Asahiyama zoo in summer

Cruising around Asahikawa Hokkaido, looking towards the boundless sky and lush greenery felt so relaxing. The scenery seemed pretty stagnant, until we sighted a majestic looking palace from afar. Approaching the fairy tale like structure, there is a signboard that reads “Asahiyama zoo”. It was too good to give it a miss and we immediately headed in the direction of the zoo. Making my way towards the zoo, the cute animal prints on the road guided me towards the entrance. Reaching the door step of this animal kingdom, we got ourselves some passes eager to explore what lies ahead of us. Our tickets had different animals printed on them and I was pretty fortunate to get the hippo print, hippos are my favourite animal.

Finally getting into the zoo, I was overwhelmed by the attractions clueless where to start. The summer heat was beating down on me and getting an ice cream seemed to be a good start. With an ice cream in my left hand and a camera on my right, I started my journey. First off, we headed towards the bird enclosures. The first animal that we sighted was the flamingos and they were absolutely adorable. They seem completely apathetic about what is going on around them not moving a muscle, almost seeming statue like. Moving away from the garden statues to something more gracious, the swans were waddling enthusiastically towards the fresh batch of bean sprouts ready to feed. The black swan stood out amongst many of its white feathered friends and was the most beautiful in my opinion.

Moving on, I was curious to see the arctic animals. Entering the underwater tunnel heading towards the polar bear enclosure, something really fast flashed by. Looking towards the direction of the quick moving object, it turned out to be penguins! Asahiyama penguin walk is one of the famous attractions during winter, where you can get up close and walk among these penguins. Although it is not winter, it was fun watching them take a dive. Reaching the polar bear enclosure, the 300 kg snow white beauty was roaming around its cage leading on many curious eyes. Time was running but there were still so many animals left to see. I finished my tour at the arctic animal enclosure paying a quick visit to the playful yet friendly seals. It was difficult to part with them especially when they were so friendly.

It was mid-afternoon and the sun was still scorching. Passing through the deer museum and lions enclosure, they seemed really docile submitting themselves to the heat. Lying in a shaded corner conserving their energy, not hindering their rest I moved on. The monkeys were still active and was amusing to watch, chasing each other around the cage, no obstacles were going to stop them. The sun was setting and we had a long necked friend we still had to visit. The giraffe standing at 4 feet tall measured itself against a height chart like a growing child.

It was time to bid farewell to my enjoyable time at Asahiyama zoo and the goats saw us off. It was memorable and we will be back some day.

Which is your favorite animal?  We hoped that you enjoyed our quick japan guide to Ashikawa, Asahiyama zoo.