I seemed to be blogging a lot on animal feeding and this is definitely not the last; however, this took place in Hokkaido, on a mountain top within the port city of Otaru.
The chipmunk enclosure was actually decently sized and installed with a double gate so that visitors can enter for a close-up experience with the cute little rodents.
Admission was free and if you need things to entice the chipmunks; you can consider purchasing the pack of sunflower seeds at 100 yen. Ours were included as part of the package we bought for Mount Tengu ropeway.
What's the one thing you noticed from the enclosure? No trees at all and it's not very high; the man in the middle was about the same height as the meshed up fence.
I did try my best to spot the chipmunks and there was no beginner's luck; did capture a grasshopper that appeared to be sunbathing on a big leaf!
As chipmunks are known to be extremely agile with the insane ability to behave like flash (the super hero), do be mindful of where you step next. You wouldn't want to hear the terrible sound of bones cracking.
Since i am not very good in finding things, i had to rely on other visitors; they would usually express alarm and happiness in finding the chipmunk and tend to congregate at the area where they last saw it. And i did see one!
Another one hiding in the bushes. Wait, it could have been the same one as it was so fast; my eyes couldn't catch up with its movement!
My multiple attempts of using the sunflower seeds failed miserably as it simply didn't have any interest. I could empathize; i love chicken rice but i would get sick of it eventually if you ask me to eat chicken rice every day.
Cute right?! Asshole was munching through a sunflower seed it found on the rock! I had like a dozen on my palm and it literally didn't give me any attention.
The problem lies with me as the chipmunk had no issue picking the seeds from Alex's hands! To be fair, i was holding on to a huge ass camera which could have been intimidating.
Since most visitors would step in with a pack of sunflower seeds, the entire floor was littered with the shells. Doubt they would be swept away as i guess they would make do as compost for the soil. As i had no luck with the rodents, i eventually passed my remaining pack of seeds to a Japanese kid. Don't waste mah.
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Location
On top of Mount Tengu,
Otaru, Hokkaido, Japan
Pricing
Free admission but ticket for ropeway applies.
For my summarized 8 days, 7 nights itinerary to Hokkaido in summer (including a few days of self-drive), click here.