Ube – Park, Sculptures and Zoo

Ube offers several distinct reasons to visit: Tokiwa Park around Lake Tokiwa, a zoo, an amusement park, and outdoor sculptures throughout the city. When searching for a hotel in Ube, it helps to first decide whether parkland, contemporary art, animal exhibits, rides, or a walk to see sculptures will shape your stay. Once Ube is your destination, these distinctions give your plans a specific focus.

Parkland around Lake Tokiwa

Tokiwa Park is a recreational park of around 100 hectares surrounding Lake Tokiwa. It was registered as Yamaguchi Prefecture’s first monument in the category of places of scenic beauty. The lake also has its own registration: it is registered as a “World Heritage Irrigation Structure.” The two designations therefore refer to different entities—the prefectural category applies to the park, and the World Heritage registration to the lake.

For your trip planning, the park offers a clear focus on the landscape, while the lake can also be understood in terms of its registration as an irrigation structure. If you are interested in nature and the lake’s special significance, these features provide a concrete starting point for including Tokiwa Park in your time in Ube.

Contemporary sculpture and recurring events

Every three years, the UBE Biennale of Contemporary Art is held at Tokiwa Park. It adds a recurring art event to the park’s landscape appeal. If the exhibition is a major reason for your trip, check the dates for the relevant edition in advance. This will help you distinguish the three-year cycle from a specific event date for your stay.

Zoo, learning center, and amusement park

Tokiwa Zoo was the first zoo in Japan to introduce habitat exhibits throughout the entire zoo. This feature applies not just to a single exhibit but to the presentation across the zoo as a whole. Tokiwa Zoo is also home to the Monsta Learning Center, where visitors can learn about animals and the environment. Animal exhibits and environmental learning are two distinct but related focuses here.

Tokiwa Amusement Park offers 15 attractions, including a Ferris wheel, a carousel, and the Tokiwa Labyrinth. These examples represent different types of attractions: the offerings include a labyrinth as well as rides. The selection of attractions may change. For planning purposes, it is therefore sensible to treat the examples listed as a guide and check the current selection before making a special trip.

Sculptures on a walk around the city

Sculptures also feature throughout the city beyond Tokiwa Park: Ube has numerous outdoor sculptures that visitors can see on a walk. The city provides a walking map for exploring Ube’s sculptures on foot. The map offers a different way to experience art than the exhibition held every three years at Tokiwa Park: here, the focus is on exploring outdoor sculptures throughout the city on foot. Editions of the map may vary; if you plan to use it, check the current version.

The key factor in choosing your focus is the format: Tokiwa Park brings together the lake, its landscape designation, and a recurring exhibition. By contrast, the walking map focuses on outdoor sculptures throughout the city and exploring them on foot. The zoo, learning center, and amusement park add animal exhibits, environmental learning, and attractions to these options.

Discover more destinations: Mine, Iwakuni, Suooshima, Nagato, Yoshiura, Hagi, Yamaguchi, Hōfu

For the broader travel overview: Yamaguchi Prefecture.