Wakayama Pref.’s Adventure World Bids Farewell to 4 Pandas as They Depart for China

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:10 JST, June 28, 2025

WAKAYAMA — Visitors to Adventure World theme park said goodbye to all four giant pandas housed there as they departed for China from Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, on Saturday morning.

The four pandas were placed in cages and carried onto two trucks as part of their journey to China. The pandas left the park as about 300 people, including staff and their families, waved flags and bid farewell.

“I hope they will stay healthy and show their good health to people in China and those coming from Japan,” said Koji Imazu, the park’s director.

The pandas will be kept at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China’s Sichuan Province. After their return to China, there will be only two pandas in Japan. These two pandas, kept in Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, are set to be returned to China on Feb. 20 next year.