The Red Gates (Fushimi Inari Shrine), Traditional Japanses dance, and Mipigs

The Red Gates

    On our last day in Kyoto on April 4th, we took the train to visit Fushimi Inari, better known as the Red Gates. The Red Gates are a popular tourist attraction and although we tried to leave early there were still a lot of people: large crowds on the train, on the sidewalks, and especially in and around the temple grounds. On the train, Charlotte was the only one able to snag a seat. When we arrived at the temple we were greeted by Kitsune showcased on either side of the door. Kitsune are magical japanese foxes. They bring fertility and prosperity to the temple and the people. The items in their mouths symbolize different beliefs. We saw kitsune holding a ball, some wheat, and a key, in their mouths. Each auspicious item has a different meaning. Interestingly, some even had a closed mouth.

    We walked through a couple huge gates and then passed through a series of smaller closer together gates. Lastly, we walked through a long tunnel of the famous red gates. These gates are around 12 feet tall and across. The gates were really cool, but we were packed tighter than sardines in the crowd. We didn't take many pictures for that main reason. 

               

                                                                                                                      

                                       

    After the red gates, we planned to head to nishiki food market, but rode the train one stop too far and ended up walking straight to the Miyoko Odori show we had planned to visit  after the market. Tickets to the Miyoko Odori (a traditional Japanese dance and music show) are available only in the spring during the annual Sakura (cherry blossom) Festival. The show was segmented into four acts, one for each of the four seasons. Interlaced within each season were mini dance scenes with Japanese folktales. We rented an audio guide which was timed to the dances and told us all about the history of this particular traditional dance in Japan and explained each of the folktales. Each performer was dressed in a colorful costume with white makeup on his/her face. The clothing was colorful with intricate details each costume was absolutely beautiful. The stage was flanked by two groups of musicians, all female, playing traditional Japanese instruments. No pictures were allowed inside the theater, but the show as very entertaining and we highly recommend reserving tickets (well in advance!) for Miyoko Odori if you visit Kyoto during Sakura season.

          

                                         (This image is from the internet)

    After the dance show, we headed to a micro pig cafe. We had planned to reserve tickets at a cat cafe, but as soon as we discovered the "mi-pig" cafe option we were intrigued and reserved a timeslot. The cafe was well marked, tucked between two other shops in a long covered shopping center. Upon arrival we were immediately given a locker to store our personal belongings and shoes. (Note: you should come wearing socks). The cafe footprint was tiny, but consisted of three floors. We were assigned to the second floor. On each floor there was a small enclosed area were the pigs ran freely behind a waist high enclosure. There were four tables in each area, small enough for you to sit and put your drinks on. When we arrived on the second floor, there was only one other family and they were getting ready to leave. We sat down and put blankets over our laps. The pigs immediately approached us and got onto our laps. They were very clean and a little loud (grunting and making cute squeaky noises), but they were very sweet. Their fur was not very soft, it was actually quite bristly. The pigs were all litter box trained, so you didn't have to worry about messes.

         

    I was surprised to discover that the pigs all loved cuddles and came right up to you as soon as you sat down. At one time, Mom had 6 pigs on her lap! The cafe staff were very helpful; if a pig was not on a lap, they would guide it over to someone. Drinks were also complimentary. Our reservation lasted 25 minutes. After our time was up, we asked the cafe if we could expand our time to 55 minutes. They were full for the evening, to we decided to go find dinner.

                             

                             

    The micro pigs were super fun and cute and we definitely would recommend going to visit them. 

                                                                                                                        

                                                                            

                               
    

The Forbidden City (Natalie)

The Forbidden City

The Forbidden City is a complex of ancient buildings and temples where 24 emperors and their families (of the Qing and Ming Dynasties) lived and worked. It was built by Emperor Yongle of the Ming dynasty from 1406 to 1420. Over 230,000 artisans and millions of laborers worked tirelessly to construct it. The architecture was designed by celebrated architect, Khai Xiang. It functioned as the imperial palace until the Qing dynasty was overthrown 500 years later in 1911. It was made into the Palace Museum in 1925, and attracts 80,000 tourists daily.

The Forbidden City is located in the city center of Beijing. Coincidentally, Emperor Yongle also changed the capital of China from Nanjing to Beijing in 1421, so he could rule from the Forbidden City. To get to the palace from our hotel, our family traveled by subway. The nearest you could get to the Forbidden City was still a 10-minute walk, through a maze of Chinese hutongs, traditional Chinese houses.

When we got to the palace, the first thing we noticed was the deep moat. It surrounded three of the four sides of the palace. The walls were steep and high, and we all agreed that if you fell in, there was little to no way to get out. When you enter the city, you go through one of the five Meridian Gates. Tourists can walk through any of the five gates with ease, but back in the 1400s, that was not the case. The emperor was the only one who had unlimited access to the center door. The empress was granted the privilege of using the door once, on her wedding day. The top three scholars in China also were allowed to march through this door after their interviews with the emperor. The small corner doors were used only for grand ceremonies. The medium-in-between door to the east was used by government officials, while the west-in-between door was used by the royal family. The city is set up in a rectangular format.

The interior of the palace was mostly red, with intricate designs including dragons, phoenixes, and in general lots of swirly patterns and shapes. Some of the buildings were under restoration, so they were closed off to the public. Most of the big red buildings that housed any cultural objects had gates, so nobody could go inside. You had to fight the crowd to take a look or picture of the interior. 

 

Our family would definitely recommend the Forbidden City on our list of must do attractions in Beijing. We would also recommend the audio guide, a hand-held electric map with a connecting ear piece that activates when you reach a new part of the city. It definitely taught us some interesting facts, even though it was a little glitchy at times. My favorite fact about the Forbidden City was that there are over 8,000 rooms.

Mango Shaved Ice (Charlotte)

Down the street from our Taipei apartment, about a ten minute walk, there is a fun shopping street called Yong Kang. Tucked between the tree lined avenue and some clothing stores is a shop that sells large mango shaved ice desserts. The first time I saw a mango ice, it looked very big. Like a mountain. It was orange and had big chunks of mango and fluffy white snow ice. 

Heaped on top of the shaved ice, there were bobas, sweet red beans and taro mochi, with a drizzle of condensed milk on top. It tasted very sweet and fruity. The whole platter costs $6 USD. I loved it. Mango shaved ice is my favorite dessert. I hope we can find it when we come home to Mercer Island this summer. 

Disneyland HK (Ansel)

On Monday we went to Disneyland HongKong. We took the redline subway, then hopped onto the pink line that took us directly to Disneyland. When we stepped onto the pink line, we quickly decided it was our favorite subway train ever. It had windows and handrails shaped like Mickey Mouse. It also had little display cases with sculptures of Disney characters. It was raining but that ended up being a good thing because there were no lines for any of the rides the first two hours we were in the park.

 

When we arrived, we first had to settle a ticket problem (we accidentally purchased two day HongKong resident tickets!) but then we headed straight to the rides. First, we went to Tomorrowland and went on the three biggest rides. The first ride was the Stark Experience. We entered a pod and drove to Stark Tower while robots invaded the city. Our pod worked with Iron Man to stop the destructive robots. The second ride was Ant Man and Wasp. In this ride, you shoot at targets to get points. It’s very similar to the Buzz Lightyear ride at Disneyland CA. The third ride, however, was the scariest: Hyperspace Mountain. This ride was a roller coaster that operated in the dark. It had crazy turns and bumps. Because we were in the dark, we could never tell what was coming up. 

 

After all that, we decided to take it easy and ride Small World. Small World is a very chill boat ride that takes you through multiple countries and regions with dancing and singing dolls. After this, we went on one of our favorite rides: Runaway Mine Cars. This ride consisted of coming up a mountain and dropping down super fast. The second time you come up the mountain, the coaster seems to suddenly fail and then you hurdle backwards. Next, some bears inside the tunnel set off explosives, which blast the cars forward again. The acceleration is enough to almost make you cry, which is what made it so fun.

 

 

After that, we walked to Frozen Land and got an ice cream sundae, a muffin and an apple. Then, we went to a Frozen show called “Summer Snow Day.” It had Elsa and Anna. In my opinion, it was really bad. Anna made us pick a spirit and then Elsa made it snow inside the theater. The little kids loved it, but not me. After the show, we were hungry and grabbed lunch at the Banquet Hall. It was spendy and crowded but the food was good.

Next, we walked to Adventure Land and Toy Story Land. First, we rode the Toy Soldier Parachute Drop ride as a family. I really liked this ride because when you go up, you get an incredible view of the entire park. It’s really beautiful. After parachuting, Nat, Dad and I rode the RC Racer (which had a height requirement), while Mom took Charlotte to Mystic Manor. RC Racer was my favorite ride because it takes you almost all the way upside down. I love that feeling. 

Overall, I would recommend HongKong Disneyland to any family visiting HongKong because it’s easy to get to, has amazing rides and a really nice clean atmosphere.