Hokkaido: Day 3 Asahiyama Zoo in Snow

Still in Asahikawa but today we are going to the zoo! Yes, winter zoo though we found out later that much snow has melted and not so wintery as we would have wanted. 😦

The zoo opens at 10.30am and the Asahikawa Terminal Hotel provides free shuttle bus service which is about half an hour away. Entrance fees is Y800.

Penguin Walk – the star attraction. Best that you go for the morning session at 11am cos they might cancel the afternoon session at 2.30pm due to melting snow unless of course you are in the thick of the winter season.

Walking in trepidation on gangplank.

Baby penguins who made a whole lot of noise and keep on moving in and out of these holes one after another.

Underwater polar bear.

Baby polar bear on drier grounds.

Seals who were supposed to be basking in the snow.  Alas all the snow has melted so he’s swimming instead.

Extremely cute snowy white fox.

His brother in darker shade?

Baa baa black sheep have you any wool?

Sika-deer

White timber wolf.

Not to forget giving the Bio WC a try which is found inside the zoo. A stand-alone cubicle green in color, it provides bio-degradable paper to be used.  The earth with slugs (I was told, since I didn’t look too closely just in case I see things that I’m not supposed to! eewww) in it is mechanically churned and acts as a flush.

Hokkaido: Day 2 Sapporo – Asahikawa

Good bye Sapporo for the time being.

Display board at the entrance of the station showing the schedules for inbound/outbound trains and their platforms. Today our ride to Asahikawa will take an hour twenty mins.

View from train.

The Asahikawa Terminal Hotel is adjoined to the station so no sweat for our luggage or more aptly for the person/s who is dragging the luggage!

Today we are going to the Snow Museum by bus. Woohoo! Public bus only! Haha

Look for Bus Station No 11.  You can take any of the buses(530/630/53) from the Takasagodai Line at Y200. It will take about 15 mins and you need to get off at the Takasagodai Iriguchi stop less I do not know where you’ll end up in!

Entrance fee for Snow Museum is Y650. It’s like a snow castle right? So magical amongst the whiteness!

The Snow Crystals Museum.

Snow crystals everywhere – on doors, ceiling, wall, teacups, glass windows.

The Cafe Terrace serves very good thick cheese/chicken stew with bread.

Interesting lamp shades found in Cafe Terrace.

Remember to take return bus on opposite side of the road and stop at 1-jo 8.
These bus stands are not easy to spot along the roads at one glance coz they are not really catchy in appearance and also partly covered in snow! There’s also no shelter against the cold, just a miserable stand!

Hokkaido : Day 1 New Chitose – Sapporo

Arrived at Tokyo Narita International Airport at 0655 local time (Japan is one hour ahead of Malaysian time) after about 7 hours of cramped legs, stiff neck, sleep or pretty much lack of sleep!

Nevertheless, JAL does deliver very smooth flights.

We depart for Chitose after four hours of transit. The aerial view of Tokyo shows no sign of snow which made us very worried.

Reached Sapporo Chitose Airport after 1.5 hours of flight time and guess what we saw outside – a vastness of WHITE! Yippee, snow SNOW SNOW!

First thing first, bought our Hokkaido Rail Pass Y19,500 at the airport which offers flexible unlimited 4 days ride which is much cheaper than if you buy your tickets individually.
Our first ride: New Chitose – Sapporo which took about 35 mins.

Did anyone mention that matching Japanese characters on map to road signs/buildings is quite a daunting task for someone who has just landed! We were trying to locate our hotel which was just 5 mins away but which took us 15 mins(if not more) to understand the map till our ears were numb cold in 0 degree!
Lesson learnt: Next time check your map inside enclosed area!

Some hot food is welcomed after the cold.  Udon for lunch at one of the underground restaurants.

Clock tower which was constructed in 1878.

Sapporo TV Tower

Former Hokkaido Government Office Building nicknamed Akarenga (red bricks) is a neo-baroque brick building constructed in 1888.

Nightview of the JR Tower and inter-connecting shopping malls.

One thing that impressed me most in Japan is their WC. They are really clean with lots of amenities such as disinfectants to wipe your seat with, at least two toilet roll slots, different sprays for your precious bottom. Some even come with heated seats and baby chairs all inside that small little cubicle! Totally impressive!

13th Day of the New Year

Doing it the traditional way – house visiting my BFF which happens to coincide with her eldest son’s birthday.  Hence the sumptuous spread prepared lovingly by his mum and his grandma and my luck to be able to enjoy the good food.

This stuff crab dish is absolutely delicious.  Granma divulge that it is made with crabmeat and mince pork which are then stuff into the crabshell and fried in wok. A tedious piece of work there.

Bak kut teh (pork in herbal mixed) prepared by his doting mum.

The bubur cacar dessert is coconut milk boiled with two types of sweet potatoes, yam and a special kind of banana.  I’m telling you it’s one of the best that I’ve tasted.  Home cooked food is always the best!

Banana(again) chocolate cake for the birthday boy.

Even Max did not get to escape being paparazzied!  The moment he saw me coming he went into a corner and rolled up into a ball like this.  Even attempted to stick his head underneath the rack just to avoid being photographed!

Max looking up to heaven for help?

Next, we went to FGS Dong Zen Temple, Jenjarom which is about 15-20 mins from Klang Bukit Tinggi.  Some lantern decors around the temple.

Candles for prayers offerings in place of joss sticks.

Demonstration of how paper art works.

The amazing end product.

The chinese characters on the roof means redemption is not too late.  The darker color of the sky above signifies darkness and gloom.  But if you choose to redeem yourself while you still can, everything will become bright and clear just like the sky nearer to the roof with the words.  Love the concept!

The day is not over.  Managed to catch some Lion Dance at Bandar Botanic.  Such good luck yeah.  Been such a long time since I’ve last seen one, not to mention up close and personal.  I remembered when we were kids, we used to run out and catch the lion dance whenever one of our neighbours invited one to bless their house.  But it kind of become a rarity nowadays.

The God of Prosperity randomly handing out ang pows(red packets).  Notice all the little hands sticking out!

The little drummer boy.

The lions busy at work.  Roaring their way to prosperity and luck for all who came and saw amidst burning fire crackers hanging from the roof.

That about wraps up the new year with a BANG many BANGS(no pun intended)!