The Trip(s) of 3/22!

Higashiyama Zoo

Epic Lion vs. Zebra Scene

     The morning of March 22nd it was determined that a trip to the nearest zoo must occur. So, a small party of us gathered to the idea. Attending the trip were the following individuals: Rebecca, Amanda, Baptiste, and myself. We were a small party, but that only meant less people to tend to! So, all is well. We took a bus and a subway train to get to Higashiyama Koen, where we only had to pay 500 円 (each) to get into the zoo. I don't recall exactly what the prices are to get into the Zoo in San Antonio, but I certainly don't remember them being that cheap. Granted, I was not of the age to actually pay attention to money the last time I went to the San Antonio Zoo.

SNOW LEOPARD!!

     Moving on... We all spent a great amount of time taking pictures of the animals we came across. The first thing we did was go in some exhibit where they had examples of animal skeletons and a surprisingly life like set up of lions attacking a zebra. The lighting in combination with the skill put into building the stuffed animals truly made it stand out. The animals that we saw following this exhibit included rhinos, lions, tigers, bears (yes, it was in that order too), giraffes, ostriches, koalas!, and polar bears. We even stuck around to watch the feeding of the sea lions, which I admit was not anything new to me, but was still pretty fun to watch. They had several penguins (nothing like the stock they have at SeaWorld), many small cats I don't remember the names of, and my most favorite animal of all... which before this day I had never seen in person. The Snow Leopard. ^-^ !!

Tapir going wild and running in circles.

     While most of the animals we got to see were the sort I'm used to seeing at zoos, there were plenty I don't believe I have ever seen in my life before. Plus, most of them were pacing around (or in the Tapir's case, running around). I'm more accustomed to staring into cages full of animals sitting perfectly still. Seeing active animals for a change was exciting.

Polar Bear rubbing his head against the bars

     I took so many pictures that my 1 Gig memory card filled up and I had to borrow Amanda's! They had several koalas, which were all napping when we got there. Oh, and the gift shops were filled with so many cute souvenirs. My favorite, which I regret not purchasing, is a cute bunny dressed in a koala costume. It may sound strange, but believe me it was adorable!

Iwasaki Castle

Even more beautiful with the naked eye.

     Later that very evening, the four of us (and eleven other I-House residents) decided to go on a night excursion to Iwasaki Castle. It is roughly a 20 minute walk away from home and it is quite a hike uphill! Even with fifteen 'gaijin' wandering around making all the noise in the world, it was so serene. The cold could not even dampen the beauty of the castle at night. Several of us took several photos of the castle itself, then we spent what felt like forever trying to take pictures of our group.

Playing an interesting instrument with water...

     Afterwards, instead of going straight home we decided to walk up to the nearest temple. Getting there was even more of a walk uphill. It is the perfect place to get decent exercise and see something beautiful, for sure. Alas, making this trek in the dark, even with a vast amount of people walking around you, is pretty creepy. To get there, you have to walk past many graveyards. Although, as creepy as it might be walking past so many graves in the dark, it was also somehow beautiful. It was calm and peaceful. It was my company mentioning scary movies that made it creepy!