The Most Desirable Destinations in Asia You Haven’t Already Heard Of

There are countless amazing destinations to visit in Asia, whether you are looking for a luxurious vacation, a cultural festival, or an adventure- but some of Asian’s most incredible places remain hidden gems among tourists. But just because they aren’t as popular to foreigners doesn’t mean they aren’t as amazing- they simply just aren’t as advertised. 

1. Vientiane, Laos

The country of Laos is a place for “pure, unadulterated splendor” within Southeast Asia. It has endured much hardship in the past, including warfare, abuse by border regimes, and colonial rule, but the people there are kind, spiritual, and resilient people who welcome visitors. Vientiane brings the small city feel with many leisurely activities for visitors and residents. First, visit the famous Buddhist temples and stupas, such as Wat Si Saket, and for lunch feast on delicious Laotian cuisine. Later, gather with friends or family to watch the sun set over the Mekong river that snakes through the city or congregate with the locals at the beer gardens to enjoy the finest beers the area has to offer. 

2. Fukuoka, Japan

Fukuoka is often overlooked by tourists visiting Japan because of cities such as Tokyo, but Fukuoka has many unique things of its own to offer to visitors. It is a place legendary for its food, including the ramen noodle, which was born in this city. As a place known to be easy and safe to travel through, it might serve as a nice break from some of the chaos of cities like Tokyo. It is home to endless cultural attractions such as breathtaking gardens, museums, art galleries, sports events, and festivals. 

3. Dalian, China

Often living in the shadows of places like Hong Kong and Shanghai, Dalian is not known to many foreigners. But a place dubbed as the “most livable place in China”, ought to get more attention. Incredible architecture is one of the things that stands out most in this once sleepy city. The food is primarily seafood, heavily based on fish and sashimi-style dishes. Complete with a gorgeous coastline and beautiful beaches, this place is definitely worth taking a look at.

4. Sri Lanka

If you and your partner are in need of a romantic getaway, Sri Lanka is just the place. The southern coast surrounding the city of Galle is filled with boutique hotels, ancient temples, incredible beaches, and wildlife sanctuaries, home to wild elephants and leopards. Not to mention the mouthwatering food!

5. Shodoshima, Japan

Although it is extremely popular among Japanese tourists, Shodoshima remains a hidden gem within Japan due to it’s lack of foreign visitors. This reality can only be attributed to lack of knowledge because it is a breathtaking place full of fun and exciting activites. Known for its olive groves, hot springs, and wild monkeys, Shodoshima is a perfect destination spot for families, friends, and couples. Spend the day exploring the scenic landscape and then unwind at night with dinner and a soak in one of their famous hot springs.

PSY Trades in Gangnam Style for Hip Hop

Psy, who we all know and love for his intentional sensation known as “Gangnam Style” has made a surprising change with his new song, “Hangover”. 

The track is hip hop in its nature and-  another surprise-features Snoop Dogg. Whether it is out of curiosity or just love for the song, the music video’s popularity is clear with a whopping 78 million views in two weeks of being released on YouTube. After watching the video, I concluded that despite adopting a new sound, Psy has not abandoned the eccentric style and dance moves that we have come to expect. The video takes us on a night of Psy and Snoop Dogg hitting the town and partying, followed by the painful next morning that comes with it. If your favorite part about “Gangnam Style” was the music video, then you won’t be disappointed with this new single. 

Initially, Psy and Snoop Dogg seem like an odd match but after watching the video, the two different styles come together in a way that is much more entertaining than odd. During an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, Psy said that he and Snoop Dogg wrote the song through online collaboration before meeting up in Seoul and filming the music video in just 18 hours- without breaks. He adds that to get Snoop Dogg on board he simply made a phone call and after telling Snoop Dogg the title was “Hangover”, he agreed to do it on the spot. 

 One can’t help but wonder if the K-pop star’s new style will be a hit or miss after the 2 billion views received for Gangnam Style and 700 million for Gentleman. What do you think? Do you like Psy’s dabble into the world of hip hop or prefer his original K-pop style? 

Click Below to view the official music video for "Hangover"

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Fireflies Light Up the Night Sky During Japan's Annual Firefly Festival

From young children to adults, fireflies fascinate and entertain many. Whether it is for catching, inspiring music and art, or simply to look at-everyone loves fireflies! And why wouldn’t you? They are harmless creatures with a beautiful glow that is delightful to look at. Unfortunately, the firefly population continues to decline due to the destruction of their habitats and clean water. 

But the community of Higashiizu in Shizuoka, Japan is working hard to conserve the delicate insects. These people dedicate an entire year to the nurture and conservation of fireflies. They do this by catching and feeding water snails to larvae through the summer and then carefully protect them through their nine month long hibernation. Once the nine months are up, local elementary students volunteer their services by returning more than 5,000 larvae back into a pond so they can pupate and complete their transformation into a firefly. 

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Besides making efforts to preserve their populations, the Japanese community of Higashiizu celebrates the life and beauty of the firefly with an annual festival. Each June for 10 days “Hotaru Kansho no Yube”, or an Evening of Firefly Viewing, takes place. It has been a tradition in the Higashiizu community for the last 30 years.

Visitors gather to view the hundreds of fireflies in the area and then lit lanterns guide them to the festival’s event of the night- with a different one for all ten days. Any tourists staying in the area for the event have their pick of six different hot-spring hotels nearby. 

It is a truly beautiful site and an exciting summer festival worth checking out at least once in your life if you get the chance!

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Author Eileen Wacker Incorporates the Japanese Legend of the Kappa into her Recent Children's Book

One of the characters OnceKids’ author, Eileen Wacker, features in her most recent addition to the Fujimini Island Adventure Series, “Blue Penguin and the Sensation Surf”, is the Kappa. The Asian inspired Children’s series features many themes and terms from Korean, Chinese, and Japanese culture, so not all of the terms may be familiar to you. One of which is probably the Kappa, at least it was for me. 

The Kappa, which translates to “river-child”, is found within Japanese mythology and folklore. Also referred to as Kawataro or Kawako, the Kappa represents a mythical creature depicted as water-dwelling, about the size of a child with scaly, reptilian skin ranging from green to yellow in color. Their appearance ranges greatly from region to region but certain consistencies can be found, such as a carapace, a beak, and a flat hairless region on the top of their head filled with water. The water-filled plate on the top of their head is claimed to be their source of power. If the region dries or loses some of it’s water, the Kappa will be weakened and lose it’s power. Although mischievous, Kappas are notoriously polite, so according to legend, you can trick him into bowing low enough to spill his water. 

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Kappas are generally regarded as troublemakers who like to do pranks on people. The Kappas pranks can range from innocent to malevolent depending on the type. Historically parents warn their children about the Kappa who will pull naughty children under the water. It was not uncommon for people to throw cucumbers into river waters to please the Kappas, who love to eat cucumbers almost as much as children, and avoid any trouble.

But not all Kappa are viewed as bad or trouble, some quite the opposite. Many are said to be curious about human civilization and are able to speak Japanese. If one was able to befriend a Kappa, they allegedly would help farmers irrigate land and bring gifts of fish. They are traditionally said to be intelligent creatures highly knowledgable in medicine, and were even responsible for teaching bone setting to humans. 

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The Chinese Kick Off the Summer with the Annual Dragon Boat Festival

For many of us the arrival of June means the arrival of summer and Father’s Day is just around the corner, but in China the coming of June also means the arrival of the Dragon Boat Festival. The annual festival occurs on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month according to the traditional Chinese calendar, which puts it at June 2nd this year. Over the years the holiday has acquired several names in addition to the Dragon Boat Festival, including (but not limited to) the Tuen Ng Festival, the Duanwu Festival, and the Double Fifth Festival. 

There are many traditions associated with the festival but the biggest one is found in the holiday’s name- dragon boat racing. Dragon boat racing is a team water sport rooted deeply in ancient folk rituals dating back over 2,000 years. Racing these boats began as a ceremonial and religious tradition but has since turned into a competitive sport. During competitions the boats are rigged with beautifully decorated Chinese dragon heads and tails, hence its name. 

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Dragons and the summer solstice are thought to be connected by the belief in a common energy. The moon is typically associated with a feminine energy while the sun represents a masculine energy. At the summer solstice the sun is considered to be at it’s strongest, thus having the strongest masculine energy at that time. Like the sun, the Chinese dragon is also considered to possess masculine energy. So the use of the Chinese dragon in combination with the summer solstice symbolizes the yearly peak of male energy. 

And of course no Chinese holiday is complete without eating and drinking. The traditional food consumed on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month is zongzi, a Chinese dish made of rice, stuffed with various fillings, and then carefully wrapped in bamboo or reed. Then the zongzi is washed down with realgar wine. 

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Other fun and unique activities to celebrate the special day include hanging up icons of a mythical guardian named Zhong Kui, hanging mugwort and calamus, taking long walks, and a game of trying to make an egg stand at exactly noon- if your efforts are met with success you are thought to have a year of good luck ahead of you. Like many Chinese traditions, these activities are performed in regards to the ancient villager’s beliefs that they would ward off disease and promote good health and spiritual well-being. 

Japan's Golden Week Concludes with Children's Day

Japan’s exciting back-to-back national holiday celebrations, collectively known as Golden Week, comes to an end with Children’s Day on May 5th. Although it has only been designated a national public holiday since 1948, the holiday has been a huge part of Japanese culture and widely celebrated since ancient times, perhaps even all the way back to the reign of Empress Suiko in 593 A.D.! 

Traditionally, May 5th was known as Tango no Sekku and was dedicated to celebrating boys, while March 3rd was a festival for girls. It has since been changed so May 5th celebrates all children, both boys and girls.

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Children’s Day is the perfect way to end Golden Week because of all the fun traditions and celebrations associated with the holiday. Carp-shaped streamers fly outside of countless houses of families with children and inside dolls of famous warriors are displayed

throughout the home. It is traditional for children to take baths sprinkled with iris and roots, since it’s believed that iris promotes good health and roots ward off evil spirits. And of course no Chinese holiday is complete without a traditional food! On May 5th families prepare and eat kashiwamochi, or rice cakes wrapped in oak leaves and filled with sweet bean-paste.

In addition to the traditional decorations and foods, this holiday also brings many exciting events. Each event is purposed to honor children as well as highlight their talents, promote their health, and to have some fun! Kyogen, a type of comic theater, has been around for 600 years and remains an important aspect of Children’s Day. It is performed wearing traditional costumes with very distinct styles of acting. One year, at the Yokohama Noh Theater, a kyogen recital was held featuring 18 actors between the ages of seven and thirteen. The kids had attended practices one or twice a week since the previous summer to learn the unique comic expressions, movements, and uses of the fan. The theater was packed with eager parents, teachers, friends, and family members to witness the showing of the impressive skills their children had practiced for almost a year. 

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Learn About How Japan's Golden Week Celebrates All Things Green

Golden Week, the annual string of Japanese public holidays, continues to it’s third event with Greenery Day. Greenery Day, or Midori no Hi, is celebrated on May 4th, and staying true to its name, celebrates all things green! In Japanese, "midori" means green and "hi" means day.

The idea for the holiday came after the passing of Emperor Hirohito in January 1989. He was always a lover of nature and spreading environmental awareness was very important to him. He dedicated much of his time during his life to improving the environment, including opening the Imperial Biological Research Institute.

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Originally, Emperor Hirohito’s birthday (April 29th) was referred to as Midori no Hi, after his passing, but the government decided they wanted to continue to honor the Emperor’s birthday as well as Greenery Day. So in 2007, April 29th was once again Showa Day and Greenery Day was moved to May 4th. This way, Japan can honor all of Hirohito’s efforts and accomplishments while still celebrating all things green!

So how does Japan getting into the spirit of Greenery Day? 

In the spirit of Hirohito’s beliefs, the holiday is used to address current environmental issues. There are initiatives to clean up local areas including parks, beaches, and streets. So if you’re walking around Tokyo during this time, be prepared to see hundreds of people sweeping and picking up trash. But this holiday is much more than picking up trash. In addition to awareness, May 4th is also about cerebration. On this day Tokyo hosts dozens of events, such as planting trees, and people flock to the park with their families for some springtime fun. 

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