephants in the park's performance are all Thai.

Is Katsuura Elephant Paradise open to visitors now?

As of November 2025 Katsuura Elephant Paradise is closed.