Buying Fleas and Watching Bears

When we left the house yesterday morning, I was sure I would not be buying any fleas.  It was a holiday and Ted had the day off, so we took the bus, then the subway to Nakajima Koen in Sapporo.  I read in the Hokkaido International Women’s Association newsletter that there would be a flea market there.  Ted often went to the flea market at the NC State Fairgrounds when we lived in the US.  I thought it might be fun to see in Japan, but I wasn’t interested in buying anything.  Or so I thought.

 

(these are plastic)

All I asked was “Kore wa ikura desu ka?”  The man’s answer was one for 100 yen and three for 200 yen.  The money was out of my pocket, and these cute little cakes that are really little towels were mine.

 

Before the morning was gone, I had also purchased this little Minnie Mouse lunch box for 150 yennies and these little flowered handkerchiefs to send to Ted’s mom for 20 and 30 yen.

 

Ted found this tiny hot air popcorn maker for 250. (Now we need to buy some popcorn!)

 

Even though I hadn’t planned on buying any fleas, it was entertaining and I was pleased with my purchases. We left Nakajima Park and went to Mauyama Park next, stopping for lunch at a place called Omoide Grill.  Ted had the lunch setto with seafood gratin, salad, soup, a fried shrimp, a tablespoon of potato salad, spaghetti, and hambarg (kind of like a meatloaf hamburger).  I had the seafood gratin.

 

Next stop – the Maruyama Zoo. We have really gotten our money’s worth out of the year’s zoo pass we bought last fall. The main thing we wanted to see yesterday was the polar bear twins that were born in December. Aren't they the cutest little bears you've ever seen?

 

The red pandas have a brand new place to live that is very nice.
 

The zoo is so much fun!

 

When we left the zoo and walked across Maruyama Park on our way to get to the subway, we heard some children yelling “Kitsune, kitsune!”  A fox ran right across our path!
 

We had a great day and returned home tired.  No yo-yo’s were completed yesterday. Today's another day.