Today I went on a longer trip north to Asahikawa where another snow festival was ongoing. While this festival is smaller in scale compared to the one in Sapporo, it does hold the largest snow sculpture in Hokkaido.
Before seeing the snow festival, I went to the Asahiyama Zoo. This is not the largest zoo but it is one of the most visited in Japan. It’s popularity is due to the unique design of its enclosures which allow unusual views of the animals. It was also one of the first zoos in Japan to do penguin walks which is a great crowd pleaser.
*PHOTODUMP ALERT*
From the zoo, I took the free shuttle bus straight to the Asahikawa Snow Festival site near Asahibashi Bridge.
I followed the trail of snow men all the way back to the JR Asahikawa station, passing through the ice sculpture competition area.
Free ice skating in front of JR Asahikawa Station!
Sunset on the train back to Sapporo
I used the Asahiyama Zoo Pass to cover my round trip ticket to Asahikawa, bus ride and entrance fee to Asahiyama Zoo. The pass costs 6130 JPY and this is quite cheap when you consider the regular round trip ticket to Asahikawa at 8580 JPY plus bus and entrance fees.
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