“Izu Shaboten Park” stands on a small hill named “Mt. Iwamuro” right beside “Omuroyama”. Mt. Iwamuro, as well as Mt. Omuro, is also a part of Geo-Park and I just heard that the pond in the park had been made on the crater !
Now, let’s see what’s in Izu Shaboten Park ! It is basically a botanical & zoological park in the natural Geo-site created by old eruption, which focuses on nature and animals in Mexico or South America. You can also find lots of re-creations of old relics such as Maya Civilization there. I passed through the entrance gate very excitedly. They say there are 24 varieties ( 34 works ) in the park. I’ll show you some of what I saw next time.

Soon after you walk in the park, you will see a huge statue of a bird and some pyramids.
What the hell are they ?

Squirrel monkeys came up to me. The guide told me that they were living free in the park. I, though not liking wild animals, tried to take some pictures. Say cheese !＾＾ There are more animals living free in Shaboten Park. Please try to walk on to find and check all animals on the brochure ! Brochures available in English.＾＾ Be sure to dress yourself for it because the park is vast enough to walk more than 1 hour. I here attach the map for your information.

Animals (793KB)

Map (903KB)

In about 20 minutes, I finally reached the enigmatic statue. It is an imaginary object mixed with mammals, birds, and reptiles and they say that it was on TV for Ultraman and The Masked Rider series, which startled me very much ! This is the doorway to the greenhouse, by the way.

ε(*´･∀･｀)зﾞHELLO

“Shaboten” is a Japanese word for “Cactus” and there are more than 160 varieties of cactus in the greenhouse. The walkway made me feel as if I had been walking through the jungle ! Under the pyramid, you can find a spacious area with mountains of cactus. Some of them are of 50 years old, 100 years old and more ! I wondered if they lived forever.＾＾； At the last greenhouse, you can enjoy cactus picking. Please choose your favorites and assort them in a pod !＾＾

After cactus picking, enjoy yourself by shopping or lunch, and don’t forget to try dishes using cactus. I found cactus ice-cream, cactus juice, cactus curry, cactus soba noodle, and cactus hamburgers. I tried the curry and it was not so bad ! Anyway, have fun !＾＾


Izu Shaboten Park
Access ： 40 minutes by #6 bus from JR Ito Station ／ 20 minutes by bus from Izukyu Izu-kogen Station
Admission　 ： ￥1800／adult, ￥900／student ( 6 – 15 ), ￥300／children over 4 years old
Open Hours ：
9:00 – 17:00（ Mar 1 〜 Oct 31 ）
9:00 – 16:00（ Nov 1 〜 End of Feb ）

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“Shizuoka Guide” is our official English blog website for events & sightseeing. Always with you ! ＾＾

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Tags :

• Amusement Park
• Animals
• Izu
• Nature