Asahiyama Zoo

Big zoo. Not bad, really. Nice enclosures. But really, there is some serious double standards going on there. The exhibits with animals that are considered more "cute" are significantly better than others. More interactive, bigger, cleaner, newer!!! How about the others? Its not a freaking circus act. At least give the others cleaner habitats to live in. But who am i to say, huh. Still, and im still not decided on the zoo thingy. Sigh....

Anyway, negativities aside, the animals there are super duper posers. They photograph so well its almost as if they had lessons on it. You just have to aim and wait awhile before one of them gives you a real good pose and all you have to do is snap. The award of best posers would go to the penguins of course. Underwater or on land, they have it in their belts.And i really like this duck. Well, there was a few of them there, real cute. But poor things, really, getting gawked at everyday is certainly not a good way to live.
After one too many animals, I started to get bored. Till I saw this. Woohoo...... Homo Sapiens on exhibit. This zoo is cool after all. Hmm...... i wonder what their tag would be like?

Given name: Akiko
Species: Homo Sapiens
Sex: Female
Age: 29 yrs
Country of origin : Japan
Likes: Cooking and gardening

Given name: -
Species: Homo Sapiens
Sex: Male
Age: 40 yrs
Country of origin: Japan
Likes: Watching baseball, drinking beer
*Beware when hungry, gets very crabby.

Furano

One word. Gorgeous. Serious. One look from the windowsill of our room and i was hooked. Moreover, imagine this at night, with gazillion stars scattered in the inky night sky and soft city lights blinking in the background. Simply marvelous.
Best tempura set i`ve ever eaten
Molested a fake cow.
Made MC molest a fake cow.
Lavender not flowering....

But what the heck, i got the yummy ice-cream. :DDDDDDNice witch statue.Got lots of manhole pics.And lots lots more. Really, its real nice. I am so not doing it justice with so few words. But hey, all the more to find out when you go there right?

P/s: Its real nice to rent a bike and go cycling there. Total countryside experience.

Sapporo

Im just gonna go ahead and be evil and say that this place is a lousy place to go sight seeing. Maybe its just me, but i only found the shopping around the train station something to get excited about. The rest is kinda blah... so kill me.

Nice slope. :)
Clock Tower. A total tourist trap. Simply grab some old building, hype up the history, restore it and make it more beautiful then charge ppl for going in to view it. Malaysia should do more of this. :D

Nijo Market place. Sells lots of crab. But beware, if you look to earnest at the crabs and start discussing in front of any stalls, you might get more then what you bargained for. Example:

J: Hey M, the crabs here are real big huh...
M: Yep, wah! Look at that one. It`s hairy la....
J: Wooo......cool. Snow crab izzit?
M: Dunno......(peers at label).....wah....price not bad worh.
J: Izzit? (looks intently at price label).....
Crabseller: Hi......*smiles* looks expectantly at M and J
M and J: Oh oh....... (how do we get out of this???)....
Crabseller: *Scuttles away*
M and J: *Looks at each other* How liaw??
Crabseller: *Punches some numbers into the calculator* .....
M and J: *looks at the numbers* Gulp.......


Due to our powers of great deception, we got of scot free and even got a free sampling of fresh raw crab. Not bad huh. :DDDDD See...... i did not cheat you one. Got lots of crab right.Huge ass crab.

Ramen street. Its smaller than what i expected.And the ramen is not that great. So much for the anticipation. :( Good thing the two strips of crab in it saved the day.

Hakodate

First look from the ferry. With the wind blowing and the sea churning below.
Old chest. Yummy...

Go MayChing`s Host parent`s farm.
Onuma Park. Place where the Thousand Winds poem turned song was born. Keng-ness is standing at this peaceful place and feeling the wind blow and trying to see how all that inspired the world famous song.
Fried Whale. Kekeke......
The romantic-ness is seriously yabai-ness.
A great big THANKS to Mayching `s host parents, the Shoji`s , for hosting us. :DDDDD

Studio Ghibili Exhibition

The original plan was to go to ze Studio Ghibili Museum in Mitaka. However, tickets were finished so we went for the next best thing. A one off exhibition of Studio Ghibili`s works. :D

It was amazing. Sadly, no photos were allowed cos of copyright. The skill of ze artists really showed through. Keng-ness are those who can draw out what they are asked to draw. Each stroke was an absolute beauty. One can pick up lots of technique by looking at ze layouts. Gorgeous-ness. But me is still sad cos cannot take pic and later go back to study it. :((((

To compensate, they had a big section where ppl can camwhore till they hate the sight of their cameras. This is Mayching kicking small totoro cos she besong him or her. I really never know. These Totoro`s are female or male one hah? Anyone knows?

Me is leading Totoro`s away from MayChing`s evil clutches....

Shhh.......we have to be real stealth u know.
U can also draw your very own dust bunnies-Makuro Kurosuke and stick them up on ze wall provided. :DDD Me draw very cacated one. See if you can spot it. Kekeke.....



Ponyo ponyo....
This is uber cool no?Hehehe....

Tsukiji Fish Market

First up is Tsukiji Fish Market. It is one of the most interesting and exciting places I`ve ever been to. Mainly because there are tonnes of tiny 3 wheeled truck-like vehicles zooming everywhere, really fast as if there aren`t any obstacles in their way. I was mortified at their lack of traffic codes and amazed at their skill at handling the trucks. No one was hurt during those terrifying minutes I had there. It sure beats riding on a roller coaster any day.

Tsukiji gives of an impression of a well oiled Fish City where everyone knows their job well and sets of doing their fishy chores daily. Starts as early as 3am according to a Sushi chef there. The bright lights, the action, the odour of the sea mixed with the mornings scent, the bloody fish guts and the boisterous chatter. A trip to Tokyo is really and truly not complete without a trip to Tsukiji.






After all the gore and grime. Meet the product of the worlds biggest fish market. Marvelous fresh orgasmic out of this world sushi. You know ppl always say Hokkaido has the best seafood. Well, I`ve tried it and I tell you Tsukiji has the BEST SEAFOOD period. Hokkaido has the best Crab. Tsukiji has fish so fresh they melt in your mouth. Has hardly any stink and you can just tell its fresh by the way it glistens in the light, inviting you to pop in in your mouth. Now I leave you to have a quite moment salivating and plotting to visit Tsukiji as soon as possible.