Tokyo Trip: Sanrio Puroland (Hello Kitty Land)

Sanrio Puroland

When I visited Tokyo, visiting Sanrio Puroland (popularly known as Hello Kitty Land) was a must do item. The reason was simple. Both my daughter and wife are fans of the Sanrio characters and I risked incurring their wrath if this was not included!

Charlotte & Sanrio Characters

Sanrio Puroland is an indoor theme park and situated at Tama Center in Tokyo. The theme park is not very big and is housed inside a three story building. Most of the attractions are at 1st and 2nd floor and you can easily spend 1 day here. We went there on a weekday and found the place not overly crowded. The entrance fee during weekdays are also cheaper (Adult: 3300 Yen, Child: 2500 Yen).

Jewelpet Dokidoki Magical March

Hello Kitty in Wonderland

Needless to say, the theme park is decorated with the "Kawaii" concept in mind. Kawaii means cute in Japanese. Everything is centered around it's main starlet-Hello Kitty.

Hello Kitty Bun

Hello Kitty Decor

My Melody & Kuromi Mymeroad Drive

Sanrio Character Boat Ride

There are two rides-"Sanrio Character Boat Ride" and   "My Melody & Kuromi Mymeroad Drive" available for the visitors. My daughter enjoyed both rides thoroughly which allowed her to see the cute characters at their lovely settings. We managed to catch a stage show-Hello Kitty in Wonderland and a live participatory show- Jewelpet Dokidoki Magical March which the children got to mix with the stage Characters. Although not a fan of Sanrio, I must admit I enjoy the shows with the Kawaii characters dressed in their attractive outfits accompanied by the alluring music.

Do not missed the spectacular dance parade where you got to meet all the Sanrio Characters. My daughter was overjoyed to meet her favorite Hello Kitty but my wife was slightly disappointed not to see her favorite PK Duck-her young time darling.

Parade Shot 1

Parade Shot 2

Parade Shot 3

Parade Shot 4

There are other attractions like the Lady Kitty House, Kiki and Lala twinkling tour etc. The girls enjoyed their outing here. If you are a Sanrio fan, you will not be disappointed. Go to this website for more info on Sanrio Puroland.

Photo with Little Twin Stars

Lady Kitty House

Family Photo at Sanrio Puroland

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Related Post: The Tokyo Trip, Meiji Jingu Shrine-Tokyo, Japan

Family Bonding Tour at Taiwan Formosa

Sun Moon Lake

Just back from a 10 days tour in Taiwan. We traveled in a group of five-My parents, wife, daughter and myself. Before the trip, I joked with my friends that I relished the challenge of planning the trip for the different age groups for the tour. My trip plan was mostly focused on the western bank of Taiwan with the exception of Jiufen which is located at the Northeastern end of the island. With the help of the various transport systems-the MRT (Mass Rapid Transport), HSR (High Speed Rail), trains, public bus services and taxis, we visited the various attractions at Taipei, Hsinchu, Taichung and Kaoshiung.

Yeliu Harbour

Yeliu Geo Park

Jiufen

The highlights of the trip must be having family tea (Yumchai) at a tea inn at the top of Jiufen, taking a tour round the renowned Fo Guang Shan Monastery, witnessed a religious ceremony at Lotus Lake, taking an early morning stroll at Sun Moon Lake and enjoying the sunset at Tamsui. I will share those experiences in  my later blogs. The most important thing about this tour is of course the family bonding we got to enjoy. My parents (especially my dad!) surprised me with their sporting attitude to try anything I recommended (and not recommended!). They tried almost all the challenging rides at the Eda Theme Park after the disappointment of not allowing to try them at Leofoo Village Theme Park due to age restriction. I gave them a big thumb up for these!

CSK Memorial Hall and Taipei 101 Tower

Leofoo Village Theme Park

Tamsui

Family Photo at Yeliu Geo Park

I hastily went through my photo stocks and handpicked some Taiwan photos that I like to share with all of you first. Hope you will enjoy them. More of Taiwan ventures in my later blogs. Cheers!

For those interested, the following were my itineraries for my 10 days trip at Taiwan:

Day 1: Arrived at Taipei
Day 2: Yehliu
Day 3: Leofoo Village Theme Park-Shilin Night Market
Day 4: Jiufen-Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall-Tapei 101
Day 5: Kaohsiung-Liuhe Night Market
Day 6: Fo Guang Shan-Dragon Tiger Pagoda
Day 7: Eda Theme Park
Day 8: Taichung-Sun Moon Lake
Day 9: Taipei-Tamshui
Day 10: Departed to Singapore

Related Posts: Early Morning Walk at Sun Moon Lake , Taiwan Travel Tips

Dragon and Tiger Pagoda

Formosa Boulevard MRT

Eda Theme Park

Fo Guang Shan Monastery 

 

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Trip to River Safari, Singapore

Red Panda

I was thrilled when the news reported about two years ago that Singapore was building River Safari- a river-themed wild life park that showcases river dwelling animals. The stars of the new park are the two Giant Pandas-Kai Kai and Jia Jia,loaned to Singapore from China for a period of 10 years. Other exotic creatures include the Red Pandas, Chinese Giant Salamanders, Sturgeons, Mekong Giant Catfish, Mississippi Paddlefish, Alligator Gars, Manatees and many others. The new park is an addition to the main Zoo (The Singapore Zoo) and The Night Safari which is great news for animals' enthusiasts like us. It is sometimes deem a wonder to think that such a small country like Singapore can house three Zoos at one time.

Elated children hugging "Kai Kai"

Rivers of the World signage

Alligator Gars

Courtesy of the free park entrance tickets from my Company, I brought my family to the River Safari. The route in the park is very orderly as it led us through Mississippi River-Congo River-River Nil--Ganges River-Mekong River-Murray River and Yangtze River where the Giant Pandas are housed in an air-conditioned enclosure. A long bridge across a river brought us to Wild Amazonia which includes the Amazon River Quest, Squirrel Monkey Forest and the Amazon Flooded Forest. The Amazon River Quest at Wild Amazonia was not ready at my time of visit. It is supposedly to bring visitors in a boat ride experience to the river-dwelling animals at their natural habitats and behavior. I was very much anticipating this ride and can't wait for it to be ready by end of the year.

Paddlefish

Mekong River with Giant Catfish Display

Lesser Adjutant Stork

Unlike many others, the highlight of my visit was not the Pandas. I have seen them many times at the Hong Kong Ocean Park. They are adorable but lazy and not very active. It was no surprise that you often saw the same Panda lazing at the same spot in the same position on different visits. What is not to be missed at the River Safari is surely the Amazon Flooded Forest. Here is where you can see the malicious man-eating Red-bellied Piranhas , dangerous high voltage Electric Eel and the industrial Giant Otters. It also housed the largest fresh water aquarium tank in the world. Manatees (aka Dugong or Sea Cows), Arapaimas (largest fresh water fish) and other exotic species are the residents of the big tank. We could never get tired of admiring the water creatures dancing and gliding gracefully in the enormous tank. Unless you dive into the Amazon River(and brave the hungry Piranhas), there is simply no chance in our life time that we can witness the underwater scene that beheld us at the Amazon Flooded Forest. 

Chinese Giant Salamander

Squirrel Monkey

Arapaima at Amazon Flooded Forest

Manatees

My family, young and elderly alike, has enjoyed our day at Singapore new attraction. We will be back when the Wild Amazonia's boat ride is ready. If you are interested, this is River Safari official website. 

Related Posts: The Singapore Zoo

Red-bellied Piranha

Lazing Panda-Kai Kai

Enjoying their visit. My daughter (1st from right) with cousins Amanda and Dave

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