You can read my previous Japan travelogue here:
http://mons-diary.blogspot.sg/2015/02/kyushu-japan-trip-day-1-beppu.html
http://mons-diary.blogspot.sg/2015/03/kyushu-japan-trip-day-2-beppu-jigoku.html
Of all attractions that we have visited at Kyushu, I can confidently say that this left me the most memorable impression. I think was so excited that I was almost hyperventilating when we found out that we could feed the animals while sitting in the caged bus shaped like an animal.
And you know what’s even more amazing? We could feed African predators like the lion and bear. (Which you won’t get to feed in most zoos) It’s really such an unique and once-in-a-lifetime experience to get such an up close view with these animals – just less than a metre apart. You can scroll down to watch the video.
The bus will make a stop at every section of the Safari Zone, and it seems like the animals were already expecting food from the visitors. They came towards the caged bus and patiently opened their mouths for us to feed them.
There were some common herbivorous animals like the giraffes, American bison, sheeps, goats, etc.
Personally, I enjoyed feeding the lions most! After all, lions are always kept super far apart from visitors in the zoos. You can’t even view them from a closer distance, not to mention feeding them! They don’t look as fierce as I thought though.
Unfortunately, we didn’t get to feed the tiger and cheetahs! We watched the zookeeper fed them though.
The exterior look of the Jungle bus that we were in.
After taking the Jungle bus ride through the entire section of the Safari Zone, we went to the Fureai Zone – which is a zone for feeding and playing with smaller animals. You can just purchase a packet of food for 100 yen which is really affordable. That means I can buy more! Being able to interact with these animals is definitely a lot more interesting than standing a distance apart.
The only pity is that some animals are not available for viewing due to the cold weather. I think we missed out several sections like the dogs, cats, rabbits, and even porcupines. There was no pony riding that day as well.
Another of my favourite feeding sessions is feeding the monkeys, and we were all surprised that we were allowed to feed these monkeys with small seeds that can be purchased for 100 yen per cup. At first, I wasn’t so sure how to feed them, wouldn’t they accidentally bite me since the seeds are so small? After a while, the monkeys actually stretched out their hands to “ask” for the food. So this is how you feed them.. I see.
Their hands are really so tiny and delicate. The whole process is so entertaining when the monkeys tried to snatch the food from your hands if you hold it tight and not let go.
One of the monkey accidentally dropped the seed while we passed it to him, and we were like “awwwwww, poor monkey”. And you should look at how quickly they cracked open each seed. I think I will take forever trying to do it.
The Fureai Zone also has a house of little guinea pigs where we get to pet and play with them. Brown and white guinea pigs are irresistibly adorable!!
Awwwww… sweet.
We didn’t get to feed the kangaroos because the food were sold out already! ):
You can watch how we feed the monkeys, bears and lions here in this video:
African Safari is truly a perfect place for anyone who likes to interact with animals. For just 2700 yen (SGD30) per adult, I think that it is really very affordable. I highly recommend you to check out this place if you ever visit Kyushu for holidays!
http://www.fujisafari.co.jp/english/
