A museum dedicated to noodles may seam a bit odd but it fits right in in Yokohama Japan. When Ramen was introduced to Japan from China the Japanese embraced the food and even developed the instant ramen dish that is popular all over the world whenever you feel like noodles in 2 minutes. You may wonder how you could fill one floor of a museum dedicated to a fairly ordinary food product but the Ramen Museum fills 3 floors with a recreation of Tokyo in 1958 (the year instant ramen was created), a gift shop and of course places to try out you favorite ramen. there even is a small factory exhibit where you can create your own take away ramen. The Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum and Aumusement Park as its one of those classic quirky Japanese attractions that is worth a visit, its located about 3 mins walk from JR Shin Yokohama station. Read the rest of this entry »
Posts under ‘Asia’
Fuji TV HQ home of the Iron Chef
The futuristic city of Odaiba in Tokyo is know for it’s weird and amazing architecture and the Fuji TV centre is right up there with the best. The centre houses their offices and studios for many of their live shows and dramas. The Iron Chef which has a huge cult following was filmed at the centre between 1993 and 2001. Today huge shows like Ainori a dating program, Shikaotoko Aoniyoshi the Fantastic Deer man and 1 litre of tears are filmed there along with countless game shows, news and sport programs. The studios have a little blue dog you might see on some Japanese programs his name is Laugh, if you are really lucky when you visit you might get to see this fury critter mascot greeting the crowds. You can take a self guided tour of the complex and even visit the huge spherical lookout at the top, and on many weekends there are live shows and events being held in the court yards around the complex so you will have hours of fun. You might even be able to get yourself into the studio audience of one of the zany Japanese game shows.
Where would an Iron Chef shop?
If you were an Iron Chef and wanted to deck out your kitchen stadium the best place to go for kitchen equipment would be Kappabashi in Tokyo. Kappabashi is Kitchen Town and it lies between Ueno and the electronics mecca of Asakusa. Here you can buy anything you would need to start up a kitchen from chopsticks, to uniforms to plates and saucers even those amazing plastic food models you see everywhere in Japan. There are hundreds of shops many specializing in different types of kitchen goods, for example Hashito sells chopsticks, and a shop called Tanaka sells lacquerware, and then there Kamata who sells knives. The plastic food shops are amazing, one good one is Maizuru, you can virtually find any type of food here all in resin, from noodles to steak, from sushi to eggs and even full seafood platters and buffets- the range is amazing- but they don’t come cheap some costing thousands of yen. But for the tourist there are some smaller affordable ones, and they have a good range of novelty fridge magnets and the like. The easiest way to visit Kappabashi is catch the Ginza line train and get off at Tawaramachi Station then its only a few blocks walk from exit 3. Most of the shops are open six days a week being closed on Sundays.
The Carp Castle
The Hiroshima Castle or Carp Castle as it is affectionate known was once the home of the Damiyo or the Feuda Lord of Hiroshima. The original castle was constructed in he 1590’s but was destroyed by the atomic attack of the Second World War but was rebuilt to the original but with new materials with a lot of concrete structure in 1958. Today the castle is a museum which features much history of the city prior to the war. The perimeter of the castle is surrounded by moats which are home to giant carps and turtles which bask in the sun. The original castle was declared a national treasure in 1931 and today although rebuilt the people of Hiroshima are very proud of this lovely structure.
A touch of spice and a few goats
Kochi or Cochin as it was know in Colonial times is a vibrant city on India’s south west coast and home to one of the most beautiful harbors in the world. Being a harbor city the city forged its history on trading, fishing and spice. Today spice is still big business and no Cochin Spice Market or Bazaar has an aroma that you can smell for blocks. The market is amazing with both smell and colour. The flavors of chilli, cardamom, pepper, cinnamon even out smell the wandering goats. Cochi has been trading spices since the 1st century and has a quaint colonial style and plenty of history and a great place to visit for anyone planning a trip to India. Read the rest of this entry »
Happy animals in a Chinese Zoo
A lot of China’s zoos and animal parks have the visitor’s entertainment higher up their list of priorities than the animal’s welfare, well the Xiangjiang Safari Park is situated in Dashi Town of Panyu District, Guangzhou is an exception. It has world standards and is one of the very few zoo’s outside of Australia to have bred koalas and they have bread over half the white tigers left on Earth. The zoo is massive it covers 130 hectares is home to 10.000 animals from 300 species and gets over 10 million visitors a year. Sure the park is half theme park and there are animal shows but the zoo is a valuable research and centre wildlife conservation. The park is broken into two areas, one where you can visit the animals on foot and the other where you can board a trolley and to into the open savanna which has three themes Asian Plains, Predator Island and Africa Savanna. The zoo has an impressive list of animals including white tigers, white lions, polar bears, hippos and of course the beautiful and endangered Giant Panda, but the stars of the zoo seem to be the Koalas. The Zoo is located about 30mins from the heart of Guangzhou city don’t get this zoo confused with the city’s zoo- it just doesn’t compare. Read the rest of this entry »
Beautiful Taiwan
When you think of Taiwan you usually think of the huge manufacturing base the huge cities ,dense population and the home to the world’s current tallest building the Taipei 1001, but Taiwan is much more. This country has a rich heritage, friendly people and a beautiful landscape. The country has steep mountains, lush misty forests and huge cypress trees and some spectacular beaches. There’s much more to Taiwan than electronics manufacturing and might be well worth putting on your ‘want to go list’. Read the rest of this entry »
Hong Kong’s Ladies Market for a bargain
The Ladies Market is one of Hong Kong’s best markets and a must for anyone looking for bargain priced clothing, bags, accessories or even toys, nick knacks and small electricals even fresh vegetables. It’s not only geared to women, there is stuff for everyone. The market is on Tung Choi street in Mong Kong and opens every day from noon to nearly midnight. Bargaining is the norm so don’t even think about paying full price and don’t be too surprised if some of those fancy brand names you have bought are not the real thing, there is a lot of counterfeit brand name products around. Many of the store holders don’t speak English too good, but don’t fear they can all use a calculator- money talks all languages. They just punch in the price and it comes up on the screen for you to start negotiating. While you are there, the market is only a short walk to the flower and the goldfish markets which are also well worth a visit.
Jurrasic Park the Ride
Stephen Spielberg’s classic film Jurassic Park still holds the title of one of the world’s biggest grossing films of all time. In Florida, California and in Osaka Japan Jurassic Park has come to life in the form of a spectacular theme park adventure ride. Jump aboard a boat and travel 65 million years back in time and come face to face with some of the most amazing creatures that have ever walked this earth including the a scary encounter with a giant T Rex before dropping 85 feet down a waterfall. Universal Studios is going through a worldwide expansion and new parks are planned for Dubai, Singapore and South Korea it is hoped this great attraction will also be seen there soon.
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Dolphin Lagoon
Singapore’s entertainment island Sentosa is home to Dolphin Lagoon, here you get to get up close to some very special pink Indo Pacific Humpback Dolphins and see their amazing beauty and intelligence. The park also offers a swim with the dolphins package where you experience the dolphins first hand. The Dolphin Lagoon is part of Underwater World which showcases a many of the amazing underwater creatures, with over 250 species featured. Underwater World has hosted over 20 million visitors since opening in 1991 and is a very important learning and conservation centre. The dolphin adventure is quiet popular for weddings and if getting married is scary enough there is also a shark encounter for those extra brave.
