Zoo. Zoo. Zoos!

On our latest trip to Japan, we visited the Asahiyama Zoo in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, and the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo.

"Meh! It's too hot. I'm a Penguin, not a Peking Duck!"

We had missed the Asahiyama Zoo the last time we visited Hokkaido because the zoo was closed. That was in late autumn. Now, being Spring, we should be (and was) luckier.

Partially, anyway.

At Asahiyama, we wanted to see the penguins from the Penguin Arch. This was a plexiglass underwater archway where we could walk and see penguins "flying" overhead in the water.

Unfortunately, because of the warm day, the penguins went "meh" and stayed in their climate controlled rooms where it was cooler.

Penguins chilling in their cold room.

But while we did not see any penguins "flying" underwater, the other visitors made their own entertainment.

One penguin was fascinated by the reflected sunlight from a visitor's watch against the wall of the Penguin enclosure.

He chased the sunlight up and down the wall, and the visitor was not above trolling the penguin.

I should have left it as that when that visitor tired of teasing the penguin and leave that hapless penguin alone.

But no.

I whipped out my phone and bounced the sunlight off the screen onto the wall.

And the penguin chased the light.

I believe the flash of sunlight attracted the penguin because it was like the flash of silver from the sides of fishes that the penguins hunt. It was instinct.

After I had my fun (at the expense of the hapless penguin), I left, but someone else had seen my shenanigans. And took up the sport.

In my mind, at the end of the day, the zookeeper found the penguin against the wall, dead from exhaustion. Done in by reflected sunlight.

Oh, I didn't take any photos (or videos) of the penguin chasing the sunlight reflected off my phone because, well, I was using my phone to reflect light and so couldn't take pictures with my phone's camera.

(And not because I have no instinct for photography!)

The other zoo we visited was Ueno Zoo. This is one of the most easily accessible zoo in Japan. It is in the city, well served by trains, and rather compact for a zoo - easily walkable to see everything.

Conversely, the Singapore Zoological Gardens' sprawling compound can be... daunting. Especially in the tropical heat and humidity.

For this visit, the temperature (at Ueno) was in the mid to low 20s and quite comfortable. No jackets or cold weather clothing required. The kid wanted to see the Penguins here too.

The Jackass Penguins (that's really their name!) are from South Africa and so their natural habitat is not the extreme cold of Antarctica. They seem quite comfortable with the temperature that day.

However, Ueno Zoo's claim to fame was their Panda Exhibit, where a rare baby Panda was born some time ago (I think a year or more ago?)

And so there was a queue to see the Pandas.

A Zoo staff would stand where you would join the queue with a sign telling you where to join the queue and the estimate time it would take to reach the end of the queue and you get to see the Panda.

When I first saw him, his sign read "30 minutes".

So we went to see the Elephants. The zookeepers had trained them to link trunk to tail to form a line.

After the elephant show ended, the kid wanted to see the Pandas.

We joined the queue. The estimated time in the queue was now 40 minutes.

When we reach the exhibit, the usher sent us to the "priority" queue for families with young children.

Great! I thought.

Round the corner, another usher met us and through sign and charades indicated that we should bend down so we would not block the views of others behind.

The "priority" queue for families with small children allowed these families to be in front of the main crowd. This allows the children to have an clear view of the Pandas.

However, this is turn means that adults with the children may be blocking the views of those behind. So it was very Japanese for the ushers to require that adults in the priority queue (or maybe just foreigners) bend down so as not to block the view of those behind.

Courtesy and consideration begets courtesy and consideration. It is the Japanese Way.

At least as I understand it.

But it was all for nought.

We didn't see the baby Panda. Just the big one. Eating bamboo.

But Ueno Zoo does have some unique residents.

Their bear exhibits have the Japanese Black Bear, the Hokkaido Brown Bear, and the Malayan Sun Bear.

Strangely, the Sun Bear was nowhere to be seen on a nice warm sunny day in Ueno Zoo.

Malaysian!