Waka what?????

I love pandas!!  And yes I do know that pandas are native to China, not Japan.  But I discovered with much delight that Japan has a total of eight pandas, and I’m pleased to broadcast that at last count, I've seen six of them! 

For the past week, Bridget has referred to me as a ‘Panda Stalker’ relaying to some friends since coming back, that while we were at Adventure World in Wakayama, we had stopped by the Panda Enclosure for 3 ½ of the total 7 hours we spent there.  I don’t believe that was excessive.

Last weekend, the four of us, Bridget, Willa and another dear friend, Molly went on a Road Trip bound for Shirahama, Wakayama.  Wakayama is the southern-most prefecture on the main island of Honshu in Japan.   It was a 4 ½ hour trip and as we drove into Shirahama, the sun thankfully came out and the threatening rain clouds disappeared.  We planned to spend the entire day at Adventure World which we did, and the following day at the beach. 

Adventure World is a superb amusement park full of animals.  The five star attraction of course being their family of five giant pandas.  They did not fail to disappoint.  We were in the park no more than 20 minutes before we spotted our first panda.

His name was Eimei and he was in an outside enclosure, happily chewing on some bamboo sticks.  We had no issue with moving to the front, weaving our way around both adults and children, blocking their camera shots so we could take our own.  The sun was beating down on us, and I think my weekend tan was from watching Eimei eating and waddling around rather than from walking the promenade at the beach.  After untold ‘oooohs’ and ‘aaaahhhs’ from watching him breathing, we entered the building next door and discovered the 3 year old twin pandas, Kaihin and Youhin.  

They were both fast asleep but that didn’t stop us from snapping away and cooing over them.  It’s incredible how close we seemed to be to them.  They were in an enclosure that wasn’t glassed up.  We were slightly elevated so we looked down on the both of them snoozing away.  I extended my hand out and we couldn’t have been more than 2 metres away.  A mere two metres!  This area including where Eimei was having his lunch was called ‘Panda Love’.  Masses of people staring and standing about each armed with a camera, becoming increasingly more delirious with love for these cute and cuddly creatures (who were still fast asleep and oblivious to the frenzy they had created).

We moved onto the Panda Breeding Centre to visit the other two residents.  It was a mother, who went by the name of Rauhin and her 11 month old cub, Yuhin.  Just when you thought you couldn’t possibly stand anymore cuteness, a baby panda stumbles into your line of vision and you are hopelessly lost in a ball of black and white fluff.  It was like looking at a soft toy come to life.  They don’t look real at all.  Surely they’re full of calico?  I’m half expecting to see a seam under an arm or a Hasbro tag stitched halfway down its back. 

This particular enclosure was glassed up, perhaps as a precaution for the little one’s immune system which given her young age is probably still quite delicate.  I could just picture every single one of us coughing and breathing on the poor little thing, desperately trying to touch and cuddle her.  Head Line.  Baby Panda mobbed by Fans.  She’s the Justin Bieber of Adventure World.  And yes, she is a ‘she’.   Our eyes tracked Yuhin falling off the slide, falling off the platform, playing with her mother, lying on a bed of ice, putting ice in her mouth (oh she must be teething!), chewing on a piece of wood she stripped from her playground bridge (definitely teething), and following her mother around like a shadow, albeit a much smaller, rounder, and clumsier one.    It was a beautiful scene that we were reluctant to leave behind, although we did return later in the day to stare at Yuhin who had fallen asleep in the tree!  We spent about an hour watching her, adjusting her position several times, clearly uncomfortable but not wanting to get down and sleep somewhere flat, and Rauhin stuffing her face full of bamboo in the corner. 

There were other animals there of course that we did get to visit and be struck dumb by.  We decided to go on the ‘Safari Walk’ where we got up close and personal with the big cats.  Animals, I suppose you would see in the African Savannah (except for the Tigers, who are magnificent creatures) were kind of disturbingly close although there was little chance of them smashing into the vehicle to massacre us with their big, sharp, pointy teeth.

We took in the afternoon ‘Dolphin Show’, which was spectacular.  Afterwards we had made our way to the large pool in the front so we could see the animals up close.  A couple of the dolphins swam close to the glass and we were amazed to see them hover there before us.  It’s that special affinity that certain people have with animals we smugly thought to ourselves.  That is until we noticed the Dolphin Trainer directly behind us.  The dolphins were stopping by because of her, not us.  No matter we nabbed her for a few pics just so the dolphins would stay put in the background. 

We also entered the ‘Feeling Area’.  A more appropriate term would be ‘Petting Zoo’ although we had a few chuckles at the sign.  People had the opportunity to pat and stroke all sorts of animals that were obviously very used to being around humans.   We spotted a trio of what looked to be American Bald Eagles, but aren’t they endangered? Not sure what they would be doing in Japan, and at a petting zoo of all places.  Very imposing looking birds.   

There was a sad looking lemur of ‘Madagascar’ fame on a tiny little manmade island surrounded by water, much like a fort with a moat.  The island was pathetically small and the water too wide to cross without getting wet or possibly worse.  No sign of any drawbridge.  I hope they brought him to the ‘mainland’ at the end of each day so he could stretch his legs at least.

After exiting this part of the park, we decided to go for a spot of race car driving.  We bought our tickets and somehow wedged ourselves into cars that were clearly built for munchkins.  We were all set to burn some serious rubber.  The staff member showed us the foot pedals, one for the brakes (won’t be using that) and the other was the petrol.  We revved up waiting for the staff member to signal that we were good to go.  Molly went first followed by Willa.  As Willa disappeared around the corner, the staff member looked to me and Bridget and nodded for us to go.  Something was obviously very wrong as it took us almost two years to round the corner.  I threw all my weight behind the foot controlling the petrol and pushed it all the way down.  The car responded by chugging along like before, neither accelerating nor slowing down. Such an anti-climax.  The Flintstones would’ve easily lapped us if they were there.  We finally reached the end of the circuit which hadn’t been all that challenging either and just laughed, suddenly remembering where we were.  Japan.  Of course.  The land where preventing all manner of accidents is a national pastime.  Better to be safe than sorry.    

At the end of the day, we were walking through the arcade located at the front entrance when a staff member walked past with a flamingo tucked under her arm!  We had seen the birds when we first entered in the morning.  They too didn’t look all that real until one nipped a guy as he was trying to take a snap of it.  The staff member wasn’t exactly a giant, and that peach coloured bird was no chick, but somehow the staff member comfortably navigated her way through the crowd, with her rather long-bodied surprisingly compliant feathered friend.

It was certainly a memorable day.  

The verdict is that Shirahama is a great place to go for a weekend away.  Apart from the picturesque beach, there are also some popular spots nearby like Engetsuto and Senjojiki.  This area is not over run by tourists at all, which is both nice and also surprising considering the good weather and coastal location.  The beach itself is a draw card on its own.  It is very quiet and very clean.  There are a great deal of people lazing about in the sand and a lot of activity going on.  There just doesn’t seem to be the kind of noise that usually accompanies such outdoor pursuits.  It is Japan after all.  No annoying music blaring, no shrieking, no unruly children running and kicking up sand in your face. 

I can’t believe that I never thought to visit this place until very recently.