I'm finally back in Kagoshima and rested after my jam-packed Hokkaido weekend! It was a ton of fun though :) So I guess now it's time to recount my adventures. First, I guess I should explain the above picture. There's no direct flight from Kagoshima to Hokkaido, so I had to layover at Narita and these cute characters were there to greet everyone as we got off the plane. They also gave us a nice little goodie bag with a keychain and a couple of clear files in it. I think they were promoting Chibaken (hence Chiba-kun being there), but it was also apparently the first Kagoshima-Tokyo flight for Jetstar (the airline I flew for this trip). We also got a little Jetstar goodie bag at the Kagoshima airport with a special boarding pass, luggage tag, and mousepad. Unfortunately, all day Friday was spent on a plane or in an airport. Luckily the flight to Tokyo was nice, since Nehma was also on it. It went by quicker with someone else there. After that though she headed off to Tokyo and I got to spend four hours hanging around Narita. Ugh. Next time I'm going to spend a little bit more on tickets ._. After that it was off to Sapporo. I didn't get there until 9pm, so basically I passed out after I got to my hotel. Woke up early the next day though, I had to pack in as much as possible to make my time in Hokkaido worthwhile. I had a lot of fun though, and I think I did better having a packed schedule. The first place I went to was the Maruyama Zoo.

The zoo was ok, but I think I enjoyed walking through Maruyama Park better. The zoo just seemed kind of sad to me :( I'm used to the zoos I've been to in America that have full habitats for the most part. And here, everything just seemed caged up. 

My mom said that this was how the zoos in the States were when she was a kid, so I guess things have just changed for the better back home and it hasn't caught on in other places yet?

Back to the park though, so many beautiful flowers!

 After I got finished with the zoo I had a quick lunch at KFC. The chicken sandwhich there wasn't that bad, still doesn't beat a Chickfila though :( Then I was off to Shiroi Koibito Park!

This place is so cute! I hope one day I can go back with Andrea. I think she'd really like it. It'd be such a cute place to have tea on a beautiful spring afternoon :3

I enjoyed a nice cup of strawberry-milk ice cream while looking at the garden!

I also picked up some of the shiroi koibito cookies for omiyage while I was there... I ended up eating a box by myself though orz... THEY WERE SO GOOD THOUGH! I still have enough to give my Japanese friends one each though. I also have another box of a different kind of sweet that I got. I think I'm going to give it to my advisor, but I haven't decided yet... I may end up eating it too >_>;

That's all for Shiroi Koibito park though, now it's time for the Hokkudai Botanical Gardens and Ainu Museum.

This would've been the perfect place for a picnic date, and I assume I'm not the only one that thinks so since there were an awful lot of couples there. It was nice though, just wish I had had someone to go with. Then inside the gardens was the Ainu Museum

I actually wanted to go to the one in Shiraoi, Porotokotan. But, after I figured out how long and how much it'd take to get there from Sapporo, I decided it would be better for me to spend my time doing other things. That would've been the only thing I could've done. I don't regret not going there, but I'm still a bit bummed that I didn't get a chance to :( Hopefully next time I'll get to go! 

After that it was time to start getting ready for the Koda Kumi concert! *_*

This was my view of the stage. I was at the very top. I had a great view, but the problem with being so far away is that there's no way for anything that gets thrown in the crowd to reach you ;_; The people who were sitting around me weren't very enthusiastic either, which was kind of a downer. But I still had fun! I wish I could go again! And I didn't cry! I almost cried a few time though hahaha.

This was my outfit :3

I ended up buying a tote bag and both of the Koda Kumi's fragrances while I was there. I wanted the perfume anyways, I just hadn't been able to find it anywhere, and the tote bag I decided to get after seeing people with them. It's a really nice tote. Check my poupee for pictures of those :)

Oh yeah, and before I end this... Thursday night this showed up at my door:

Now it's time to wait for July!! :D