PH Ambassador Visits Ichikawa City Zoo, Home of Punch-kun
Philippine Ambassador to Japan Mylene J. Garcia-Albano presents a gift basket of Philippine fruit exports to Ichikawa City Zoo Section Chief Takashi YASUNAGA.
Philippine Ambassador to Japan Mylene J. Garcia-Albano visited Ichikawa City Zoo in Chiba Prefecture on 30 March 2026 as part of the Philippine Embassy’s continuing initiative to visit all prefectures within its consular jurisdiction and strengthen people-to-people exchanges with Filipino residents and their local communities.
During the visit, Ambassador Garcia-Albano met with the zoo’s staff and zookeepers and conveyed her appreciation for their dedicated work in caring for its resident animals, including the widely beloved Japanese macaque, “Punch-kun”.
Born in July 2025 in Ichikawa City Zoo, Punch-kun rose to global fame after a touching video of him hugging an orangutan stuffed toy spread widely across social media. Rejected by his mother shortly after birth and left without companions, Punch-kun found comfort in the orangutan toy, and his story resonated deeply with audiences in Japan, the Philippines, and around the world.
Punch-kun, the beloved Japanese macaque whose story of resilience and friendship has touched hearts in Japan, the Philippines and around the world.
During her visit, Ambassador Garcia-Albano exchanged gifts and tokens of friendship with the staff and zookeepers of Ichikawa City Zoo, represented by Section Chief Takashi YASUNAGA. The Ambassador expressed her appreciation for the zoo personnel’s warm hospitality and presented baskets featuring Philippine top agricultural exports to Japan, including bananas, avocados, and pineapples.
Ambassador Garcia-Albano views a map of Ichikawa City Zoo and is greeted by Section Chief YASUNAGA.
A one (1) hour drive from central Tokyo, Ichikawa City Zoo spans 23 hectares and is home to 170 species, including red pandas, capybaras, alpacas, lemurs, monkeys, goats, cows, birds, and otters. The Philippine Embassy learned that the number of zoo visitors to the zoo increased fivefold following Punch-kun’s rise to global popularity, drawing an average of 6,000 visitors during weekends.
A resident alpaca of Ichikawa City Zoo.
During Ambassador Garcia-Albano’s interaction with the zookeepers assigned to Punch-kun, they shared that Punch-kun is now learning to make friends with fellow macaques in their home called “Monkey Mountain”, developing independence and resilience, and is now rarely seen playing with his orangutan toy.
Japanese macaques gather at “Monkey Mountain”, their enclosure at the Ichikawa City Zoo and the home of Punch-kun.
Chiba Prefecture is within the consular jurisdiction of the Philippine Embassy and is home to more than 23,000 Filipinos as of 2025, making it one of the largest Filipino diaspora communities in the Kanto region. As the Philippines and Japan celebrate the 70th anniversary of the normalization of their diplomatic relations, the Embassy continues to pursue initiatives that deepen partnerships with prefectural and city governments, while strengthening community ties that contribute to the welfare and shared prosperity of both nations.
A resident capybara of Ichikawa City Zoo.
