Asahiyama Zoo, Asahikawa

I've been now in May and January, and both the spring and winter here are absolutely gorgeous. The animals were much happier in the cold weather of January, so we were able to see them more active. The penguin march was incredibly cute! We ate lunch at the Garden Lion (?) Terrace restaurant, and it was reasonably priced and tasted good. Much cheaper than buying zoo good in the States. Definitely recommend a visit.

Nice big zoo, lots of animals to see including some only found in Hokkaido. The famous penguin parade was nice, there were plenty of penguins and they all looked really cute. Be sure to reach 30-15 minutes before the parade though, otherwise it will be hard to find a spot along the route. There are places to eat in the zoo, so don't worry about having to travel back to Asahiyama Station for lunch. ** Some tips when going there ** Getting there was not hard at all, there are signs at Asahiyama Station that lead to the bus that goes to the zoo. I don't quite remember the price of the bus ride, but it probably costs somewhere around ¥100-150. The Zoo only opens from 10:30am to 3:30pm, so try to get there at 10:30am. There is usually a queue for the bus, so if let's say you want to get there at 10:30, plan to reach Asahiyama Station by 9:30am.