zoo Higashiizu, JP
IZU RESORT VILLA
Not a zoo and not a cafe — a hotel in Shizuoka where the villas look onto a capybara habitat and the morning routine includes feeding them.
Plan your visit
- Type
- encounter
- Hours
-
There are no visiting hours. Access to the capybaras is a guest privilege — supervised meet-and-greets and a morning feeding — so the unit of admission is a night's stay.
- Cost
- Priced as accommodation, not as an animal experience. Expect resort-villa rates rather than a session fee.
- Best time
- Year-round; the Izu peninsula is mildest in spring and autumn
- Booking
- It is a hotel — book like one
Unconfirmed We could not fully confirm the details here. Treat everything as a lead and check the official site before you go.
The only entry in this directory where the price of entry is a hotel booking.
A different format entirely
Every other venue on this site sells time. This one sells a night. The villas are built overlooking a capybara habitat, and being a guest is what gets you the supervised meet-and-greets and the morning feeding rather than a ticket.
It sits on the Izu peninsula, the same stretch of Shizuoka as Izu Shaboten Zoo, which is where the capybara onsen tradition began in the first place. Doing both in one trip is the obvious move.
What that means for cost
You cannot compare this to a ¥2,300 cafe session, and it would be dishonest to try. You are paying for accommodation at a resort villa and the capybaras come with the room.
Whether that is good value depends entirely on whether you were going to stay somewhere on the Izu peninsula anyway. If you were, the marginal cost of the capybaras is close to zero. If you were not, this is an expensive way to meet one.
Marked unverified
Rates, the exact form of the guest interaction, and any age restrictions all come from Japanese travel coverage rather than from the operator as read from here.
The property and the capybaras are well documented. The specifics of the experience are the part to confirm before booking.
Good to know
- This is a hotel. Access to the capybaras comes with the room, not with a ticket.
- Supervised meet-and-greets plus a morning feeding are the reported guest offering.
- Same peninsula as Izu Shaboten Zoo, which is also listed here. Do both.
- Marked unverified — confirm what the capybara access actually includes before you book on that basis.
Published on September 2, 2026 By Grumpy Capy
FAQ
Is this a zoo?
No. It is a resort with villas overlooking a capybara habitat. You get access as a hotel guest.
Can I visit for the day?
Not as far as we can establish. The capybara access is a guest privilege, so the entry price is a night's stay.
What else is nearby?
Izu Shaboten Zoo, the park that invented the capybara hot spring, is on the same peninsula and is listed in this directory.
Details change – always confirm hours, prices, and booking on the official site before you travel. Animal encounters are subject to each venue's welfare rules.
