Taiwan Day 4 – Taichung attractions

3D2N in 台中 Taichung, there are enough Taichung attractions to keep families entertained.

Nature, Hiking, hot Springs, 文创 Cultural, FOOD! Hey we did cycling at Houfeng too, thus far our best family activity in 台湾 Taiwan. More photos  in our Facebook albums (here).

I would recommend Taichung as a base to explore nearby counties.

1)East to 南投 Nantou (Cingjing), Xitou, Alishan and Sun Moon Lake
2)South to 彰化 Changhua, 台南 Tainan
3)North to Miaoli (Flying Cows and Strawberries)

 

Balmy 14 degrees, Blue skies, no more mist, and a pianist :p

Photo above show Ah Xin playing the piano at 中社觀光花市 Zhong She Flower Market.

We started the first 3 days of our Taiwan trip in the mountains and amidst the cold, cloud and mist, love it! But we sort of miss the Sun too.  (Our itinerary here )

 

We headed to Miaoli from Sun Moon Lake (2 hour trip), bypassing Taichung along the way. Miaoli is famous for Flying Cow Farm, but did you know Miaoli is also famous for strawberries and grapes?

Chapter 1 Strawberries

And the most famous street in 苗栗 Miaoli for strawberries must be 大湖 Dahu. The whole street left and right is packed with strawberry farms for at least two kilometres!

 

Our driver recommended 六合 (GPS 24.443889, 120.873889) because the hydroponic method meant we can pick the strawberries with ease.  Those traditional farms meant you need to squat and might be back breaking after 30 minutes.

 

This is the first season for Strawberries so many of them are still babies, not really plumb yet and slightly sour.

Part of the fun is challenging each other to find the biggest strawberry, snip snip. It will not take long to gather a full basket, make your payment (pay by grams) at the counter and enjoy some strawberry products.

These are not pluck by us, definitely looked richer and juicier!

  

On to the next stop, there are a lot of silver grass in the hilly  country side, glimmering and swaying under the sunlight. Many cyclists are challenging gravity too!

Chapter 2 Hakka Lunch and old Train station

Xiao Li told us that many 客家 Hakkas are staying around this area.

Ok, there are at least three “百年” 客家 restaurants along the street.  One of the best lunch we enjoyed in Taiwan was at 勝興客栈.

The internal decoration felt unchanged from the last decades, and the food was really delicious. The menu is written on the bamboo scripts (sorry we did not understand traditional Chinese and needed help with food ordering).

The whole dining experience felt like those 80s, 90s Hong kong dramas  客栈 (where are the 龙门客栈 swordsmen?), and the staff are super friendly.

 

 

Delicious home cooked food, the 扣肉 (pork) simply melted in our mouth.

 

 

Second round of rice for us, the chicken was a little bloody for the kids.

 

(Photo below) This is off the menu, camerised sweet potato. This is the bomb! Sweet, crunchy and appetising. Thank you 小李 for the lunch treat 🙂

-Would rate 勝興客栈 ( 4.5/5 ), highly recommended !
-GPS 24.388333, 120.781944 Google Review

 

Visited an old nostalgic Train station 勝興 across the road.  勝興車站 Sheng4 Xin 3 Train station is just across the road from our restaurant.

The cute Minion Kombi van was spotted in a carpark. Left photo (below) is the entrance, walk through and you will see the tracks.

 

Backdrop for more Instagram poses and selfies, you can walk inside the tunnel too. Not as happening and crowded as Shifen but interesting stop (literally) nevertheless.

You will see buskers and even a small street market along the street.

Chapter 3 Flowers! 中社花海

Fees apply, nice photo opportunities but go during the morning when the Sun is less harsh. I could imagined  weekends will be super crowded.

Kids taking a photo with our friendly driver and guide, 小李.
(Many bloggers know him)

*Take note 中社花海 “Zhong She” is different from 新社花海 “Xin She” (flower photos in link),  新社花海 is free but exhibition is only available in Nov and Dec.

Although both exhibitions are famous for flowers and equally stunning, if you want to pose with Pianos, choose 中社花海 (GPS 24.334388, 120.730397).

Entrance fee for Zhong She.

Lavender fields and many other variety of blooms. We would recommend minimum 45 minutes at this area. If you love photography or flowers, spend 2 hours here with your darlings 🙂

Kids can feed the fishes in the pond too.

The pianos in the center of the flower fields are super popular! Looks so drama!

 

 

More photo opportunities, 花痴 haha 🙂

Love the swings, which visitors eagerly pose with. Depending on the season, different flowerbeds will be curated.

Our favourite is still the mysterious Lavender. Many photobombs inside the flower fields, be patient to capture the best angle.

Taichung  attractions
Taichung  attractions

 

As we head back towards the city, the setting sun lingers over the horizon.

Chapter 4 Dinner street food or restaurant

We heard Steak Akaoni 赤鬼炙燒牛排 is popular (GPS 24.176006, 120.645352). Presentation looks good but meal is so so (rate 3.5/5)

  

Some of the Northern attractions mentioned in this blog post are in the screenshot below, do a Google and you will find many more Taichung  attractions.

We will blog about 逢甲夜市 Fengjia night market in another post. We love street food, thus we always order less for our main meals and complement with extra portions night Market !

Other attractions which you can try in Taichung, GPS all in our Google sheet.  We will share some of them on our Day 2 Taichung post.

-薰衣草森林 Lavender Cottage
-谷關溫泉 Guguan Hot spring
-大坑 Dakeng (choose from 10 hiking trails )

*后豐鐵馬道 Houfeng Cycling (link)
-火炎山溫泉渡假村 (hot spring)
-新峰農場Xinfeng grapes
-南庄老街

-高美 Gaomei Wetlands
-彩虹眷村 Rainbow Village
-動漫彩繪巷 Animation lane
-九二一地震教育園區 (Leftover of school post-Earthquake)
*逢甲夜市 Fengjia night market

Do pop by below photo albums and previous Taiwan posts to view our Fun itinerary.

Photo albums :

Day 1 Aowanda, Cing Jing
Day 2 Cing Jing
Day 3 Xitou Nature Education Area, Monster Village, Sun Moon Lake
Day 4 Taichung (Zhongshe flower, ShengXin station, Cycling, Fengjia)
Day 5 Taichung (Animation Lane, Rainbow, Miyahara)
Day 6 Keelung 基隆
-Day 7 Ruifang, Jiufen and Shifen
Day x Taipei HomeAway and Neighbourhood
Day 8 永康, Xi Men Ding, 象山, 饒河 Raohe
Day 9 and 10 北投 Beitou, Toyshop, 士林 Shilin

Blog posts :

** Taiwan Itinerary for families 
Day 1 Google Sheet, Aowanda, Cing Jing
Day 2 Cing Jing Farm
HomeAway Recommendations for Taiwan
Day 3a Xitou Nature Education area (溪頭)
Day 3b Monster village 妖怪村 and Sun Moon Lake
Day 4 Cycling Taichung 台中 
Day 4a 台中 Taichung  attractions
Day 5a 台中 Taichung food Ice cream and Bubble Tea
Day 5b 台中 Taichung Fengjia night market
-Day 6 基隆 Keelung
Day 7a Jiufen attractions
Day 7b Shifen attractions
Taipei Neighbourhood around our HomeAway Vacation Home
Day 8a Yong Kang Street and Xi Men Ding
Day 8b Raohe Night Market, Wu Fen Pu and 象山 Elephant Mountain

Instagram Hashtag #sengkangBabiesTaiwan

Instagram #sengkangBabiesTaiwan

 

 

 

Fun Mario Kart Tokyo with Maricar!

If I can recommend only one activity, go for GoKarting with Maricar Tokyo !

It is seriously FUN!
I first came across Maricar Tokyo from Mashable (link), how cool is that!

Some folks dressed in their Mario characters and drifting driving in Metropolis Tokyo! When I saw this YouTube clip, I was flabbergasted.

.. flashbacks of the fabulous scenes from Tokyo Drift  Fast and Furious, drifting through the crazy crowd at Shibuya Crossing! (YouTube link)

My Luigi clip of dashing in downtown Tokyo! (YouTube link)

Maricar please take my Yen and give me a Gokart!

..nah the first rule of Maricar is NO Drifting (and no throwing of bananas :p) . You may overtake when it is safe, but I already had so much adrenaline driving on Tokyo street. Safety is our No1 priority.

YES, GoKarting at 60kmh on the street is already super COOL !

 

 

Maricar Tokyo Gokarts
Maricar Tokyo Gokarts

 

Take note there are 8 Maricar outlets in Tokyo alone, and there are franchises in Osaka, Yokohama and Okinawa too. Besides Maricar, there are many other vendors who do GoKart on the streets (price, costume and routes differs).

My experience is based on the Shinagawa Outlet #01 (GPS 35.621081, 139.741621 ) , Maricar website.

..before we drove off, we already had so much fun dressing up and playing our role, and wefie!

I am Luigi

First thing first, these are the few steps which you need to fulfill before heading down.

Registration and Booking

-Choose your  Maricar Tokyo outlet (out of 8) . Different outlets have different routes

-You can book through their Facebook app too. Maricar Facebook response is fast, they will advise you on the logistics

-Choose you package (1, 2 or 3 hours). Fee starts from 7000 Yen (estimated $85 SGD), please choose minimum 2 hours package

-Go and register your International Driving Permit (IDP, aka License) from AAS ($20, on the spot)

-Beg a Gopro and strap from your friend (or you can rent on the spot). Do not selfie while driving.

On the actual day

– Registration and payment might take up to 15 minutes, choose your costume (another 15 minutes)

** I would recommend you to go 1 hour earlier, cater for train and navigation delays. If you reach early, you can pick your choice costume too

-Safety briefing and GoKart mechanics, your GoKart comes with signal lights, head light, hand brake and horn too

We are ready to roll in Mario Kart style!

-There will be a front and rear guide. They will take photos and Airdrop to you at the end. Ramie was my guide at Shinagawa.

The cool Spyder (bottom right) is for those who prefer to “pillion” or who do not have driving license. Fees apply.

My 2 hours package brought me to Tokyo Tree and Shibuya crossing!

Our Maricar Tokyo convoy of crazy characters ! Bowser, Mario, Luigi, Mr Potato, Angel and MonsterInc’s James. I spotted Nemo, Sesame Street and Minions in other convoys too! (more costumes at this hashtag #Maricar )

We will just pose silly at every stop, or wave to the other road users and pedestrians.

Yoshi costume is cute, and Mushroom (Toad) is not available today.

My trusted GoPro 5 session kept the Fun rolling (for extra juice, I would recommend the ultra slim 6700 mAh Ravpower 6700)

Maricar Gokart Tokyo feels exhilarating, you get to see the city from another angle!

Look, Tokyo Tree!

Shibuya crossing!

Hello Mario brother! My kids were mad jealous when they saw my GoKarting video!

Other tips to enjoy MariCar GoKart in Tokyo

 

a. I cannot emphasize enough, go Early. It is not easy for tourists to navigate Toyko subway :p

b. I chose the earliest package at 1000, so I could finish in time for lunch.
Some might recommend a 3 hours package from 4 to 7pm, so you get to play in the day and night too. Shibuya in Neon should be spectacular!

*c. Choose the package which has Shibuya Crossing! (only three outlets) Other outlets might offer circuits with icons Ginza, Skytree,  Ueno, Rainbow Bridge and Odaiba.

d. You need to bring along your Passport, Driving licence, and IDP

e. There is a small pouch in your GoKart for a few loose items (phone, passport, Driving license) Leave everything else in the locker.

f. You can rent a GoPro (and strap) at Maricar

g. Maricar GoKart Tokyo adventures are weather friendly (sun or rain), unless it snows

h. If you are going during Winter (0 to 10 degrees), layer up, I got 6 layers under my Luigi costume. Extra Jackets and Glove are available from Maricar, while stocks last

*i. Make sure you clear your bladder before riding off. It is no fun to peel off the layers in a public loo. Those with 3 hours package definitely need to go to the loo once.

j. For a even better experience? Gather your friends or spouse along!

k. Keep smiling! At every junction, someone will be curious enough to take photo of your Mario Kart gang!

l. Be vigilant and look out for each other. We are driving on the road and GoKarts’ lower profile might be harder to spot . Have Fun but Be Safe!

j. As long as you keep to your lane and do not perform stunts, Maricar Tokyo is relatively safe

Maricar karting in Tokyo is One of the craziest things I have done in my life. YOLO!

-Nintendo had earlier sue Maricar for brand infringements
-We heard Police will enforce laws to mandate Helmet and seat belt in the future.

Meanwhile, participants can still ride and enjoy the street adrenaline!

 

Checkout our kids Mario Kart experience at Permas Jaya (photo above)and Mario Kart Wii . Japan experiences are documented on Instagram hashtag #SengkangBabiesJapan

Do pop by the other 2018 Japan posts too:
Tokyo Diy itinerary
Gokart Maricar in Shibuya!
Sento or Onsen
Kamakura Family Itinerary
Enoshima Island