Very nice building, with smaller animal exhibits that build up to the koala. When you finally reach the Koala exhibit, however, it is a really sad sight to see. Pure concrete, with a single tree and branch, and windows separate each individual koala. Furthermore, there is no natural sunlight coming in. Such an angering exhibit and those who allow the Koalas to continue living like this should spend a day in the exhibit and see how they like it.

Note that flash photography is prohibited inside the building. Koalas apparently sleep about 20 hours a day, so you're lucky if you get to see one moving. I didn't get to.

The Koala House opens about an hour after the park opens, and it seems the koalas are often awake right after it opens and for about 30 minutes before it closes. They move slowly and come pretty close, so I think you can see them well. My recommendation is around right after opening? There don't seem to be that many people then either 😃 Other than that they're asleep and barely move 😅 Up close their eyes are a bit scary, so standing a little further away is just right Because they glare at you! 😖

Tama Zoo means koalas! So on 2021.7.4–5 I came to the Koala House. It's pretty far up the hill, so if you've got strong legs you can power your way up, or take the in-park bus to get close. Inside the Koala House it's relatively dark, the glass is clean, and the koalas aren't crowded but have plenty of room, so it might be good to have binoculars of around 6x or a zoom lens of about 450–600mm equivalent. I went with an old model at 300mm equivalent (a digital camera from 16 years ago), so it seems I didn't have much margin for camera shake or capturing the koalas' expressions. I think a smartphone would be completely underpowered, so if it matters to you, bring a camera ☆ (Even with a smartphone, if you're lucky they might come right in front of you... maybe.)

There were proper explanations about marsupials like koalas, which was nice. I couldn't see the nocturnal animals much because of the darkness. The koalas sleep most of the time, but when they're awake they're super cute.