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A zebra standing beside resting African buffalo on rocky ground at Gunma Safari Park
Photo: diloz さん https://www.flickr.com/photos/diloz/, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Gunma · zoo aquarium

Gunma Safari Park

群馬サファリパーク

A safari park home to about 1,000 animals of some 100 species. Drive your own car or ride a safari bus right past lions, tigers and giraffes.

Two animal-shaped feeding tour buses, one painted like a tiger, parked at Gunma Safari Park
Photo: Kaze315, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Eastern Japan's first full-scale safari park

Gunma Safari Park is in Tomioka, Gunma Prefecture. It opened on 1 May 1979 as the first full-scale safari park in eastern Japan. The grounds cover about 360,000 square metres, and it keeps about 1,000 animals and birds of some 100 species.

The safari area is divided into zones such as Africa, America, Japan, Asia, Tigers and Lions. The highlight is seeing animals such as white tigers, Sumatran elephants and giraffes up close through your car window. In 1986 the park became the first in Japan to successfully breed African elephants.

By car or by bus: choose how to go round

The easiest way is to drive round the safari area in your own car (or a rental car). You drive up to the entrance gate without getting out, then move slowly past the animals. According to the official website, one circuit takes about an hour and a half (depending on your pace and how long you spend at the walking safari). There is also an audio guide you can listen to on your smartphone.

If you do not have a car or want to get closer to the animals, there are buses that tour the park. Options include a zebra-striped safari bus (weekends and public holidays only) and a feeding experience bus shaped like an animal, from which you can feed the animals. Operating days and what is included vary by bus.

Besides the safari area, there is the Walking Safari Zone, where you can approach animals on foot, and Fureai Park ("meet the animals" park), where you can see red pandas, capybaras and more.

Getting there

By car, it is about 5.6 km, or about 10 minutes, from the Tomioka Interchange on the Joshinetsu Expressway.

By train, take the Joshin Electric Railway from JR Takasaki Station to Joshu-Tomioka Station (about 35 minutes), then a taxi (about 15 minutes). On some days a free shuttle bus runs from Joshu-Tomioka Station, but only for limited periods, so check the official website. You can also take a taxi straight from Takasaki Station (about 40 minutes).

The park has closing days, so check the business calendar on the official website for opening days and prices.

Tips

  • When driving round in your own car, keep the windows closed and the doors locked. Whatever happens, never open a window or door or get out of the car inside the safari zone.
  • Convertibles, lorries and cars with canvas tops cannot enter the safari zone, and you cannot enter the park on a motorbike. Camper vans may be turned away depending on their specifications.
  • A new facility, Fushigi no Dobutsu no Mori ("Forest of Mysterious Animals"), opened in July 2025. After your drive, take a look around the areas you can explore on foot too.

Sources

Updated 30 September 2026. Opening hours and prices change, so check the official site before you go.

Keep exploring

Nearby places

Gunma · historic site Tomioka Silk Mill 富岡製糸場 Japan's first full-scale mechanised silk mill, built by the Meiji government in 1872. A World Heritage site in Tomioka, Gunma, with its brick buildings intact.
Gunma · other Konnyaku Park こんにゃくパーク A konnyaku theme park in Gunma, Japan's top konnyaku-growing prefecture. Tour the factory for free and taste about 15 konnyaku dishes.
Gunma · bridge Usui Third Bridge (Megane-bashi) めがね橋 A Meiji-era brick railway bridge with four arches soaring over a valley on the Usui Pass. Walk the Abt Road trail along the old line and cross the bridge itself.
Saitama · nature Nagatoro Iwadatami 長瀞岩畳 Flat rock slabs spread like tatami mats along the Arakawa River in Nagatoro, Saitama, a short walk from the station, with river boats drifting past.
Gunma · shrine Haruna Shrine 榛名神社 Climb a 700m path of giant cedars and strange rocks to halls built against a huge boulder: Haruna Shrine on Mt Haruna, Gunma, over 1,400 years old.
Gunma · old town Ikaho Onsen Stone Steps 伊香保温泉石段街 Ikaho Onsen's main street: 365 stone steps lined with inns and shops, climbing through a 400-year-old spa town with hot water flowing underfoot.