The BioPark... Yeah, it was awesome!

On Thursday Aug 13, we drove the 4 hours to Sasebo.  Did I mention it was $80 in tolls?  Yeah, traveling in Japan is spendy!  We left after Dan got home from work, so got to Sasebo (Naval Base) a bit late.  On Friday, we had grand and exciting plans!  We drove an hour to the Nagasaki BioPark.  It is a more hands-on zoo experience.  I love that their website says this:  "We believe that stepping into such environments and sharing them with the animals will help you deepen your understanding about animals greatly. It also gives you opportunities to learn about the distance you should keep from animals and what you should be careful about when you pet them." 

I liked the layout of the park.  Rather than letting you roam aimlessly, they had a route for you to follow and this ensured that you saw everything.  It is especially handy when it is built on the mountainside and you can't see much other than what is in front of you. 
The zoo is a bit depressing, because well.... it is a zoo and animals are sad when penned up.  But the petting parts were awesome!  They have little machines that let you buy food for 100 yen and you can feed the animals: flamingos, wallabies, capybara, raccoons, monkeys.... so fun!

(Yeah I cannot figure out how to change that white outline!  It looks just fine in editing mode and nothing I try makes it right.  I'm sorry!)

Starting the road trip with a car full of kids.

The girls were impressed with the texture of it's skin. 

 I was delighted with myself for guessing what these were.

These are Gray Crowned Cranes. 

I had never seen these before!  I did not know that Wallabies looked like this! 

So cute! 

It was hot and they were not too active.  They were still happy to eat though.

Ryle thought she was so funny, holding hands with this guy. 

These monkeys were on an island, and were not hungry. 

There was this slingshot.  It is hard to see, but that is what Callie is holding. 

I was feeding a flamingo just before the camera clicked! 

Up close and personal. 

Callie was very involved and wouldn't even look up for me. 

I love this girl! 

The colors on these flamingos was lovely. 

It took Rylee a while, but she got brave enough to feed them.... out of the food container. 

There was an insectarium.  It was low on variety, but high on touchability! 

Callie thought these big beetles were great.  No fear at all. 

Ryle needed some time and encouragement. 

Scary looking, aren't they. 

 Marian was not intimidated, but not as fascinated as Callie.

Apparently they tickle when they walk.

She finally got the courage to pick it up!