Nagoya (Part 4-Monkey Park)

I had planned to visit a tie-dying museum in Nagoya after Meiji-Mura, but I got sidetracked by a monkey park! A whole park devoted to monkeys, can you believe my luck? Ha in case we haven't yet established my love of all things primate, let me spell it out. I love monkeys. It was a SERIOUS hassle to get to the park from the subway station. I was in a tiny little town with barely any sidewalks and no signs in English. It was a miracle I found that park. Once inside, I again was sidetracked by the petting zoo for kids. How can you not get distracted by ginea pigs and bunnies? I paid two dollars to pet them and it was worth it. The adorable little Japanese children made the experience even better.

Once I finally tore myself from the cuteness, I wandered through the park enjoying all different species of primates. Look at this cutie!

I made a few friends inside the park.

 A path off of the main walkway took me right into the center of this enclosure. The monkeys were so close! I felt like I could touch them at some points.

Next was Monkey Valley. Many Macaques lived together there. I was able to purchase some food for a dollar to feed to the monkeys. It was very interesting to see the group dynamics when they realized I could give them a snack. The young ones moved away from the older ones in order to avoid a fight when I threw down the little pellets of deliciousness. I purposely tried to toss a couple to the babies. My aim was spot on and I'm pretty sure I made their day.

After the feeding frenzy, I wandered over to a couple of metal doors surrounding another monkey enclosure. Again, no signs in English, but I had seen a family go through so I figured I was safe. Once inside, I caught the attention of a staff person who promptly used food to encourage the monkeys into view. I was about one foot away and the experience was amazing!

After a good fifteen minutes, I thanked the man for his kindness and moved on to the baboons. This is where things got a bit depressing. All the different clans of baboons were squished together in this giant concrete bowl of an enclosure. A couple metal pieces of playground equipment stood in the middle, but it still looked pretty bleak. A lot of them were fighting and it was stinky. After a few minutes of watching the little skirmishes, I noticed another snack booth to offer the baboons. Some people had the attention of most of the group, so I headed over to the other side to reward the ones left out of the action. They noticed I had a little white snack container and a handful perked up immediately. At first, I tossed a couple on the ground near the group. It seemed the little ones were interested, but once I threw a treat they immediately ran out of the way to let the adults eat the morsel. I even hit an adolescent with a treat, but even he ran away from it like his life depended on it. Maybe it did! To my surprise and excessive amusement, the older adolescents and  adults had learned to catch the treats with their hands in mid-air. It was so exciting and fantastic! I bought more treats just so I could play one-sided catch with them. A couple even caught the treats with their mouths. Honestly, I was more impressed with the hands. I ran out of treats, and I was running out of time to see the gorilla, so I moved on. Thinking back, the intelligence of those animals was very apparent. I feel so badly that they are stuck in a cold concrete enclosure. I know they know they deserve better, and it breaks my heart a little bit.

Next, I explored the part of the park with the smaller monkeys. I found a new favorite called the Pygmy Marmoset. It looks a little alien-like, but it's so darn cute! I've got to find out more about them.

As soon as I neared this cage, this little guy was all over me! It was adorable.

This is the Pygmy! Creepy yet adorable.

Next, I saw the chimps and a gorilla. The next guy was a total diva. I'm pretty sure he just wanted some camera action. He was nowhere to be found in the enclosure, so I happened to check the time on my phone. Immediately he came flying out of this hole in the wall and sat right in front of me. It was awesome! I took this picture and he promptly disappeared again. I wish he would have stuck around a bit, but I'm glad I got to see him. I also wish it was a better picture!

I felt bad for this silverback. He didn't seem to have any friends and he was in a very small enclosure. It was interesting to watch him watch me and others in the area. These giants are so smart, I wanted to let him know how much I appreciated the opportunity to see him. He came close to me a couple times and looked me in the eyes. It was scary! He regarded me with a cool gaze and promptly smacked the glass to put me in my place. Maybe I should give up grad school and start a wildlife sanctuary. My brother already calls me the dog whisperer, why not become the gorilla whisperer? Anyway, I bowed my head and averted my gaze to show respect and let him know he was still the boss. 

I don't think a baby could get any cuter than this!

Another diva, he loved to strike a pose.

Overall, the monkey park was a good experience. I constantly reevaluate if I should even pay to see animals displayed like this. It really isn't nice in any way. However, the zoos will be there whether or not I visit them. I guess I just can't resist. Most of the time I tend to avoid this philosophical debate with myself. Eventually, I will probably become some sort of anti-zoo activist, but I'm not at that point yet. We'll see what happens.

I took a few random pics in Nagoya, and as a good-bye, I'll share them with you now! I enjoyed this trip outside of Tokyo and I'm really happy to have had the chance to experience the bullet train. Unfortunately I couldn't see Mt. Fuji from the window, but I haven't yet given up hope. One of these days I'll be able to see the historic mountain. Anyway, thanks for the memories Nagoya!

Nagoya (Part 3-Meiji-mura)

Meiji-mura

Meiji-mura is known as one of Japan's best museums. It's an expansive site with more than 60 buildings originally constructed during the Meiji era (1868-1912). Not all of the buildings were constructed in Japan, but all have some significant meaning to the country. I wandered around for a good two hours. Most of the buildings were unique in some way and I was even allowed to tour the insides of some (without my shoes of course). The whole aura of the place was that of a past life. A steam engine and old school trolleys carried tourists throughout the park. I didn't get to ride either of those, but I still had a good time. It was a little nerve wracking trying to find the museum, but I managed to to board the right train out of Nagoya to the rural town of Inuyama. English signs are prevalent in Tokyo and Nagoya, but outside of the city limits English was definitely scarce. I made it though! Since this is a completely outdoor museum, I was allowed to take many pictures. Anyway, instead of boring you with more words, I will show you my adventure through the iPad lens.

I got to feed this duck! They had stale bread for sale for a dollar so I went wild with the native water fowl.

 This is an old elementary school.

I have no idea what this is or what it was used for...

but it did have a cool picture of a gate inside.

 This used to be a communications post. All the telephone lines and switchboards and things were routed through this place. The inside was filled with a bunch of neat old phones! I've always wanted a  rotary phone...

Most of the buildings were staged to look like the originals.

This entire building was a lab! Dr. Shibasaburo Kitasato founded the Kitasato Institute for the study of infectious diseases. He studied bacteriology under Dr. Robert Koch in Germany, and modeled this building after the German baroque style in 1915. It wasn't as creepy on the inside as I had expected.

Original lab equipment and sinks!

These next houses just looked awesome, so I took some pics.

Here's an original red brick maze. Usually the museum allows guests inside, but I guess they knew I was coming. 

I was just going to walk by this house until I saw the American flag. I couldn't just ignore my country! It turns out this house was built in Seattle for an American family in 1907. A Japanese family later purchased the house to use as a gathering place to pray for the souls of the first-generation immigrants after the war. It's pretty cool they continue to fly the American flag in front of the house.

Of all of the old buildings in this museum, this was by far the creepiest. I didn't know what it used to be at first, but I got chills immediately when I stepped through the door. The corridor was impossibly long and the floorboards creaked ominously as I tried to tip toe my way down the hall. It turned out to be an old hospital. Eek! Ugh, it was as if I could tell people had suffered in there. Still, the original equipment was interesting to see. I couldn't handle staying very long, but I'm glad I got to see first hand what the inside of a hospital looked like back then.

This was a barracks for the Sixth Infantry Regiment army of the new Meiji government in 1873. This building originally rested on the Nagoya castle grounds and was used to house the soldiers fighting for the Owari Clan. Army buildings were modeled after French architecture at that time, but I have no idea why. The English on the sign explaining this building was particularly poor.

This was a hospital used by the army and citizens of Nagoya Castle at the same time as the barracks above. The inside wasn't nearly as creepy as the other hospital, but there were some strange drawing of organs on the walls. 

This little church was built in Hawaii in 1889. It was originally used as a place of worship for Japanese immigrants but later turned into an assembly hall for those same immigrants. The rush of Japanese immigrants to Hawaii began in 1868 and ended around 1907 though a strong Japanese presence continues in Hawaii to this day.

Awesome steam locomotive and bridge!

Inside the conductor's cabin...

The post office!

This church was absolutely gorgeous inside and out. People can still get book the place for a marriage ceremony.

This is part of an old prison. You would think this would be creepier than the hospital, but it was actually much more inviting. Perhaps that had something to do with the fake prisoners and their fake smiles...

It appears that orange must be a universal color for criminals...

Good bye Meiji-mura! I'm off to the monkey park. More on that in the next post :)