One of the theme parks created by bird collector Motoaki Kamo, it opened on September 20, 2003, in Kakegawa City, Shizuoka Prefecture.Kakegawa Flower and Bird Park"fart!
This theme park boasts a vast area with a large greenhouse featuring high ceilings and complete air conditioning and heating, where you can admire seasonal flowers. It also includes an indoor area with beautiful water lilies, and outdoor areas such as a pond with swans and pelicans, and an emu farm, allowing you to enjoy interacting with flowers and birds all in one place!
The facility is all-weather, offering cool temperatures in summer and warm temperatures in winter, making it enjoyable even on rainy days. The entire park is barrier-free, allowing entry for people with disabilities, wheelchair users, and those with strollers!
Admission is 1,200 yen for adults, 550 yen for elementary school students, and free for toddlers, making it perfect for a family outing!
Various events are held every hour throughout the day, and since most of the birds are not kept in cages or enclosures, one of the ways to enjoy the experience is to interact with them directly, such as by feeding them!
This day marks my first visit in about 10 years, and my main purpose is to see my beloved owls!
Upon entering, you'll immediately find a booth called the "World Owl Exhibition," where 25 different species of owls, from small to large, will greet you in their enclosures. These include the iconic "Tawny Owl," the distinctive "Barn Owl" with its mask-like face, the "Great Grey Owl" with its disc-shaped face resembling a tree stump, the "African Eagle Owl" with its ear tufts, and the "Snowy Owl" made famous by Harry Potter. Their big, round eyes, their amazing necks that can rotate up to 270 degrees, and the sight of them napping while perched on branches are so adorable that you might find yourself swooning from the very beginning!
Beyond the shop, the passageway leads to the Penguin Pool, where penguins swim gracefully and coolly, and the Mandarin Duck Pond, where you can see affectionate mandarin ducks and other ducks, the origin of the famous image of a mandarin duck couple. You can even feed them!
These ducks can instantly sense who has food, and their swarming around them is adorable. Feeding them is highly recommended as you can observe them up close and at your leisure! (1 duck food: 1 interaction ticket worth 100 yen)
Getting bird feed or participating in interaction events costs 100 or 200 yen per activity, so you'll need plenty of small change. To fully enjoy yourself, the "Interaction Ticket" is definitely the most economical option, so be sure to buy one at the shop before you go! (Note: An Interaction Ticket comes in a booklet of six 100-yen tickets for 500 yen, saving you 100 yen.)
Upon entering the indoor area, which features a cafe, lunch buffet, and flower shop, you're greeted by a dazzling array of hanging impatiens flowers, creating a breathtakingly beautiful paradise!
Underneath these flowers, you can enjoy a lunch buffet with over 30 dishes, or you can enjoy a packed lunch you brought with you in the dining area at the back!
This time, I made sandwiches early in the morning, froze freshly brewed coffee in a bottle to bring with me, and enjoyed lunch while admiring the lovely flowers!
I headed to the [Exciting Event Venue] and participated in the "Let's Hold an Owl!" interaction event, trying my hand at "Luchika-chan," a Bengal eagle owl! (One experience: 2 interaction tickets worth 200 yen) By the way, I wondered about the gender of owls!? So I asked the zookeeper a simple question: "Is this one a boy or a girl?" It turns out that you can't determine the gender of an owl by its appearance, and it's unknown unless you have a "gender test" done!
Although her gender is unknown, "Luchika-chan," who sat on my hand, was very intelligent, gentle, accustomed to the zookeepers, obedient, and even looked directly at the camera—she was adorable! It was worth coming here just for that!
There's also an "owl flight" experience where "Shippona-chan," a long-tailed owl, flies right to your arm, giving you the feeling of being a trainer! (One experience: 5 interaction tickets worth 500 yen) It's a sight worth seeing to see the owl, which usually remains motionless on a tree branch, gracefully soar in a straight line!
Afterwards, we head to the [Parrot Water Lily Pool] and enjoy interacting with the parakeets to our heart's content, getting covered in them while feeding them! (1 bird feed: 1 interaction ticket worth 100 yen) The parakeets will pounce on you the moment you buy the food at the shop! You might be a little intimidated by their eagerness until you get used to it (lol) (*If you are worried about your clothes or skin getting wet, borrow the denim arm covers provided at the shop for protection.)
Interacting with the Sun Conure, with its vibrant yellow and orange face, green accents, and colorful feathers—a bird with a color scheme reminiscent of a tropical flower—was even more exciting than I had imagined!
While my husband was busy taking pictures of the water lilies, I was also feeding the countless tropical fish hiding beneath the leaves, and I would get so engrossed in watching the guppies and platies swarming around that I'd completely lose track of time! (One pack of tropical fish food: One petting ticket worth 100 yen)
With its large, round leaves and slender stem extending from the side, the water lily, peeking its beautiful face out from the water's surface and blooming proudly, has an indescribable visual power!
In the [Giant Water Lily] section, there was an event where visitors could enjoy taking commemorative photos while standing on the leaves of the giant water lilies, which have very large floating leaves. Many children were seen smiling and giving peace signs, their legs trembling as they stood on the enormous leaves!
(*Conditions for the giant water lily experience: Children aged 1 year and older weighing 17kg or less: Experience fee 500 yen)
At the [Turaco and Spoonbill Square], it's feeding time for the turacos, with their beautiful green color and distinctive mohawk-like hairstyles! By the second feeding, they're already proficient! (1 bird feed: 1 interaction ticket worth 100 yen)
At the [Toucan and Ibis Waterside] area, you can get up close and personal with adorable birds such as the pink-feathered Greater Flamingo, the graceful Black-necked Stilt, the brightly colored Indian Peafowl, the large and impressive Toucan, and the Black-faced Spoonbill with its spatula-shaped beak. The ripples on the water's surface and the birds' long legs create a truly memorable image!
In the innermost area, the Shoebill Forest, you'll find Futaba-chan, a shoebill stork—a very large bird measuring approximately 1.2m in length and 2m in wingspan, with a striking beak—who greets you with a brave and unfazed presence, making for a truly impressive sight!
The outdoor area will be a challenging zone in this intense heat, but it features the lush green grass of the "Playful Square" and "Children's Water Play Area," as well as the "Swan Pond" and "Pelican Pond" where swans and pelicans swim, and you can enjoy watching them swim gracefully from the pier!
If you visit the emu farm, the most secluded area within the park, you can interact with emus, the second largest bird after the ostrich and also Australia's national bird!
You can enter the emu farm, which is home to emus known as "flightless birds"!
We were careful not to startle the emus by shouting or running, so we quietly tiptoed up to them and took a commemorative photo as if we were dancing together!
Despite their imposing physique, sharp beaks, and large eyes, emus are actually very gentle creatures. Feeding experiences are also available here!
We strolled around the park at a leisurely pace, and the Kachoen (Flower and Bird Park) was even more fun than we imagined, making us feel like children!
Despite the continuing heatwave, Kakegawa Kachoen (Kakegawa Flower and Bird Park) is a comfortable place with air conditioning and offers a variety of hands-on events, so I highly recommend it!
Kakegawa Flower and Bird Park
Address: 1517 Minami-Saigo, Kakegawa City, Shizuoka Prefecture
TEL: 0537-62-6363
Business Hours
Weekdays (Mon-Fri) 9:00-16:30 (Last entry 16:00)
Weekends and public holidays: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM (Last entry 4:30 PM)
Admission fee: Adults (junior high school students and older) 1,200 yen, elementary school students 550 yen, infants free.
Parking: Available (free)
http://k-hana-tori.com/
