Shortcuts through rice fields: Hokkaido Day 3 (part 1)

In which Sarah and I set off with intentions of going to one zoo, end up going to a different zoo, a chocolate factory and eating the greatest dinner ever (but you have to wait for day 3 part 2 to read about that...it was so amazing, it deserves its own blog! But I will give it its own post, instead)

Lots of pictures, brace yourself.

So, we initially wanted to go to a zoo that is sorta far from Sapporo city. Our hotel actually offered a shuttle/day trip package to this zoo, but apparently it had to be reserved before checking in or something (I don't know...I don't speak Japanese.) Anyway, there is also a zoo in Sapporo which we ended up at. But getting there... well,

we took a walk through the woods...

...and over the river.

And then there were baby monkeys sucking their thumbs while sitting on a zookeeper's shoulder!

This zoo had... SQUIRRELS! dunh dunh DUNH! the sign says "There are squirrels, so after you enter, please close the door quickly!"

This one says "the squirrels will get fat, so don't feed them." lol. There was a cute wooded area that apparently has 5 squirrels that just roam around inside the building. Hence, close the door quickly.

beaver. I love his tail.

No zoo trip is complete without giraffes! The greatest animal ever.

Giraffe judging the hippo.

hmm... raw chicken...

ROAR! LIONS! They are HUGE! I do not think I have ever actually been this close to a lion before. While I do believe that Japan zoos are awful in how small the cages are, I was grateful just this once because I was able to appreciate the size of lions and tigers.

nom nom nom... I am a tiger. A beautiful tiger.

graceful lioness.

ROAR! Literally. This lion was not so thrilled that there was a pacing tiger next door. If you listen carefully, you can even hear a Japanese child imitating the lion! roar.

baby monkey.

hyena. I am still not sure if I think they are cute or not.

penguin pretending to be a cat.

peach-colored pelican! They are also much larger than I ever gave them credit for.

awww...Though I did almost die falling on ice in the process of getting this picture.

wolves are beautiful.

even when they fight.

just beautiful.

so playful!

my second favorite animal. The Lesser Panda.

just look at that face!!!

polar bear and his toy.

Polar bear playing with his toy. SO cute! Then, the poor bear dropped the ball down a pit of sorts. It had steps, but they were iced over, so he did not try to get it. Instead, he would look over into the pit and stare for a minute or so, and then go stand by the door where the zookeeper comes from. Then he would repeat...

Yes, that says CHOCOLATE FACTORY! After the zoo, we went to the Shiroi koibito factory. These are famous cookies made in Sapporo. They are like crisp sugar butter cookies with white chocolate in the middle.

Chocolate time tunnel. yum.

hot-chocolate cup room?!

making the cookies. I could never work here. One chocolate for cookies, one for me, one for cookies...

stacks of white chocolate slices.

quality control

wrapping

tiny chair! perfect for gathering your thoughts, or for getting stuck when you remember after sitting that your derriere is much larger than the average Japanese person.