A Quick Jaunt Through the Typhoon

They were going on an adventure! An adventure to Starbucks! The closest one being in Asahikawa nearly three hours away, with a typhoon blowing rainstorms their way all day, but they would not be way-laid from their quest. She rode to the 7/11 on her bike and bought a yogurt drink and a pizza bun for second breakfast as she waited the few minutes before Hilary and Courtney arrived at 9:40. Her friends lived about twenty minutes away in Shikaoi, but they met at the TIEC camping weekend. Once our adventurer was in the car, they told her of the various pit-stops they thought they’d make along the way. 

The mist rolling down the mountain made it look like something out of Silent Hill...

Seriously.

One such pit stop was in Furano, a town to the north famous for its beautiful gardens and especially lavender. They ate delicious lavender soft cream (much better than the American soft serve as real, delicious, fat-filled Tokachi milk was used) and wandered the gardens in a steady rain. 

(picture courtesy of Courtney)

(picture courtesy of Hilary)

(picture courtesy of Hilary)

Their next stop was Ramen Village on the outskirts of Asahikawa. It wasn't a real village, but it was a delicious concentration of ramen shops all in one place (the ramen in Hokkaido is different than that in Honshu and the other islands). 

(picture courtesy of Courtney)

Their next pit stop was the Asahikawa zoo, a lovely place set in the mountain side with sprawling habitats and observation bubbles. Unfortunately, they arrived just an hour before it closed (at 5pm) and had weren't able to make it to all of the animals (but they made it just in time for the best part~). 

The king of the swingers...

they posed the same way...

And yes, seeing a raccoon in a zoo warranted a picture!

Stalkers... the lot of them...

"I was a very bad penguin....." or "I see no point in living if I can't be beautiful..."

Penguin Tunnel!!

FOR THE COMMON GOOD

I call this one "Blue Steel"

"Fierce Animals" (picture courtesy of Courtney)

Wolf Pod Wolf Pod Wolf Pod x3

And look what was right next door...

"Our neighbors act like a pack of wild animals..."

Feeling satisfied at their success, they travelers continued on to their final destination: Starbucks. Now, she’s not a huge fan of coffee, and it irks her to pay for over-priced tea bags, and she generally avoids SB in favor of smaller shops (her favorite being the Jackson Coffee Company that actually serves loose-leaf tea and has a delightful 2nd story reading room; a nice place to get away from all the traffic in your life), AND when she does make it to SB she always orders a matcha latte (which is a specialty for her in America but a bit redundant when she can get it at the conbini while in Japan), so she could say with confidence it was not the destination, but the journey that made it worthwhile. Nonetheless, she ordered her chai latte and enjoyed it in her new travel mug (the drink was actually free since the mug was bought at the same time :3) as they walked to the clothing sections in search of pants. (Well, after stopping in the arcade to take more pictures!) 

(picture courtesy of Courtney)

(picture courtesy of Courtney)

After many failed attempts (mainly comprising of high wasted cropped nightmares) she let Hillary dress her in a sweater and skirt combo and called it good (evidently having a small hip-to-waist ratio makes it impossible to find pants in a straight-framed Japanese world ><;; ). They stopped at a few other clothing stores (including The Gap, but she knew that was doomed from the start) but eventually she gave up. After perusing the imports store (with Classico pasta sauce, Twinings tea, and Campbell’s Mushroom soup!), they decided it was getting late and the three hour drive back she be taken underway soon. A quick pass through the food court relieved our travel’s hunger with truly strange and foreign fare: McDonald’s fillet-o-fish. The drive back didn't feel very long, filled as it was with fun stories and revelations of their childhoods (in true road-trip fashion). It was decided that she should weather the night at their house so they could more easily continue the fun the following day. They watched the BBC’s Emma mini-series (and laugh-cried with joy at the ending), made and ate delicious lasagna (which made her want to weep for joy at the taste), and then made their way to the onsen. It was her first time and she was very nervous-excited, but her new friends made her feel at ease. Sitting in the natural hot-spring bath outside in the dark with the rain steadily falling is truly a recommendable experience. After enjoying a delicious fruit parfait (and being warmly greeted by the group of older men finishing their drinks…) her friends escorted her home. A truly fine adventure, indeed.