Hokkaido! Day 3

Day 3: Sapporo --> Asahikawa --> Furano --> Nakafurano

Thank goodness I didn’t fuck up this time!! Found my train on time! Only weird thing about this trip is that they said there was a transfer at one point, but there wasn’t. So I got off the train with all my luggage…. And got right back on, hahahaa. Oh well, found a better seat the second time. So I got to Asahikawa right on time and found the bus to get to the zoo. I was sooo excited!! Soon I would see my adorable red panda, wewt!!! Unfortunately I didn’t get a seat on the bus, so I had to stand for I believe 20 minutes, bleh. Oh well. Once I got there I decided to try and see everything. Honestly, the only things I skipped were the reptile house (omg it was sooo small, not even worth it), and the big monkey house. Of course this zoo is known for having some interesting views for certain animals. For the seals, there is a tube that you can stand next to, and they occasionally swim in-and-out of. For the penguins, you can see them close underwater. Both the polar bears and the wolves have a place where you can pop your head up and be really close to them. Expect for the wolves, EVERYTHING HAD A HUGE ASS LINE. And I mean HUGE! With how hot it was (27.5), I didn’t want to waste time on MAYBE being able to see something. I really felt bad for all the animals too, because it was soo hot! Nothing really wanted to more around, poor guys. The little red pandas were adorable, but they looked miserable. One was in a tree (omg soooo cute!), another was hiding in tall grass, and the last was in his house, completely sprawled out and trying to just rest in the shade. Same with the lion and tiger, they were hunched up in a corner, because it was the only place with shade. Of course, I had to see like 3 different animals take a pee (the giraffes, which as ONE was peeing, the other one decided to take a look…*sigh*; the ostriches , and the monkeys). The spider monkeys were pretty amusing, since I saw them during feeding time and they were really goofy. Like, walking on its hind legs like a person and begging for food. Spider monkeys were okay but the others… well… let’s just say cleaning butts isn’t that interesting to me. Another random point about this trip is that I saw a lot of naked little kids…. There was a fountain that seemed like it was okay for kids to walk into and climb, like stairs. But man, the kids just went al out and took off everything. I was kinda surprised. No one else around me really seemed that way though. Haruuum.
So after I walked all over, sweating my ass off, I was about an hour ahead of schedule and decided to make it back to the station and just head out to Furano. Funny thing about this is, I wanted to go see Tomita farm this day. Well, I got off at the wrong station to do that, and instead I went to visit the winery. They had a free taste-testing of their wines, all pretty delicious. But go figure, I am the person who wants the really sweet desert wine. I actually bought two bottles; but now I wonder if they actually sell that brand in Morioka. If so, that would of saved me some stress from lugging these all around. Oh well. As I waited for the bus to take me back, I took a little walk around the winery. There are two large areas that are assigned for the lavenders, but they were already out of season. Still, the smell was very distinct. I came across a little forest near the restaurant, and it hit me; there were a million moths!! I think this is just true for all of Furano, they were everywhere! Many different species too, from the looks of it. It gave the whole area a really mysterious feeling, like I was in a movie or something. Some girls that were also at the winery found them annoying as hell, but they didn’t bother me at all. Everyone just has a different thing that triggers them. For example, I -hate- spiders on me. *shudders*. Anyways, the bus finally took me back to Furano Station, but I had to backtrack to Naka-Furano (ugh, I feel stupid for missing this). Before I did this I decided to spend some more time in town, so I browsed the souvenir shops. Then I saw on the local map that a restaurant had “Cheese RAMEN”. o_O. OMFG I’m all over that like a hobo on a ham sandwich. LOL. Once I had it though, I will admit, it was definitely tasty BUT it wasn’t as good as the butter-corn ramen I had. *sigh* Cultural cuisine experience, must think my $13 went for that reason!! But now I felt all “darui” and lazy so I needed to get back to the station and head to Naka-Furano. From here I had a really vague map to get me to the hostel, but I somehow made it. What sucked donkey balls though was that the entire transit was UPHILL. With al my friggen luggage. I was sooo sweaty once I got there. LOL. The youth hostel in Furano is really something! It has such a cool and unique feel to it. They don’t hide any of the construction; if anything, that’s the design of the whole place. Unpainted wood, dumb-bell attached to the door to make sure it closes, sliding ply-wood doors. And even though it was so unique, I felt like I was in Japan because of the bath- finally, a sit down shower and a tub!! I was in heaven! I was in a girl dorm room though, and since I was the last one to arrive, I was thrown upstairs with two others LOL. It was hard climbing those stairs, it was a ladder, and the steps were steep! Oh well, I was able to do it. Night-time in Furano seems a little magical, because all of the moths are out, and its just the PERFECT temperature! Not the slightest sign of being humid, just a soft, cool breeze. I didn’t want to leave here. If anything, just visiting this hostel makes me want to have one of my own in a town like Furano. Who knows, I haven’t fully decided what I want to do with my future yet. X3. I also spent some time on the hammock outside before I finally passed out (which was really early, 10:45!!).