Peacocks, Waterfalls, and Donkeys....

I went to a Peacock Park this weekend. Now, when I say Peacock “Park” one might automatically assume that there is a park that exists where peacocks roam around and you can feed them or whatever. This peacocks park is located in Kawatana and is incidentally what the town is known for, I figure, its got to be good, right? Well, If you want to see about 200 scraggly foul looking a few days from death, I would highly recommend going to this place. No free roaming peacocks, just one giant pavilion-type cage where they all just kind of muddled around. What do you get when you put this many peacocks together in one place? One awful smell, that’s what. I only saw about two birds that actually had tail feathers. One interesting part was that there were also a few albino peacocks in a separate cage. Albino peacocks remind you why peacocks can be beautiful: Their feathers. Without colorful feathers a peacock looks more like a glorified turkey than anything else.

Not as cool as you would think.


On deaths door...


One ugly bird!

By happenstance, Kawatana is also near Higashisonogi, which has many beautiful waterfalls. Some friends and I went on Saturday and swam in the cold, cold mountain river. There was a rope that you can swing out on, but my fear of heights came through and left me merely taking pictures of others swinging. The waterfalls were very beautiful and the area was fairly deserted. Afterwards, whilst looking wet and bedraggled, we went to Bikkuridonki (a restaurant) for coffee, and dessert. Bikkuridonki literally translates into “Donkey Surprise.” I think they should start franchises in the States: Its delicious, cheap, and has an irresistible name. Americans would love it!

Beautiful!


Jill swinging into the pool. Hmm... looks dangerous.


Donkey Suprise! Jill on the left, Kate on the right. Incidentally, the menu folds out like a Catholic Confessional.