We visited Fukuoka Zoological Park for NILS activity in summer program.  Each student enjoyed a lot there watching various kinds of animals and plants!

It was very enjoyable and there were lots of opportunities to talk about the cute animals, or ask questions about them (in Japanese of course!). The botanical gardens were also very nice. There was enough to do in the three hours we had and it was a nice opportunity to visit a place I would not have otherwise done.
Also, as I was late, it was really appreciated that Hirose-sensei came to fetch me from the entrance gate.   —Laura

The Fukuoka Zoo activity this week was very interesting.

Beyond a Zoo visit that you can get in any modern country, it was important learning how to ride a bus, buy a train ticket, and ride a train in Japan. Reading posted signs featuring Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji while getting a confirmation from the teacher whether I read them right or wrong was also very unique.  —Jorge

We went to the zoo and botanical garden yesterday! There were so many animals there. What’s amazing is that we got to see most of them. The most interesting animal we got to see was probably the chimpanzees. We went while it was feeding time so it was really exciting. There was one chimp that seemed to monopolize all the food. It’s absolutely incredible how intelligent and humanlike they are.

The other animal that I was really excited to see were the Tanuki and foxes. They were sleeping when we got there but there was a funny but sad sign that describe why one of the foxes’ tail was missing. Apparently, when the Tanuki and the foxes shared a cage they got into fights. One of the Tanuki slashed off the poor fox’s tail! When we saw them, sure enough, the two animals were in different cages.

We also got to see lions and tigers!! They are absolutely beautiful animals. The tiger was a lot bigger than I thought and the lionss seemed not very happy we were watching her sleep but she had really beautiful big round eyes. I’m glad we got to see them.

The botanical garden!!!! Aahh, it was really gorgeous. I wish we could have stayed there a little longer but I think I would have spent the rest of my life there if I could! My favorite part of the garden was the potted plants! If I could in the future I’d love to have my own potted plant garden like the one we saw. I’m kind of afraid of bugs though so I don’t know how that will turn out. It was a really fun day! I’m grateful for all the cool activities we go to.  —Stephanie