Tag Archive for 'Zoorasia'

Weekend WITH Tamie!

Published on August 7, 2011 in Family, Gallery Update, Japan, Parenting and weekend. 0 Comments Tags: chigasaki, Zoorasia.

This weekend, thanks to Nissan shutting down operations for two weeks to save power, we finally had a weekend together as a whole family. On top of that, we had access to a car all weekend! So what else could we do? We went shopping to get a new stroller for Julia and some other knick-knacks at the local baby store.

Julia has been using the stroller that we’d gotten for Layla, but she’s quickly getting bigger and it was quickly getting wobblier… the combination of those two things don’t add up to a safe walk in the park. Speaking of stroller safety, one should always make sure one’s baby is strapped into their stroller – even if the baby is laying down and you only look away for a second, she could pull herself up and forward and fall face first onto the floor… believe me! Thankfully, Julia was okay, suffering nothing more than a bit of a bloody nose.

After shopping, we ended up heading to Chigasaki, aka the beach. Julia had never been there yet and Layla was excited to go, so we drove down before the sun set. Once we got there, Layla’s enthusiasm turned into something between fear and paralysis. It was only after a bit of cajoling that she was able to walk, and after a bit more able to play in the water. Luckily, she got over the initial fear and had a blast playing with the waves. Tamie also got into the act. Julia, however, wasn’t to enthralled with the waves or having her feet in the water… ah, well – you can’t win them all.

As the sun set and the night loomed, we headed back home stopping at a restaurant for a quick dinner before turning in for the night. We got home just in time as a lightning storm started just after we got in.

Sunday we went to Zoorasia, a large zoo in Yokohama that is always a fun time to visit. The 35 degree heat almost made us change our minds but being the adventurous (or is that foolish?) types we are, we continued on. The heat was intense, but the clouds came quickly to give us some cover from the sun, which was helpful. Thunderstorms all around us were ominous, but other than a few sprinklings here and there we were relatively ~~dry~~ unrained upon.

Layla had a blast seeing all the animals, as did Tamie and I. We got fortunate to see the penguins being fed, and a lot of animals came up to the windows/cages to meet us… when they weren’t too busy hiding in the shade or sleeping.

As we were heading out of the parking lot, the few sprinklings of rain that we so feared would turn into something more finally did. Rain finally started pouring and the thunder that we’d heard throughout the day finally showed up at the zoo itself. We were on our way out so, other than a nice lightning show on the way home, we weren’t affected. The people on the night tour of the zoo, however, were probably wishing they’d come another day… Timing, as they say, is everything.

All in all, everything worked out pretty well for us! It was a great day and a great weekend.

Check the pictures in the gallery.

Beach Day

Zoorasia

It’s a Zoo Out There

Published on November 4, 2009 in Family, Japan and weekend. 0 Comments Tags: baba, culture day, curry, elephant, okapi, Yokohama, Zoo, Zoorasia.

Culture Day is here at last! I’d been waiting for this day to come, ever since I found out about the surprise holiday two days ago. We planned on using the tickets Tamie’s Mom got us and going to the zoo. So long as the weather held out, Tamie’s illness held off, and Layla’s lack of a fever held strong, we’d be good to go.

The weather, luckily, co-operated after blowing and raining the night before. The wind was still fiercely cold but the sun was out and shining strong. Perfect weather for a jacket and sandals.

Tamie seemed much better than Monday night, when she called me at work to tell me she wasn’t feeling well. It’s never good when there’s a phone call to complain. Layla, too, was under the weather. She’s always something on the go, though, so she takes it all in stride. Fortunately, come Culture Day, both were raring to go.

We go to the zoo just after noon, right around the time Layla wanted to lay down and take a nap. I carried her for the first hour, worried she’d fall asleep at every step. It wasn’t until I started taking too long looking at monkeys she wasn’t interested in that she started getting more assertive. By the time we got some food in her for lunch, she was leading Tamie around by the arm, freeing me to take pictures and look at animals. Tamie had a blast running around with Layla too, quite happy to chase and be chased by the little ball of energy. It’s amazing how much of a second wind Layla can get when she gets excited about something. I wish my first wind was that strong.

Over the course of the day, we explored the zoo. A lot of the animals were active – the tiger was pacing hungrily in the window, much to the kids’ delight. One of the lions came over and smiled at Layla before roaring and then leaving to get some sun. Despite all that, the only thing that scared her was the grouse that ran beside her in the bird sanctuary. It’s amazing how fast she can move when motivated by fear. I guess I need to scare her more in the mornings to get her out of bed.

Nearing the end of the day, we headed for the okapi cage, which was closing at 4:30pm. On the way, we found a playground with a big okapi slide. Unsurprisingly, Layla made a mad dash for the playground, claiming that this was the okapi we’d come to see. Other than falling off the zip-line and wanting to go up a ladder she couldn’t climb, she had a great time going up and down the slides. She wanted to try the zip-line by herself, pushing me away when I tried to lift her up to get a good grip, but she couldn’t hold onto the rope so fell to the ground. Her cries were heard throughout the park – I think some of the monkeys even cried back.

We did, eventually, find the okapi — apparently they have 6 okapi there. One of them was named Layla, much to Tamie’s surprise. She was excited to see Layla’s name up on a poster — Layla, not so much. By this point, the poor kid’s second wind was gone, and her third one was fading fast. She was back on my chest, sucking her thumb and trying to sleep. Not even sitting on statues or other playgrounds would wake her up. She got a spurt of energy as we were leaving when she saw a couple more statues, touching the giraffe and riding on the baby elephant. That didn’t last long, though – one trip over a tree stump and she was crying and back in my arms in no time.

Layla seems to love animals, knowing what each one was and what sound they made (from the good coaching by her chinni, no doubt). So long as they are behind glass or cage, she’s quite happy to watch them and even pretends to want to pet them. Statues, too, she’s quite comfortable around – she got mad when I wouldn’t put her on top of the giant elephant statue – the fact it was twice as tall as me didn’t seem like a good enough reason for her.

As we waited for the bus, Layla turned off. She clutched the okapi toy she’d gotten from the gift shop closely, before drifting off. One bus and one train later and we were in Yokohama for dinner. After a quick, if not good, Indian curry dinner, a balloon from a Panasonic booth babe and some ice cream at a gelato shop, we headed home.

御祖母さんありがとうございます！
Thanks, Baba (Layla’s name for her Japanese Grandma), for a great day!

Click the picture for the gallery.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my.

Published on August 9, 2009 in Family, Japan and weekend. 0 Comments Tags: Animals, Penguins, Waterwall, Yokohama, Zoo, Zoorasia.

For a weekend with nothing planned, we sure were busy. Today we went to the hottest zoo in all of Japan. I swear the temperature was in the mid 50′s at one point… luckily it was so humid that there was no need to sweat — there was enough moisture in the air to soak you! Fun times, indeed.

Despite the sweltering heat, we managed to have a good time. Layla was as busy as a beaver as she bunny-hopped from cage to cage. I promised myself I wouldn’t make any bad animal jokes if I wrote a blog about today… guess a leopard really can’t change his spots, eh?

When we first got in the zoo, the first thing we saw was an elephant in the trees. A fake elephant. But a scary one — at the very sight of it, Layla ran to me crying asking to leave. Even after I carried her over to pet the statue she continued to cry. Courage, thy name is certainly not Layla. Luckily that was the only real setback as she soon got into the whole zoo thing. She enjoyed seeing all the animals, but had an especially soft spot for a couple monkeys, the penguins and seals, and the green polar bear.

The highlight of the day was the end, though, as at the exit there was a water wall. Seeing as it was still a balmy 42 degrees when we were leaving it seemed only fitting to let her touch the wall… and touch it she did. It was lucky we had a change of clothes for her — she ended up soaked from head to toe, but happy as a clam.