Day 6 ~ Fushi Inari & Toie Studio, Kyoto Japan

Today's itinerary is a quick trip to Fushi Inari and playing Samurais at Toei Kyoto Studio Park.

We were hoping for an early day's start.  The plan was to reach Fushi Inari early to beat the crowd. Well, that did not happen though. It was already so crowded when we got there, it wasn't really fun anymore.  

At Fushi Inari Shrine ~ there were so many people an ascend is unlikely. We managed to steal a few shots but decided to proceed to our next agenda soon after.

Toei Kyoto Studio Park is trip to Japan's Edo Era.  We have visited an Edo Period theme park during 2016 Nikko visit and my boys all had a blast!  So, I am pretty hyped for our today's agenda.

Here is the link to my blog on Edo Wonderland, if you are also interest in ~ Edo Wonderland Nikko.

Edo is the former name of Tokyo and the seat of power from 1603 to 1868.  To us Edo is the old mystical Japan ~ the world of Ninjas, Geishas and Samurai. 

Hubby and I went crazy over the variety of costumes choices and with an Edo town as a backdrop.  We were like children let loosed in Disneyland, but in character!

Honestly, this is the most fun we have had so far in Japan.  If you are planning to dress up in tradition Japanese attire, we highly recommend Toei Studio.

There were plenty of other things to do at Toie Studio.  While there try to catch the Ninja/Samurai Show and see the impressive collection of life-sized anime superheroes at Super Sentai x Kamen Rider Gallery.  There is something for everyone.

Ninja/Samurai Show

Super Sentai x Kamen Rider Gallery

Check the Toei Studio website here for theme park details: Toei Studio Themepark.

TIPS: 

• The park is easy to reach.  We took Bus No. 63 from Kawaramachi Sanjo bus stop (located just outside of our Kyoto hotel) and alighted at Uzumasa Eigamura Mae bus stop.  It is about a 40 mins ride by bus at Y230 each.     

• Drop by their souvenir shops. There are so many "kawaii" trinkets and even Kyoto sweets sold at competitive prices compared to those in Nagoya. Buy Yatsuhashi (sweets made of a sweet bean paste sandwiched in soft dough shaped into a triangle; they come in all sorts of flavors, such as green tea, chocolate, strawberry, banana, etc.).   Our personal favorite of course is the matcha favored ones.

• All the walking around the park will leave you hungry.  There are plenty of themed restaurants inside the park.  For lunch we opted for Chanbara Restaurant located at the Padios.

A quick stop at Kawaramachi Shopping Center

This is a gem, found many of this in Japan (this one located at Kawaramachi Shopping Center) ~ change your local bills into Yen.  

It is so easy to use and with English translation too.   We tried it on loose USD bills, rates comparable to ATM withdrawals and over the counter exchange transactions.

Planning a trip to Kyoto-Nagoya? Check our Day 1 to 5 itinerary, links below:

Day 1 and 2 ~ Nagoya, Takayama and Shirakawa-go

Day 3 ~ Nagoya City Tour

Day 4 ~ Inuyama Day Tour

Day 5 ~ Off to Kyoto (Part 1)

Day 5 ~ Kiyomizu dera

Day 7 in Seoul ~ Everland Themepark

My first real dilemma when I started planning for our Seoul trip was which theme park to visit ~ Seoul's most well loved theme  parks are Everland and Lotte World.

Everland is a open park located about two hours away from Seoul, while Lotte World is an indoor theme park easily accessible via the Seoul Subway.

I eventually ended choosing Everland since

it is spring time and the weather is perfect for an outdoor adventure.

We got an Everland tour package with transfers (as we do not want to worry about ending up lost somewhere) via Klook.  The tour is serviced by KTours, one of Korea's well established tour agencies.

Pick up was near Myeongdong Station (we were quite familiar with this place now, as this is the pick up point for most of our booked tours) ~ we were there early and had enough time for coffee. 

Hmm, coffee is this cold weather is perfect!

Yehey, finally arrived at Everland.  We got there around 10am and the place was already packed (30-50 minutes waiting time per ride, longer for the crowd favorites).  

We did not really want to do rides anyway and were more interested in taking souvenir photos, so we were just fine with the crowd.

We managed to squeeze in a couple of rides at the European Adventure area for my youngest though.

We did the following:

Festival Train 

Rotating House (my boy loved this ride, and declared it his "best ride ever")

Mystery Mansion

Carousel

Spooky House

We also watched the Panda Musical (not very exciting though and made us a bit sleepy... it was a musical and in Korean so go figure)

We left the park early and availed of the early return to Seoul options.  I have read from the other blogs that the fireworks should not be missed, but as it was our last night in Seoul, we (actually mostly "I") wanted to so some last minute shopping at Myeongdong.

Heading back to the Bus Pick-up Station, we took the Sky Cruise.  

Goodbye Everland!

Here are some tips when heading to Everland:

1. If you are a Disneyland or a Universal Studio frequent visitor you may find the park mediocre. So if you are not really into theme parks, you might as well give this attraction a pass.
2. Wear comfortable shoes (It is a huge park) and be prepared for the long (sometimes uphill) walks and wait time. Don't get discouraged with the waiting time posted at the attraction entrance though, in most of the rides we've visited actual wait time is less (e.g., posted wait time is 40 minutes, but actual wait time is only 20 minutes).
3. If you are there for the rides, plan your itinerary accordingly to cover more grounds.  Get fast pass called "Q-pass" for an easy entry.
4. Download the Everland Application.  Details were in Korean, but it was fine as it also prompts user with the wait time. It was also very useful in navigating the park.  
5. Food is a bit costly inside the park. We had our lunch at Garden Terrace (average cost per meal per person at W10,000) also located at the European Village, but bought along snacks and water from Myeongdong.
6. If you want to save yourself the hassle of planning your transfers, I suggest you book the Everland with transfer option,
7. Have fun and enjoy!

More from our Seoul Korea trip up in my blog, just click the link: 

• Day 6 in Seoul ~ DIY of Seoul (National Museum of Korea, Hondae, Trick Eye Museum, Jump Show)

• Day 5 in Seoul - Part 3 (The Garden of Morning Calm, Nami Island and Strawberry Picking) 
• Day 5 in Seoul - Part 2 (The Garden of Morning Calm, Nami Island and Strawberry Picking)
• Day 5 in Seoul - Part I (The Garden of Morning Calm, Nami Island and Strawberry Picking) 
• Day 4 in Seoul (A Private Tour : Seoul ~ Sanjeong Lake, Pocheon Art Valley and Herb Island) 
• Day 3 in Seoul (Seoul City Tours: Gyeongbokgung Palace, National Folk Museum, Jogyesa Temple and Korean Folk Village) 
• Day 2 in Seoul - Part 2 (War Memorial of Korea, Grevin Wax Museum and the funny Nanta Show) 
• Day 2 in Seoul - Part I (War Memorial of Korea, Grevin Wax Museum and the funny Nanta Show)
• Day 1 in Seoul (Namsan Tower)

Hongkong Disneyland Park

This is the 3rd time I have been to Hongkong Disneyland, but it continues to bring me much joy and excitement!

Welcome Back to Hongkong Disneyland!

From the Hongkong Disneyland Hotel where we are staying, guest has option to take the free resort shuttle or take a leisurely 10 minutes stroll to the park via the Promenade.  The cool January breeze was such a come on (plus I heard unique Pokemons lurk the grounds) so we decided to do the later.

Let me take you on a tour to the happiest place on earth!  

Hotel guests has an option to buy their park tickets at any of the Hongkong Disneyland Resort Hotels.  However, on our case I did a bit of math and found the one sold via Klook (with promo discount and using earned Klook credits) cheaper. It was also easy to use.

Click here for Klook discounts for first time users: Klook Discount Code

Armed with 2 days park tickets and the complimentary Priority Admission Passes we received a Kingdom Club guests, ensured our Hongkong Disneyland visit stress free and enjoyable.

Like all other Disney Parks, Hongkong is divided into 7 themed lands: 

Main Street, U.S.A. is built to resemble the Victorian period of America with a train station, town square, movie theater, city hall, arcades, emporium and shops.  We stopped here for lunch at the Main Street Corner Café before right before the Flight of Fantasy Parade. 

We took a counter-clockwise route to Tomorrowland.  
My 9 year old, loves this area the most.  Can you guess why?

Fantasyland

Toy Story Land. This area is just so Instagram worthy.

Next to the Toy Story Land is the Mystic Point and Grizzly Gulch.

At the Mystic Point make sure to see the Mystic Manor.  I think we've tried this ride thrice.  My boys like it so much!

We took a couple of pictures at the Grizzly Gulch area, but decided to skip the Big Grizzly Mountain Runway Mine cars, a thrill ride, which my boys are not particularly fond off.

The "Kid" got  caught :P

Finally at Adventureland

Hongkong Disneyland is truly Magical!

Please follow our HK adventures click on the following links:

Spending the New Year at HK Disneyland

 Flight of Fantasy

Hongkong Disneyland Kingdom Club

 

Hong Kong Disneyland ~ Flight Of Fantasy Parade

The mood was festive and jovial! An experience your family will surely remember through the ages...

First some TIPS:

Tip 1: This is one of the park events NOT to be missed!  As soon as you have entered the park, check out the schedule of the Flight of Fantasy Parade.

Tip 2:  Get good seats, about 30 minutes before the parade starts.  

Tip 3:  Be considerate in using selfie sticks.  Use of selfie sticks are generally prohibited inside the park, but it was more comfortable using one filming a parade 5-10 minutes long.  Nobody will confiscate it, but please be mindful of other people watching.

Thumbs UP READY!

The Parade starts with Dumbo's float

And a Marching Band ~

Followed by the All Star Disney Characters (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip and Dale, etc.).  I was too captivated with Minnie Mouse, I kinda forgot to take pictures of the rest of the Crew :P

Then came, every toddlers favorite Winnie the Pooh!

Tiger and Eeyore doing their stuffs

Little princesses cheered upon seeing the Princess's Float. 

Woody's Round Up Gang ~

Check out this Jessie cool dance moves.

I love the Toy Story Float.

I felt like I was transported to the actual movie.

Check Out the complete Flight of Fantasy Parade Videos by following the link below ~

DISNEY PARADE