Alvinology goes to Japan – Day 3 of 14

February 24, 2009

3 minute read

On the third day, we checked out of our hotel and headed for Asahikawa.The snow was really thick that day; Mark skidded the car a few times and it was a nerve-wrecking experience for me sitting in the front passenger seat. The ladies were too sound asleep to feel anything though.

Look at the amount of snow covering the cars

We took a short stop at Otaru to grab a quick bite. Mark and Meiyen were determined to go back for the charcoal-grilled scallops which we missed narrowly the night before. Rachel and I tried the two-coloured Hokkaido corn which tasted delightfully sweet. We also visited LeTao and bought some chocolates. A few of the service staff at LeTao were Taiwanese who spoke Mandarin to us. It felt really warm to finally be able to communicate with someone in Japan as I don’t speak Japanese.

The presence of Mandarin-speaking sales staff in upmarket Japanese shops reflected the increased economic importance of China around the world. It was interesting to note there were more tourist signboards and announcements in Mandarin rather than English in Japan.

Operation Scallop - mission accomplished! — Operation Scallop – mission accomplished!

Dancing toy cats outside a 1000 yen shop

After Otaru, we headed for Asahiyama Zoo (旭山動物園) to catch the penguin march – the highlight of our programmes for the day. It did not disappoint! Coming from a tropical country, it was really amazing to see cold-climate animals like penguins and polar bears roaming about freely in open-air enclosures as opposed to the giant fridges at the Singapore Zoo.

Lots of people vying to see the penguins

Two Rockhopper Penguins — Two Snares Penguins

A Galapagos Penguin — A Humboldt Penguin

A diver in the penguin enclosure feeding them

Theres two of them — There’s two of them

A sea seal popping its head out of the water — A sea seal popping it’s head out of the water

Posing the the sea lions — Posing with the sea lions

As we arrived rather late, we had only about one hour to tour the entire zoo, minus the time spent watching the penguin march. Hence we visited only the cold-climate animals and skipped all the tropical animals. An observation made was that cold-climate species of the same animal tend to be bigger in size, probably because of thicker fur.

Desperate red panda which fell into a moot and couldnt get out — Desperate red panda which fell into a moot and couldn’t get out

Japanese wolves trail - as they are already extinct, there are only images — Japanese wolves trail – as they are extinct; there are only images

Hurdling together for warmth — Huddling together to keep warm

Another neatly hurdled group — Another neatly huddled group

Commiting obscene acts — Committing obscene acts

The orang-utans enclosure was closed - probably hiding from the cold — The orang-utans enclosure was closed – probably hiding from the cold

The penguin march was an exhilarating experience for all of us. Two long rows of people lined the path of the penguin march in a circular loop from their enclosure. The penguins were followed closely by zookeepers who ensure they do not stray and make it safely throughout. Two species of penguins were in the march – the King Penguins which generally walked in a straight line, minding their own businesses; and the inquisitve Gentoo Penguins which seems to enjoy interacting with human beings.

Long queues to see the penguins march — Waiting for the penguin march

King Penguins minding their own business

The smaller, mischievious Gentoo Penguin leading the King Penguins pack — The smaller, mischievous Gentoo Penguin leading the pack

A naughty Gentoo Penguin straying from the formation

Rachel went totally gaga over the penguins, trailing them all the way, running down the path to catch them as they marched their way down. A few of the naughtier Gentoo Penguins got really close to the audience till they were made to fall back into formation by their zookeepers.

We left the zoo very satisfied and thrilled with getting to interact up close with penguins in their natural climate. Now, we have hunger tummies to fill. To accomplish that, we headed to a ramen town which is near to our hotel for the night – Loisir Hotel.

Japanese ramen are fantastic! Rachel and I had a very satisfying lunch. There are three flavours for Japanese ramen – miso, soy and shio (salt). I tried the miso ramen while she took the soy ramen.

After unloading our luggage at the hotel, we set off to do some shopping in Asahikawa. Following our routine the previous two nights, we made a stop at the supermarket to sweep some discounted food for dinner.

That night, we went to sleep feeling very full and satisfied with the food and experiences.