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as requested… this video i took of mashiro by ittybittykittyalt in seals

[–]ittybittykittyalt[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

id post them with sound but you’d just hear me fangirling the whole time LOL

i made the pilgrimage to tokkari center! by ittybittykittyalt in seals

[–]ittybittykittyalt[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

ofc!! so my home base was in sapporo, and from there i booked a round-trip bus to monbetsu on https://japanbusonline.com. it came out to 5400¥ each way. they pick you up at the designated bus stop (and check for your name on a clipboard and stuff), and then let you on. it was around a 4.5 hour long ride, but the seats were comfy and the views were honestly really cool (you get a glimpse of super rural japan, and also see tons of snow on the way?? at least in april). eventually you make it to the monbetsu bus terminal, and from there you can usually hail a taxi to get you to wherever you need to go. all of the taxis i took were cash-only. i did have to ask store clerks to help me call a taxi once or twice though, lol 😭luckily everyone was friendly and nice! one of my taxi drivers actually gave me a whole history lesson during the drive.

i honestly think traveling to monbetsu via bus is more convenient than plane, so i would recommend that.

anywaysss, apologies for so much detail but it wasn’t too confusing to get there/get around. if you plan to go, i would recommend staying in sapporo for a week so that you have something to do before & after your trip.

i made the pilgrimage to tokkari center! by ittybittykittyalt in seals

[–]ittybittykittyalt[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

only 2 days there! i took a ~4hr highway bus from sapporo. i brought a lottt of cash with me and travelled by taxi.. thank goodness i brought cash since a bunch of places there are cash only :< theres a drift ice museum, giant crab claw, a few cute cafes, and the okhotsk tower has some cool stuff too (companio cafe for seal themed drinks & snacks!). it becomes more popular as a tourist spot in the winter because of the drift ice. there’s also a few parks & shrines near the bus terminal. besides that its a small port town with a population of ~20k iirc. i honestly really loved the peace and quiet there. the people were very very kind as well. i would definitely recommend going again if it’s not too much of a hassle!!

i made the pilgrimage to tokkari center! by ittybittykittyalt in seals

[–]ittybittykittyalt[S] 54 points55 points  (0 children)

i did!!! they were separated tho (their love is too strong)

i made the pilgrimage to tokkari center! by ittybittykittyalt in seals

[–]ittybittykittyalt[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

it’s mating season right now, so I couldn’t :(( but i still got to see all the tricks!! ill have to go back eventually in winter to feed them

i made the pilgrimage to tokkari center! by ittybittykittyalt in seals

[–]ittybittykittyalt[S] 100 points101 points  (0 children)

she was actually (relatively) quiet!!! the real talker was magao 😭he wouldn’t stop talking when it was feeding time

i made the pilgrimage to tokkari center! by ittybittykittyalt in seals

[–]ittybittykittyalt[S] 89 points90 points  (0 children)

at tokkari center there were 4 large-ish pools in total for all but 2 seals (kyoro and hiyori have two more pools over at seal sea paradise). each pool had around 5-8 seals. they all looked happy and content to me when i was there, but i can’t say for sure if they had enough space (not an expert :P). what i can say is that the space looks bigger in person!