2023年11月尾, 日本北海道6天自由行, 主要旅程景點包括
– 富良野/富良野滑雪場
– 美瑛/四季之塔/白鬚瀑布/白金溫泉
– 旭川/旭山動物園
– 札幌/札幌電視塔/狸小路商店街
– 小樽/舊日本銀行/三角市場/小樽運河
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In late November 2023, a 6-day free and easy trip to Hokkaido, Japan, with the main itinerary including:
– Furano/Furano Ski Resort
– Biei/Four Seasons Tower/Shirahige Waterfall/Shirogane Onsen
– Asahikawa/Asahiyama Zoo
– Sapporo/Sapporo TV Tower/Tanukikoji Shopping Street
– Otaru/Old Hokkaido Bank/Sankaku Market/Otaru Canal
Reference:
旭山動物園
https://www.city.asahikawa.hokkaido.jp/asahiyamazoo/
We ended our trip to Biei by taking the train to Asahikawa. Actually, Biei is quite close to Asahikawa. It took about half an hour to get there. Asahikawa City in Hokkaido is the second largest city. Second only to Sapporo City. So when we arrived at Asahikawa Station, we saw the hurried footsteps again.
We used our JR Pass to go through the ticket gates. Back to the concrete jungle. After dropping off our luggage at the hotel, we went to find a place for lunch. But the timing was a bit awkward. Because it was already past lunchtime, but not yet dinner time.
Many shops were resting during this time gap. Even the coffee shops were closed. My son took us to a famous Asahikawa ramen restaurant. By then, it was around 4 o’clock and starting to get dark. Shopping in a big city is a must-do activity. After finishing shopping, it was already dark outside.
And it was dinner time. My son didn’t give up and found a second local Michelin-starred restaurant. But that restaurant was closed too. Asahikawa’s streets were already decorated with Christmas lights. Finally, we went to Genghis Khan restaurant as Plan B for lamb barbecue. My son didn’t like eating lamb before.
Because of the smell, but miraculously, the lamb at that restaurant had no odor. We ordered several times and couldn’t stop eating. A new day, not many pedestrians outside. I still enjoyed walking on the snowy ground. That day’s itinerary was to visit Asahiyama Zoo.
We had to take a bus next to Asahikawa JR Station. Google Maps seemed to show two Asahiyama Zoos, don’t take the wrong bus. There are lockers at Asahikawa Station where you can temporarily store your luggage. We had a quick breakfast before setting off.
Take the bus at the North Exit (East) of JR Station. Bus Stop No. 6, which goes in the direction of Asahiyama Zoo. When we got there, there were already many people waiting in line. Signs provide a lot of information about the zoo. There are actually quite a few bus departures.
We couldn’t use IC card for this bus. Remind to get a ticket when boarding. It took about 40 minutes to reach Asahiyama Zoo. Remember to buy a ticket at the main entrance. Once inside, you can also pick up a map of the park. We wanted to see the Penguin Walk route.
Information about animal performances and timings were showed. Apart from seeing the animals, the snowy scenery inside the park is beautiful. Of course, the first thing we saw was the penguin enclosure. Inside, we had to watch through a glass pane. It turns out the view outside is even clearer.
We couldn’t see the penguin walk show that day as we arrived a few days early. So we decided to go find Kwang Soo. HaHa, where is Kwang Soo? [He’s not here today, why don’t you go ask the seals?] Seals, where is Kwang Soo? [Ah Bro, someone is calling you!]
[My Bro is sleeping, would you go ask the polar bears?] Polar bear, do you know where Kwang Soo is? [Go ask my brother, I worked overnight, don’t disturb my sleep] [I’m not available, my phone is locked inside, I’ll find it and call him for you]
Red panda, wait a moment, do you know where Kwang Soo is? [I haven’t seen him today, I’m busy participating in the marathon, don’t bother me] [Don’t ask us, we haven’t seen him today] [Are you looking for Kwang Soo? Wait a moment… Let me help you find him.] [Sorry, I couldn’t find him!]
[Don’t just listen to the brown bear, ask Vulpes vulpes ahead, maybe she know.] [I worked overnight with polar bear last night, please didn’t disturb me.] [Kwang Soo is probably up ahead taking photos with his fans.] Finally, I found you. Hello, Kwang Soo. (giraffe) With the snowfall, the zoo looks really beautiful.
After having noodles at the zoo area restaurant, we prepared to return. Note that the restaurant’s last order is at 3:00 PM. We were short on time to Sapporo, so we decided to take a taxi back to hotel. The taxi fare at that time was 3,710 yen. After retrieving our luggage at the hotel,
We completed our brief visit to Asahikawa. Before dark, we headed to our next destination, Sapporo.