If you’ve made a visit to Ueno Zoo in the last few years, you’ve probably run into the crazy queues to see Xiang Xiang, the adorable panda cub that was born at the zoo in 2017. Initially, Xiang Xiang was scheduled to move to China after she turned two years old, but she had her stay extended due to the pandemic and her extreme popularity in Japan.
Now Xiang Xiang is finally scheduled to leave Tokyo on Tuesday February 21, giving zoo-goers less than a month to see her for the last time. Xiang Xiang has just started her animal quarantine period required before the big move and has been transferred to an indoor viewing location for her last month.
To help visitors see Xiang Xiang, Ueno Zoo has opened a ticket lottery for the panda’s final month in Tokyo. There are a total of five viewing periods from now until Sunday February 19 with reception opening two weeks before each viewing period. While the first two weeks are now closed, here is the schedule for the remaining viewing periods:
February 4-10 (lottery open from January 20-23; results announced January 26)
February 11-17 (lottery open from January 27-30; results announced February 2)
February 18-19 (lottery open from Feb 3-6; results announced February 9)
You can enter the lottery by creating an account on the ticketing website (in Japanese only). From there, you can select your desired date and time of viewing as well as find out the lottery results. If successful, you will receive a QR code to show when you are at the zoo.
Visiting times are from 9.30am to 4.30pm during the viewing period and the lottery does not cost any extra on top of Ueno Zoo’s general admission fee.
For more information on the lottery, visit the website.
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