ASAHIYAMA (Hokkaido), Feb 17 ― To squat or not to squat, that is the question.
That is a sentiment Shakespeare may have well penned if he were ever faced with a platoon of adorable penguins... and hordes of other folks looking for the best viewing spot.
It’s probably less inelegant to stand upright but the penguins are closer to knee and thigh level; squatting, on the other hand, provides a better perspective to take pictures.
The march of the penguins might be kawaii (Japanese for cute) but the invasion of tourists after the best shot for their Instagram accounts? Less so.
We are at Asahiyama Zoo, the northernmost zoo in Japan. It’s the midst of winter which means there is snow on the ground. Lots of it, blanketing the entire zoo. This means the temperature isn’t the most pleasant (expect it to go subzero on some days) but that’s the price we pay to see the adorable penguins in action.
Everyone waits in trepidation. There are usually two set times every day but much depends on the health of the birds. Some may have diva-like temperaments; only the zookeepers would know. And it is to them that we wait for a decision.
Finally a young zookeeper steps to the front of the Pengin-Kan (“Penguin House”). He makes an announcement, entirely in Japanese. A friendly fellow visitor tells us these are instructions for safety purposes: do not touch the birds or obstruct their path; those in the front are required to squat down so those at the back can also see clearly, and so on.
We wonder how many are listening or even understand, for that matter. Thankfully, the zookeeper switches to body language, signalling with wide waves of his arms for the front-liners to squat. As if answering the Bard, they all drop in unison.
Once the zookeeper is satisfied, he finally opens the enclosure gate. At first, nothing happens. The penguins aren’t shy but they can’t be hurried. Like royalty, they take their own time. Indeed, these are King Penguins; there are 17 of them in Asahiyama Zoo.
If these are the kings, then they share their kingdom with fellow “noblemen” and “common folk” – there are three other types of penguins at the zoo. These are the Rockhopper Penguin, Humboldt Penguin and Gentoo Penguin. Sometimes these smaller species will join the walk.
The most eager of the King Penguins steps gingerly over the gateway onto the green plastic mat. It is soon followed by the rest and soon all 17 penguins begin their walk. While it’s easy for us to see this as the zookeepers parading the penguins, the birds are never “walked” the way we would walk a dog.
Rather, this is exercise time for the King Penguins as they don’t get enough of a workout inside their enclosure. While the zookeepers do not rush the birds, there is always one a few steps ahead to remind visitors in the front row to squat down.
We marvel at how – relatively speaking – straight the penguins are walking. We learn later that the twin rows of humans on either side of the path resemble mountains to the birds. They aren’t trained to walk straight but we look like natural obstacles to them.
The entire Penguin Walk spans approximately 500 metres, passing the Azarashi-Kan (“Seal House”) before making a turn at the study hall. Here the path switches to a lower elevation at the Kaba-Kan (“Hippopotamus House”) before returning back to the Penguin-Kan. Depending on how slow or fast the birds go, the full course may take around half an hour to complete.
Everyone coos with delight as the penguins get closer to them, with variations of “Kawaii!” in different languages. Of course the crowd roars with laughter whenever a penguin slips and slides on its belly. No bird is hurt by this as they are adapted to the snow; unfortunately the same can’t be said for the humans as some slip and fall in their excitement.
Here in the northern reaches of Hokkaido, we are very far away from the King Penguins’ natural home of Antarctica.
There, these regal birds have a habit of hiking to the ocean together. Sometimes they travel as far as a kilometre before they reach the water’s edge and can start catching fish. The Penguin Walk mimics that journey, down to “the catch of the day” at the end of their long commute.
This is the secret: most visitors depart once the King Penguins return to the Penguin-Kan. We, along with a few others, stay behind and are rewarded by the sight of the zookeepers feeding the penguins with fish. Parent birds regurgitate the fish to feed the chicks, distinguished by their brown coats.
We can’t help it but exclaim once more, almost in sync, “Kawaii!”
Asahiyama Zoo Penguin Walk
End of December till mid-March when there is snow. Two walks a day (11am & 2:30pm). Zoo admission fee 820 yen (RM31).
Getting there: Take bus No. 41, 42 or 47 from Asahikawa Station to Asahiyama Zoo, a 40-minute one way ride costing 440 yen (RM16.50) with two buses per hour. By car, it takes half an hour to reach the zoo from Asahikawa town.
