Asa Zoo & Spaghetti N34- A New Way to Spend Your Weekend

Asa Zoo

I like to think of Asa Zoo as more like a hiking trail just because of the way the entire park is built and constructed; it’s more like taking an easy hike while visiting the animals’ homes than enjoying a day at the zoo. When I visited, the entire area was filled with different homes for each animal, and the twists and turns of each path took me to many different places. In fact, there were so many paths and places to discover, I don’t think I even got to see all the animals. There were also a lot of small hills to go up and down that at one point, I ended up arriving at one of the highest points of Asa Zoo where I was leveled with the vast mountains surrounding Asa Kita district and looking down at the animals roaming around in their homes. It actually made the place seem like I was visiting a natural forest or jungle rather than visiting a zoo. I hope the picture conveys what I’m trying to say!

 

 

Honestly, by the time I was leaving, I was sweaty and panting from the long day of walking; it really felt more like a hiking trail rather than a kids’ zoo park.

The other thing I really enjoyed about Asa Zoo was the fact that I could really observe and see the animals living in their normal habitat – from up close and from far away. I believe that they let out the animals into the bigger areas at different times, so you have the chance to catch them from up close before they go away. For example, I was able to see this adorable tapir from pretty up close because he was still inside, but the lions were already roaming around in a much larger area that I could only say hello from afar.

 

This is one of the many points that made me fall in love with the zoo – it really felt like I was in their world rather than mine.

There were also a lot of schemes and devices set up around the park so that I could actively experience the life of the animals. Here are just a few I picked up on:

・There was a tug of war device around the monkey area where half of it was outside and the other half was inside so that you could actually enjoy playing tug of war with the monkeys (although on the day I went, I had to wait a pretty long time before a monkey was even slightly interested in joining the game)!

 

・There was a big bird area (there were different types of ducks) where I could actually go inside the habitat and walk around. It was like entering an exquisite realm. I unfortunately don’t have a picture of this, so you’ll have to go to see for yourself!

・There was another area for smaller birds where you could enter a sort of small jungle, and the minute you entered, there would be a bird flying over your head. This place was particularly loud.

・There was an area where you could see rabbits living underground. 

・There was also a place where you could look into the pond through a glass box so that you could feel as if you were looking at the fish from inside the water. This was also very difficult to photograph, so you’ll have to see for yourself what this is all about!

I felt like all of these little things made the park feel quite special and extra fun – even for older adults, but especially for younger kids. 

 

Museum

There was also a museum where you can learn more animal facts as well as participate in various activities.

Events

Asa Zoo also holds a variety of events every day at certain times. Here is the list of ongoing daily events.

・San-chan Tour: An insight into the world-famous Japanese giant salamander that lives in Asa Zoo

・Backyard Guide: A tour into the backyard of Asa Zoo

・Encounters with Animals: There are several ongoing events in this area – you can ride a pony, touch the guinea pigs and rabbits, go into the goat pen, and much more. This is one of the most popular places in Asa Zoo!

 

Here is a funny picture I took of the pig enjoying a nice back rub from one of the employees, and all the goats coming to watch. 

・Feeding Time: This is an event where you can witness different animal feedings (lions, otters and baboons).

・Everyday Animal Seminars: This is a tour where a professional comes in to talk about different animals and facts about them you probably didn’t know. 

・ASAZOO Quiz Rally: An interesting quiz you can try out!

There are so many events that it’s quite impossible to try them out all in a day.

The park also has many places that are perfect for a picnic. Unfortunately, I’d left home very early in the morning to arrive at the zoo by 9:00 a.m., so I didn’t have anything ready that day, but I saw quite a few families enjoying a picnic outside. There are also two cafes called Bakubaku Cafeteria (食堂 バクバク) and Acorn Café (軽食喫茶 どんぐり), both of which you can eat at while enjoying watching the animals. 

And just to end things off, I’d like to introduce the turtles. Apparently today, they had all decided to huddle up in one specific area:

There was also one single turtle that had decided he would not join the rest and stay inside alone:

And here is another picture of a different set of turtles that had decided to line up on the edge of the pond like so:

It was quite a funny sight to see.

Lunch

After visiting the zoo, I decided to go for lunch at a well-known spaghetti restaurant called Spaghetti N34, which is actually named this way because of its coordinates: north latitude 34°.

 

It is actually pretty well known for having a fantastic view that overlooks the city, and I’d been wanting to go for a while after discovering it on Instagram. 

I’ll leave the link for their Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/_n34_spaghetti/?hl=ja

And here is what the restaurant looks like from inside:

 

The view is really something else. 

One of the other interesting points about the restaurant is that the menu is based on Japanese-style pasta. Japan is pretty well known for creating a vast variety of flavors for snacks, for example, we have a huge variety of Kit Kats only available in Japan, like matcha and sake. As a result, we also have a lot of pasta recipes invented here in Japan. One of my favorites is  Tarako spaghetti、made mainly from butter and cod roe, which was actually made by the founder of famous spaghetti restaurant Kabe no Ana (壁の穴 – “Hole in the Wall”) in the 1960s. If you’ve never tried it, please give it a go; it is very easy to make at home and is very, very good.

So here at Spaghetti N34, the chef specializes in making Japanese spaghetti and I’m not going to lie, he does a pretty amazing job!

Food

I decided to go for the Shiitake and Shimeji Mushroom Spaghetti, which was made of different mushrooms　with bacon and flavored with a soy sauce base. 

It was delicious! It literally tasted like what I used to have as a kid sometimes, and it was everything I’d been looking forward to that day.

Moment of Joy

My Moment of Joy for the day was definitely while I was eating their delicious pasta while enjoying the view. I don’t think I’ve ever visited a restaurant that gave off such a comfortable yet luxurious vibe. I definitely would like to visit again; for the food and for the view.

I was also actually impressed with the carrot-based salad dressing – it was genuinely, really good! I think they actually sold them in smaller bottles as well if you’re really in love with the sauce.

I definitely recommend the restaurant but there are a few points you must be aware of before going:

1. Unfortunately, you cannot reserve beforehand. If you’d like a seat facing the open window, you have to get there earlier than 11:00 as there is only enough for around eight or nine people. I arrived at 11:15 and the best seats were already taken, so I had to take a table seat behind.
2. There is only one chef running the kitchen, so it takes quite a bit of time for the food to arrive. I think I had to wait a good forty to fifty minutes before I was served.
3. It is a little expensive. Because the only way to access the area is to drive, I couldn’t enjoy some good wine or alcohol to go with it, and I feel as if it was a little expensive for the dish I got. However, it’s definitely a must-go if you’ve never been before, and the location, vibe and atmosphere of the restaurant are definitely worth the visit. 

And here we have it: the perfect guide to spending your weekend in Asakita Ward. I thoroughly enjoyed spending a nice morning walk at Asa Zoo whilst enjoying the company of many different animals and then going for lunch at the luxurious Spaghetti N34. It was one of the most relaxing and fun trips I’d had in a while, and I would definitely recommend it; a 10/10 for anyone hoping for a fun, spontaneous, morning outside of the city.

How To Get There

There is a bus stop called Asa Zoo (安佐動物園) and the park is a one-minute walk from there. However, I do recommend taking a car as it is only about a twenty- to thirty-minute drive from downtown Hiroshima. The restaurants around are also pretty inaccessible by public transport. 

To get to Spaghetti N34, there is a bus stop called Bishamondai San-chome and it is only a 7-minute walk from there, but then again, it is a bit of a hassle to access and I do recommend taking a car. 

Please note that it is only about a ten-minute drive from Asa Zoo to Spaghetti N34.