Image above: The rather surreal sight of seeing a tiger, pacing within its enclosure, with its fur dusted in snow. [Friday 29 January] | [View all photos]
Day 7 and my actual birthday spent travelling to check out Japan’s most popular zoo in Asahikawa City before having a lot of fun with the weather which changed our plans to end up … being styled by Raina in Comme Ca. :D
Each year, on my birthday, I do what I love the most: travelling in a foreign land, photographing like crazy, and being part of new experiences and friendships. And for me it’s the whole trip rather than what I do on the day that happens to be my birthday that I remember.
That said, going with the flow with Raina’s plan for me really made for a memorable birthday this year! We started the day taking a train through Hokkaido’s snowy plains to Asahiyama Zoo and arrived in time to see the penguins waddling or sliding on their daily walk.
Afterwards we got to see a polar bear roaring, a baby orangutan swinging around effortlessly, a monkey sheltering its offspring from the cold, and seals darting gracefully underwater – to name a few. It really snowed down whilst we were there and so the two highlights were the surreal sight seeing a tiger and a lion covered in snow. Especially as the last time I saw both was in the blistering heat of the Serengeti wilderness on another birthday!
Needing to seriously warm up, Raina and I had lunch at the original Santouka for some delightfully rich ramen.Then it was onto the station for the next part of Raina’s plan … a visit to the seaside town of Otaru which was going to be lit up by candelight. Well, that was the plan but the weather had other ideas and shut down the rail link back to Sapporo. So we had to join this endless line at the coach station until we managed to board one for the long journey back.
By the time we got back to Sapporo it was too late to visit Otaru so Raina showed me Comme Ca and we spent a few hours having fun as she styled me. Though I think that at least one of her selections was simply to see how silly I looked in it! Ah well … what else are good friends for? :) At the end of it I had this array of clothes to choose from and I wasn’t sure if it was a good sign or not that I had spent enough to actually get it tax-free!!!
So with my AMEX card still burning hot, dinner was a simple affair but no less delicious – especially the sugar rush from the warabi mochi for dessert. That’s another aspect that I love about Japan. They still do inexpensive food really well whilst back home cheap food means seriously unhealthy pizza, kebabs, or chips. *shakes head*
After a long day it was finally time to head back to our hotel through the snow-covered streets and enjoy a much needed hot shower.
@Raina: Thanks for planning my birthday and although it didn’t quite go to plan it didn’t matter … your company was all that really mattered at the end of the day. *hugs*
Coming up … getting to visit Otaru that we missed out on this day.
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