Tama might not be familiar to you but actually, there are several spots that foreign travelers like to visit. For example, Sanrio Puroland, Tama Zoo and Tama Art University Library. Have you heard of it? Here are 3 selected spots for the travelers to know Japanese culture in deep.
Sanrio Puroland in Tama
Say hello to Hello Kitty at Sanrio Puroland! Decorated with dazzlingly pink, cute and cheery mascot characters, Sanrio Puroland is a heaven for those who love cute mascots. This ultra popular theme park attracts over 1.5 million Hello Kitty fans every year.
The theme park is family-friendly, and there are many rides which are designed for children.
Restaurants at Sanrio Puroland
Even the food at Character Food Court, Cinnamoroll Dream Café and the Sweet Parlor are character-based. You can eat Hello Kitty made of rice covered in curry or have Blue Cinnamarolls! They’re all so adorable it’s almost a sin to eat them.
Events at Sanrio Puroland
There are always events in Sanrio Puroland. If you like dancing mascots and music, you can buy the tickets to see the parade. Tickets to Sanrio Puroland can be purchased at your local HIS, JTB branch, or you could buy it online from their official website.
Spot information
- Spot name: Sanrio Puroland
- Street address: 1-31 Ochiai, Tama, Tokyo
- Access: Around 6 minutes walk from Keiō-Tama-Center Station
Tama Zoo (Tama Zoological Park)
Built to allow the animals to live in a natural habitat, the Tama Zoo was originally planned to be part of the Ueno Zoo. There are four zones in the zoo - the Asiatic Garden, African Garden and Australian Garden, and the Insectarium.
Asiatic Garden
In the Asiatic Garden, you can see local animals and other animals from Asia such as the sika deer, Yezo brown bear, Japanese macaques, serows, elephants, Indian rhinoceroses, Malayan tapirs, tigers, eagle owls, golden eagles, white-tailed sea eagles, and more.
African Garden
More animals can be found in the African Garden, which has lions, giraffes, zebras, antelopes and ostriches living in a savannah-style enclosure.
Other Gardens
The Australian Garden house the koalas, common brushtail possums, red kangaroos, common wombats, emus, and other Australian animals. The large Insectarium was completed 1988 and it’s where various rare insects are bred and exhibited.
Spot information
- Spot name: Tama Zoological Park (Tama Dōbutsukōen)
- Street address: 7-1-1, Hodokubo, Hino-shi, Tokyo 191-0042
- Access: 20 minutes ride from the Tachikawa Station. Take the Tama Monorail, and get off at Tama Dobutsu Koen Station.
Tama Art University Library
Designed by Toyo Ito, the Tama Art University Library (Hachioji campus) is a wide, grand library with tall exterior glass walls and large arches which allow the contours of the natural environment around the campus reach into the interior, forming a beautiful open space for the students and visitors to study in peace.
The building was completed in 2007, and houses approximately 77,000 Japanese books, 47,000 foreign books and 1,500 periodicals. In 2012, the new library recorded 86,000 visits.
Spot information
- Spot name: Tama Art University Library
- Street address: 2-1723 Yarimizu, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0394
- Access: Take the bus heading to Tama Art University (Tama Bijutsu Daigaku) from bus stop No. 6 at Hashimoto Station North Exit. It takes around 8 minutes to reach the location.
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