WAKAYAMA, Japan - A year after bidding goodbye to its much-loved giant pandas, the western Japanese town of Shirahama is looking for new ways to lure back the crowds that the iconic bears once drew from across the country.
The four female pandas -- Rauhin and her offspring, Yuihin, Saihin and Fuhin -- left the Adventure World theme park in the Wakayama Prefecture town on June 28, 2025, for China, under the terms of a joint breeding research program that began in 1994.
During the roughly 30-year period, the facility succeeded in raising 17 cubs, the largest number outside China.
The return preceded that of two giant pandas that left Tokyo's Ueno zoo in January, leaving Japan without pandas, seen as a symbol of Sino-Japan friendship, for the first time since 1972.
China's practice of sending giant pandas to other countries on loan is known as "panda diplomacy" aimed at showcasing friendship and goodwill. But relations between Japan and China have cooled over a diplomatic spat over Taiwan in recent months.
There are currently no plans for pandas to return to Japan, and experts say the localities that used to host them need to find new ways to draw visitors.
Adventure World, which combines a zoo and aquarium, has held an event to show footage of the four pandas in their new home in China, while offering a tour of the facility where the pandas used to live.
A spokesman said it makes sure visitors understand that their return "does not mean China took them away, because it was (agreed) under the joint research program to enhance the number of pandas."
Pandas were designated as an endangered species in 1990. They were later defined as the lowest of the three stages, "vulnerable" in 2016, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.
Adventure World, meanwhile, is seeking to make the most of the other animals at the facility, including lions, elephants, tigers, dolphins and penguins.
Trying out new ideas, it lets visitors to the penguin enclosure enjoy a "penguin-eye view" from beanbag sofas. It also has 10 cafes where people can take a closer look at a variety of animals.
Offering coupons and benefits with local restaurants is another initiative, an idea that a staff member said "didn't exist before."
According to the town, the number of tourists dropped immediately after the pandas' departure last June but rebounded in August. The total number of tourists in the town in 2025 rose 2.8 percent from a year earlier, according to prefectural data.
Outside Adventure World, the town is trying to woo visitors with an experimental cafe on its white beaches, another key attraction.
An official of the local tourism association said the town has strong tourism resources that it can tap into. "While the number of family visitors decreased due to (the departure of) the pandas, many tourists have repeatedly visited the town to enjoy the hot springs."
But Shirahama still faces soul-searching now that the pandas are gone.
Hirokazu Kobayashi, a professor at Kokugakuin University, said the panda factor was meant to be temporary, adding that the policy effects of relying heavily on a quick tourist draw that can deliver results are limited over the longer-term.
Kobayashi argues that the town has always had more to offer than just the pandas. "They need to look to the strengths they have that have the potential of keeping tourists coming back again and again."
