Komoro Zoo Penguin Village

This camera is operated by Komoro City Zoo and points at its penguin enclosure, which the zoo calls the cliffside penguin village.

The zoo opened in 1926 and is the oldest in Nagano. It sits inside Kaikoen, the park laid out in the grounds of Komoro Castle — an unusual castle in that it was built below the level of the surrounding town, using the natural ravines of the site as defences. The zoo occupies part of that terrain, which is why the penguin enclosure is built against a slope rather than on flat ground.

Penguins are reliable camera subjects: they are active for much of the day, they cluster and disperse in ways that are easy to follow, and they behave much the same in any weather. Feeding times draw the most movement.