Day 4: Penguin Parade

It was Wednesday, February 11, 2026.

6:30 AM We had our usual buffet breakfast with too many choices again at the hotel.

After seeing the amazing photos that Kay and Dareld showed us when they went to see the Asahiyama ice sculptures next to our hotel the night before, Art decided to go and see for himself. I stayed behind to do some last minute packing and set out our blue bags for 2 nights.

Unfortunately, snow had fallen during the night and blanketed all of the ice sculptures.

Our bus driver drove us to a mountain top zoo called Asahiyama Zoo.

There's a special event called the Penguin Walk that I would have called Penguin Parade instead. 

I texted these photos to my brother to show my mom. She does not like the cold.

There was an incredible crowd of people along the Penguin Walk route.

Here I am with Micah, Dareld and Kay.

You've got to admit these King Penguins are awfully cute. 

I paid close attention since we had been told over and over to do the penguin walk to avoid falls.

The penguin walk is done with your toes facing outward with knees bent, walking slowly over the ice and snow. 

The leading penguin opted to try sliding on his tummy before realizing that wasn't going to work for him.

The Japanese Red Headed Cranes (tancho) are famous in Japan. The Ussuri Brown Bear (Ezo Brown Bear) have caused a lot of dangerous and sometimes fatal injuries in the past years as they look for food. 2025 has been an especially dangerous year and people-tourists in the Shiretoko area have been warned to carry bells or bear spray. 

Lunch was at Five Star. We got to choose our own raw meats and vegetables which we grilled at our table. Both Dareld and Kay are true connoisseurs of the culinary arts and it was fun to hear about what they've tried. 

After warming up with our wonderful lunch, we had a lovely drive through Daisetsuzan which is Hokkaido's largest national park. We drove through Sounkyo Gorge to see some truly incredible sights. I took these photos out of the bus window of these frozen waterfalls as we drove by. Everything looked like a black and white painting! It was truly breathtaking. 

Art just reminded me that we went to see these waterfalls in 2014 with a different tour company. And sure enough, I checked my blog and there it was! Both waterfalls!!! This is proof that although my memory is disappearing rapidly, Art remembers everything. Thank goodness!

Dinner at the hotel was another wonderful buffet with too many wonderful choices.

We met everybody outside later at 7:30 and I don't think we were the last ones. 😁

We were told to dress with care. Micah had told us earlier that wearing two masks helps to keep out the cold.

And yes, I was wearing 6 layers of clothing and had handwarmers in my pockets.

We needed to layer up for our walk to the Sounkyo Ice Fall Festival.

I was about to write that we walked about a mile to the Sounkyo Ice Fall Festival. 

Art said it was more like 1/2 a mile or less.

I could see it in the distance.

We were there with Dareld and Kay.

You can tell which is me because of my white coat and fuzzy yarn ball on my hat.

We entered this Ice Bar snow building where it was somewhat warmer out of the wind.

And here we are, the two Kays. You can see who has more layers on.

It was fun to wander around all these snow buildings. That's when we saw this girl go by. Yiiiikes! Is she wearing some super advanced thermal tights? 

At around 8:30, there were fireworks which were being blown about by the snowy blizzard.

When we got back to our room, those fluffy futons looked super welcoming.

It had been a full and fun day!