3/30-4/2-06: Spring Break

During spring break, Stephen and I made our way to Asahikawa, famous for their zoo, and Otaru, famous for their aquarium. Both the zoo and aquarium are supposedly the best in Japan. I was upset to find that their idea of "best" in terms of animal care is quite substandard. However, to be fair, I suppose it should not be expected that Japan be the leader in things that require a great deal of space, or things pertaining to wildlife (as a country who engages in "scientific whaling", claims that whales must be hunted because they are eating their fish, floods school lunches with whale meat to introduce a new wave of whale-eaters, and likes to poke sleeping exhibit animals with canes). But, as sad as it was, I did find some of the Otaru Aquarium exhibits quite fun and hilarious; rather than create exhibits based on fish natural habitat, they based their displays on the fish names (see the cow fish). In all fairness, I'm comparing Otaru to something like the San Diego Zoo, which is top-notch world-wide. The Phoenix Zoo might be just as bad... I stopped going when it started depressing me, seeing animals locked up and all. But watching penguins waddle about is always entertaining. Also, being on the coast, Otaru had one of the best views I've seen so far. And Asahikawa had a great gaijin bar (The Den) owned by a Brit, an Australian, and a Canadian, as well as an amazing Japanese-owned Egyptian restaurant. Amazing... their food was above and beyond... everything. Overall, the trip was a smashing success. I rate the Aquarium and Zoo an arbitrary score of 6 out of 10. I added points to their originally very low animal care score for construction (I assume they are expanding and trying to improve their facilities), the weird ferris wheels at both, and the incredible view.