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Hey, that's what they're called! The actual name is "squirrel garden" ("risu-en" or リス園 in Japanese). And if you like squirrels, this is a little slice of squirrel heaven.


Recently on 2ch, a net user posted photos from a recent visit to a squirrel park. They're zoos that specialize in squirrels, and depending on where you go, they have different breeds of the critters as well as other small furry animals like guinea pigs and rabbits.

Twitter and other net users have also been uploading photos of their visits to squirrel gardens.


Perhaps the most famous squirrel garden is Machida Risu-en in Tokyo's, well, Machida, which has something like 200 squirrels roaming about in the main plaza and has been around since 1988.

However, there are also squirrel gardens located across Japan. At some of them, you can touch them (wearing gloves or not) and feed them. Others request that you not.

Have a look at some squirrel gardens:










Photos: 1000円 , キタコレ , よねっと , horita , scramblesaito , Miitan , n0r1tqrooo , Miki

To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft .

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