Giant pandas are so important to Japan's tourism appeal that operators are having to find new ways to fill the gap left by the adorable animals.

In Shirahama Town, Wakayama Prefecture, the Adventure World theme park rolled out a "keeper experience tour" last month, according to Japanese broadcaster TV Asahi. The initiative opens up backstage areas once used by the pandas at the park and lets visitors step into the role of a keeper.

During the tour, a staff member dons a panda costume to stand in for the animal, while participants wear keeper jackets and panda-patterned hats. They try their hand at simulated tasks such as drawing blood and, upon completion, receive a "keeper certificate."

All four pandas previously living at Adventure World – Rauhin, 24, and her three daughters, Yuihin, 8, Saihin, 6, and Fuhin, 4 – returned to China in June, dealing a heavy blow to Shirahama's tourism, with visitor numbers dropping sharply.

Currently, only two giant pandas remain in Japan. Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, a pair of twin pandas at Tokyo's Ueno Zoological Gardens, are scheduled to return to China by the end of January, 2026.

Since the announcement of their departure, crowds of devoted fans have been flocking to the zoo to bid them farewell.

Although Japan has requested to lease new giant pandas from China, prospects remain uncertain amid diplomatic tensions between the two countries following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks on China's Taiwan. After the departure of Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, Japan will have no giant pandas for the first time in more than half a century.