[Lest I Forget] Summer 2005 - Part 7 of 10-ish
Saturday, July 30
Once upon a time, in the quaint little village of Vancouver, a little boy came across a curious JET application form. And the curious JET application form proceeded to ask the boy a curious question, "Pardon me, sir, but what would your top three placement preferences in Japan be?" And with a whizz and a whirr, the form spit out seven-and-forty places to choose from. The little boy was puzzled. The only prefecture I know is Tokyo, he said. "Don't worry, sir, as I shall wait till the fourteenth of November for your answer."
So the boy went to the village library known as Thee Internet to learn more of these 47 places. He read and read and read for weeks, and thought, how difficult this is, for every prefecture had written so many good things about themselves. So he began to cross out his choices based on silly things like the official bird, tree population, rice quality, charming events, and lacquerware quality. Yes, Virginia, lacquerware quality.
Then as he was reading about the land of Oita, he came across a picture of a sea otter performing a rather wicked slam dunk. "A SEA OTTER THAT PLAYS BASKETBALL?!!!" cried the boy. "OMG!!I!!I!" The sea otter's name was Rakko-kun, and could only be seen at an aquarium known as Umi Tamago.
Long tale short, the boy chose Niigata and ended up in Fukushima. But he never forgot Umi Tamago or the little rakko. For two years, he asked teachers, students, and friends about the aquarium. But they all shook their heads. Sadly, Oita was very, very far from Fukushima, and no one knew of the magnificent Rakko-kun.
However, the boy refused to give up, for he knew dreams do come true if you believe. "Someday, somehow, I will meet my sea otter."
What a surprise ending, huh? Huh?! Er, yeah. But by July, I knew it was no longer gonna happen. I wasn't going to Oita. So when that Kumamoto bus tour ended, and the bus driver announced that he was dropping us off at Oita, I - was - shocked. Weren't we going back to Kumamoto Station?! I rechecked my itinerary and indeed, JTB had booked me a hotel in Oita!! YES YES OH YES!! Nothing was gonna stop me from seeing that sea otter, so the next day, I rebooked my airplane ticket to buy me some extra time, and took a 10 min taxi ride down right after a quick breakfast.
And yadayadayada, now time for some pictures! Unfortunately, it was really crowded that day so there's a lot of heads interferring in most of the shots.
Outside Umi Tamago, where you could already hear the penguins . .
. . buzzing?
And the walruses . .
. . oinking?
Me and Umi
Lotsa shows through-out the day, and I made it my mission to see every one, starting with the morning Sea Lions.
Playing janken ^^
In an archaic ritual of respect & servitude, the sea lions have to crawl underneath two adults and jump through a hoop OF PLASTIC!! The trainers asked for adults with long legs to volunteer -- sadly, I didn't feel I qualified. :(
Bye bye! Thanks for coming!
However, the most memorable part of the show was when this HUUUUUUMONGOUS walrus jumped up onto the rocks in the back and stole the spotlight. Seriously, everyone stopped watching the sea lions to take pictures of the walrus. XD
OOOOOOOOINK!
This angle gives you a better idea of how big it was.
Hey, this makes a good segue to the walrus show, which was up next. Pretty similar to the Sea Lion one, but with bigger mammals.
Walrus Sit-ups! oO
Bye bye! Thanks for coming!
Aww . . can I take him home?
And at the back of the rocks . .
Buzz! Buzz!
This is one of the greatest inventions in mankind. You stick your umbrella in, pull it out, and it's dry! WOW!!
And now some walking around the inside of the aquarium as I waited for the Rakko show . .
"Which tooth belongs to a shark? 1, 2 or 3?" The answer is . .
.
.
.
2!
This fish knows the difference between in and out, and can read kanji too. O___O
This was one of the highlights of the aquarium. A sardine(??) by itself is boring. But a thousand sardines together is really cool. And imagine every one of them moving. Here, I'll help you. Really pretty and relaxing to stare at.
Ok, call me stupid, but I did not know jellyfish can change color.
And finally . . after two years of waiting . . .
RAKKO-KUN!!!!!
Even better, FOUR RAKKO-KUNS!!
Through the loop OF PLASTIC!!
And then, just like that photo on the website . .
AIR OTTER!!!
It was 1-0, but this otter went up to the scoreboard after a dunk and changed it to 1-3. XD
Bye bye! Thanks for coming!
And that was the end of the show. Lots of goosebumps, lots of joy, lots of closure. Rakko-kuns, zettai wasurenai!! ;_;
And more walking ensued.
This is the largest freshwater turtle in the world
But when freshwater starts making you grow mold on your nose, maybe you should switch to saltwater.
Yo quiero taco!
Spider crabs
And now, the happiest fish on the planet . .
^_____^
Y'know, I don't think this is such a good idea.
Now this is a much safer touching pool.
Looks like this guy had a run-in with Dennis the Menace. Ouch.
Nemo!!
Dory!!
Coincidence?
The smell of defeet
And finally, the last show I had to see was about to start: the dolphins.
On the other hand, the 2nd sea otter show was starting too, and I could get a much closer seat this time.
Sea-otters-I've-seen VS. dolphins-I've-not-seen, who will win?
.
.
.
.
.
Duh!
Aww, ain't that the cutest?
What time is it?
It's hang time!!!!! BOOYAH!!
So yeah, I ended up missing the dolphins, but I made up for them by seeing them backstage after the show. ;)
And guess I'll end this post with my favorite picture of the day, and surprisingly it has nothing to do with otters ^^
And so, the little boy's dream came true and he lived happily ever after. The End.
Man, I'm not gonna finish Summer2005 by the end of October anymore, am I? ;_;
Once upon a time, in the quaint little village of Vancouver, a little boy came across a curious JET application form. And the curious JET application form proceeded to ask the boy a curious question, "Pardon me, sir, but what would your top three placement preferences in Japan be?" And with a whizz and a whirr, the form spit out seven-and-forty places to choose from. The little boy was puzzled. The only prefecture I know is Tokyo, he said. "Don't worry, sir, as I shall wait till the fourteenth of November for your answer."
So the boy went to the village library known as Thee Internet to learn more of these 47 places. He read and read and read for weeks, and thought, how difficult this is, for every prefecture had written so many good things about themselves. So he began to cross out his choices based on silly things like the official bird, tree population, rice quality, charming events, and lacquerware quality. Yes, Virginia, lacquerware quality.
Then as he was reading about the land of Oita, he came across a picture of a sea otter performing a rather wicked slam dunk. "A SEA OTTER THAT PLAYS BASKETBALL?!!!" cried the boy. "OMG!!I!!I!" The sea otter's name was Rakko-kun, and could only be seen at an aquarium known as Umi Tamago.
Long tale short, the boy chose Niigata and ended up in Fukushima. But he never forgot Umi Tamago or the little rakko. For two years, he asked teachers, students, and friends about the aquarium. But they all shook their heads. Sadly, Oita was very, very far from Fukushima, and no one knew of the magnificent Rakko-kun.
However, the boy refused to give up, for he knew dreams do come true if you believe. "Someday, somehow, I will meet my sea otter."
What a surprise ending, huh? Huh?! Er, yeah. But by July, I knew it was no longer gonna happen. I wasn't going to Oita. So when that Kumamoto bus tour ended, and the bus driver announced that he was dropping us off at Oita, I - was - shocked. Weren't we going back to Kumamoto Station?! I rechecked my itinerary and indeed, JTB had booked me a hotel in Oita!! YES YES OH YES!! Nothing was gonna stop me from seeing that sea otter, so the next day, I rebooked my airplane ticket to buy me some extra time, and took a 10 min taxi ride down right after a quick breakfast.
And yadayadayada, now time for some pictures! Unfortunately, it was really crowded that day so there's a lot of heads interferring in most of the shots.
Outside Umi Tamago, where you could already hear the penguins . .
. . buzzing?
And the walruses . .
. . oinking?
Me and Umi
Lotsa shows through-out the day, and I made it my mission to see every one, starting with the morning Sea Lions.
Playing janken ^^
In an archaic ritual of respect & servitude, the sea lions have to crawl underneath two adults and jump through a hoop OF PLASTIC!! The trainers asked for adults with long legs to volunteer -- sadly, I didn't feel I qualified. :(
Bye bye! Thanks for coming!
However, the most memorable part of the show was when this HUUUUUUMONGOUS walrus jumped up onto the rocks in the back and stole the spotlight. Seriously, everyone stopped watching the sea lions to take pictures of the walrus. XD
OOOOOOOOINK!
This angle gives you a better idea of how big it was.
Hey, this makes a good segue to the walrus show, which was up next. Pretty similar to the Sea Lion one, but with bigger mammals.
Walrus Sit-ups! oO
Bye bye! Thanks for coming!
Aww . . can I take him home?
And at the back of the rocks . .
Buzz! Buzz!
This is one of the greatest inventions in mankind. You stick your umbrella in, pull it out, and it's dry! WOW!!
And now some walking around the inside of the aquarium as I waited for the Rakko show . .
"Which tooth belongs to a shark? 1, 2 or 3?" The answer is . .
.
.
.
2!
This fish knows the difference between in and out, and can read kanji too. O___O
This was one of the highlights of the aquarium. A sardine(??) by itself is boring. But a thousand sardines together is really cool. And imagine every one of them moving. Here, I'll help you. Really pretty and relaxing to stare at.
Ok, call me stupid, but I did not know jellyfish can change color.
And finally . . after two years of waiting . . .
RAKKO-KUN!!!!!
Even better, FOUR RAKKO-KUNS!!
Through the loop OF PLASTIC!!
And then, just like that photo on the website . .
AIR OTTER!!!
It was 1-0, but this otter went up to the scoreboard after a dunk and changed it to 1-3. XD
Bye bye! Thanks for coming!
And that was the end of the show. Lots of goosebumps, lots of joy, lots of closure. Rakko-kuns, zettai wasurenai!! ;_;
And more walking ensued.
This is the largest freshwater turtle in the world
But when freshwater starts making you grow mold on your nose, maybe you should switch to saltwater.
Yo quiero taco!
Spider crabs
And now, the happiest fish on the planet . .
^_____^
Y'know, I don't think this is such a good idea.
Now this is a much safer touching pool.
Looks like this guy had a run-in with Dennis the Menace. Ouch.
Nemo!!
Dory!!
Coincidence?
The smell of defeet
And finally, the last show I had to see was about to start: the dolphins.
On the other hand, the 2nd sea otter show was starting too, and I could get a much closer seat this time.
Sea-otters-I've-seen VS. dolphins-I've-not-seen, who will win?
.
.
.
.
.
Duh!
Aww, ain't that the cutest?
What time is it?
It's hang time!!!!! BOOYAH!!
So yeah, I ended up missing the dolphins, but I made up for them by seeing them backstage after the show. ;)
And guess I'll end this post with my favorite picture of the day, and surprisingly it has nothing to do with otters ^^
And so, the little boy's dream came true and he lived happily ever after. The End.
Man, I'm not gonna finish Summer2005 by the end of October anymore, am I? ;_;