“Aso
Kuma Bokujou” (Aso Bear Ranch), opened in 1973 as a tourism attraction centered
on a collection of bears. The following
years saw the addition of a Japanese garden, a restaurant, other animals and
other entertainment features, and the facility was renamed “Aso Cuddly Dominion”
in 1998. At the time of this writing,
the collection was said to include 600 individual animals of 80 different
species. The facility is located in a
part of Kumamoto Prefecture which experienced a devastating earthquake in April
2016, and damage to nearby highway infrastructure has apparently caused a
significant decrease in the number of visitors coming to Aso Cuddly Dominion. Almost 3 years later, the roads are still
being rebuilt and repaired.
All about Bears
Kumamoto Prefecture’s tourism mascot,
“Kumamon”, greeted visitors at the entrance. For Aso Cuddly Dominion, this is a
natural tie-up because the “Kuma” in “Kumamoto” is Japanese for “bear”.
As
mentioned earlier, Aso Cuddly Dominion started operation as a “bear ranch”. Even today, the main focus is on bears. Immediately after entering, visitors will see
the “Bear Valley” in front of them. “Bear
Valley” is a complex of enclosures which house both domestic Japanese bears as
well as bear species from other countries.
The
walkway areas for visitors were elevated above the bear enclosures. The result of this design is that visitors were
looking down to see bears that were mainly sitting or sleeping in concrete
pits.
This is
the “Glass bridge”.
Here,
visitors could look straight down at the bears.
There were
many signs with explanations of the different
species of bears and their characteristics.
Visitors
could buy treats to feed to the bears.
The
below photo shows mikans (a type of orange) being sold for 500 yen and bread at
300 yen for a bag.
Visitors
made payments on the honor system – put your money in the slot.
This
poster showed visitors the actual size of an Ezo brown bear.
Additional
concrete pits housed Japanese black bears.
I
counted 15 black bears in this particular enclosure.
The
below photo shows the part of an Ezo brown bear enclosure which was visible
above ground level.
This
was the view into the concrete pit that was below ground level. I counted 8 bears in this enclosure. It seemed the bears were huddled together for
warmth.
I
counted two bears in this enclosure.
More
bears:
Some
of these metal fixtures appeared to be quite old.
Some
parts seemed to have fallen off from this apparatus.
Another
metal apparatus that looked old.
Enclosure
holding juvenile black bears.
Photo Sessions
One of the popular attractions
at this facility was the opportunity to interact with bear cubs. For 500 yen, a group of up to 5 people could
have their photo taken while holding a bear cub.
During
the session, staff coaxed the cub into poses by feeding it fruits and
treats. For safety, the cub was muzzled
so that it could not open its mouth wide enough to bite people. The cub was dressed in a pull-over sweatshirt
and denim pants, and I thought that the cub appeared less like a natural animal
and more like a strange exotic child. In
some places, this type of photo opportunity is frowned upon because of concerns
for the safety of visitors and the possible transmission of disease to the young
animal. Considering the unfortunate
fashion that the cub was forced to wear, perhaps the greatest harm on this
occasion was to the poor cub’s dignity.
The signs below announced two
photo sessions with bear cubs.
Various
bear goods for sale.
Petting Zoo
As
the facility’s name, “Aso Cuddly Dominion”, implied, there were many cuddly
animals in this collection. In the
mid-1980’s, the facility shifted its philosophy of showing animals to one of
providing interactions with them.
Accordingly, a significant area was dedicated to a petting zoo area.
This
was a stand selling various treats to feed to the animals.
A
look at the inside of the small building housing small animals.
Guinea
pigs
Rabbits
Turtles
Goldfish
Miniature
pigs
Goats
Ostrich
Alpacas
There
was also a Reptile house.
The Celebrity
Despite
being located in a very rural area, Aso Cuddly Dominion has a good deal of name
recognition throughout Japan. For many
years, the facility has conducted an animal show, and in the early 2000’s, “Pan-kun”,
the chimpanzee star of that show, was frequently featured on a very popular nationally-broadcast
variety television program. On that
show, the very young chimpanzee was often dressed in a shirt and overalls and handled
and hugged by very famous celebrities.
Pan-kun
is much bigger and stronger now, and I haven’t seen him hug a celebrity on
television for quite a while. Perhaps
the celebrities have heard of incidents in other countries where adult
chimpanzees have attacked and injured humans. Looking at Pan-kun on this somewhat cold and
windy day, I wondered if he ever yearns to once again hug the television
celebrities that used to play with him. Alternatively, I wondered if he perhaps would
like to get revenge on the celebrities for forcing him to wear those silly
clothes.
Pan-kun
Enclosure
for Pan-kun and his mate “Poko”.
Other Animals
Capybaras
Horses
and cow
Penguins
African
porcupine
Miniature
pigs
Other attractions and
facilities
I
was surprised to see that there was a helicopter ride featuring a real small
helicopter. The shortest option on the
price list was a 2-minute flight for 3000 yen.
Japanese
garden
Food and Souvenirs
There
was a restaurant near the Japanese garden.
I did
not have enough time to eat there, but the menu looked pretty good with various
types of udon, ramen, curry, and even hotdogs.
Next
to the exit was a well-stocked souvenir store.
There were many locally produced food items like sake, cookies and
Japanese sweets, many animal-themed items, and even a few items branded with
the facility name.
Getting There
According
to Aso Cuddly Dominion’s pamphlet, you can catch a train on the JR Houhi Line from
Oita Station to Aso Station. From Aso
Station, it is supposed to be a 3 minute taxi ride to Aso Cuddly Dominion. I cannot confirm the accuracy of the pamphlet
information as I had a friend drive me about 1 hour from Kumamoto City. Adult admission (high school students and
older) was 2400 yen. Entrance for
children from elementary school to intermediate school was 1300 yen. The fee for children from 3 years old to
elementary school was 700 yen.
(Note:
All photos in this post were taken during a visit made on February 18, 2019. The comments in this post are based on
observations made at that time.
Conditions may have since changed.
Please check it out for yourself!)
