By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-10-06 03:51:56 | Updated at 2026-10-06 04:41:24
56 minutes ago
TOKYO - Visitor numbers have dropped at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoological Gardens since giant pandas Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei returned to China at the end of January.
With no pandas now at the Japanese zoo, visitors from February to August fell by about 20% compared to the same period in 2025. Shoebills are being promoted as its new main attraction, taking advantage of their distinctive habit of standing motionless.
Jan 25 was the last day visitors could see Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei at the zoo. The twins were born at Ueno Zoological Gardens and were loved for their playful antics.
According to the Tokyo metropolitan government, the number of visitors in January exceeded the previous year’s figure by nearly 30,000. From February through August, about 1.53 million people came to the zoo, down 19% from the same period in 2025.
“This decline clearly illustrates the impact of the pandas’ return,” deputy zoo director Mikako Kaneko said. “Many people used to come even on weekdays to see them.”
The panda enclosure in the East Garden had been closed since 2023, when the twins’ elder sister Xiang Xiang returned to China. However, it was opened to the public in late July ahead of its demolition and the area’s walkway displayed photo panels of past pandas.
A visitor from Abiko, Chiba Prefecture, said she was happy to visit one last time.
“I’ve come here a lot since my childhood to relax,” she said.
The zoo will likely be without pandas for a while. A senior metropolitan government official was quoted as saying: “New pandas are unlikely to arrive as long as there are no signs of a thaw in Japan-China relations.”
Tokyo Governor’s favourite
The zoo has singled out shoebills, or hashibiroko, as its next stars. Native to central and eastern Africa, the large birds are popular for the contrast between their piercing, almost menacing gaze and the humorous expressions they occasionally display.
Tokyo has launched large-scale promotion of the shoebills, and Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has even said the birds are her favourite. More visitors have been visiting their area with cameras, with some people saying things like “It moved” or “They’re cuter than I thought”.
Shoebills are being promoted as the zoo’s new main attraction, taking advantage of their distinctive habit of standing motionless.
PHOTO: THE JAPAN NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
The Ueno zoo is operating a free, self-driving electric cart decorated with a shoebill that tours the Panda Forest in the West Garden, where Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei used to be located.
“I’ve wanted to ride in the cart ever since I saw it for the first time,” said Ito Ichikawa, a first-grader from Hamamatsu who went on the cart with her family.
Night-at-the-zoo events were organised in May and June to observe the shoebills’ nocturnal behavior. Such night-time events are typically held from summer to autumn.
Hopes for pandas’ return
Since the giant pandas Kang Kang and Lan Lan arrived in Japan in 1972, the idea has taken root that “Ueno is about pandas”. There are none in the area now, but Ueno still holds events in the hope that pandas will come back.
Matsuzakaya Ueno department store held its annual event in June - the birth month of Xiang Xiang, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei - by putting up a giant banner of them on an exterior wall and hosting a photo exhibition with a stamp rally.
Ueno is a place where panda fans gather to remember them, engaging in such activities as having a meal together after the exhibition.
“We had a tremendous amount of feedback (after the event). We learned that a lot of people crave a place where they can feel the presence of pandas, even just a little,” a spokesperson for the department store said.
Tadao Futatsugi, 73, the honorary chairman of the Ueno Tourism Association, said he does not sense that much of a decline in the number of visitors to Ueno because the area is rich in museums and other tourist attractions. He said he also sees many visitors from abroad.
However, Futatsugi said he felt keenly that having pandas in Ueno was not a given.
“We’re eagerly awaiting their return,” he said.
J.F. Oberlin University professor Yuji Yamaguchi, an expert on the leisure industry, said: “The pandas were the biggest stars at Ueno Zoo. We may see further repercussions in the future, for example in lower merchandise sales.
“It must be a tough time for the zoo, and it will need to make even greater efforts to attract new fans and communicate effectively.” THE JAPAN NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
