This Week in Dulture…

Approx 5 minute read:

👨‍✈️ Asia all summer long

🍣 Conveyor belt sushi is fun

⚾️ MLB but make it fashion

🦭 HK’s theme park

Dulture weekly mix

The first time I went to Hong Kong it felt like I had already been there before. The food, the shopping, the language, it all felt like I had experienced it before, and then I learned that one of the largest, if not the largest, population of Hong Kongers living outside of Hong Kong live in Canada. Then it all made sense.

Kind of like this week’s mix where as you listen, it just keeps getting more and more familiar to the point where it feels like you’ve listened to this mix before. Who knows, maybe you subscribe to DJ Shtoops’ channel already and have already heard it before I posted it here.

We’ll blame the timezone difference as I do for everything else at the moment until I’m back home in Canada (like why this isn’t being sent out Friday mornings 🤷‍♂️)

When is this coming to Canada?

As our never-ending Asia trip continues, I keep seeing and experiencing things that would do so well in Toronto.

The latest in the list is Kura Sushi - Japan’s most famous conveyor belt sushi restaurant - which in doing a bit of further research for this section, I learned has a ton of locations in the US.

Whyyyyyyyyy?

If you’ve never been to a Kura Sushi and you see one, go in and try it. It’s not only pretty decent sushi for a conveyor belt restaurant, it’s also a lot of fun.

On the Japanese site they give a very detailed explanation for first time visitors here. But some things that make Kura stand out include…

I know it’s par for the course for the average restaurant in Asia but having everything you need tucked away in your table is so convenient, especially for those who like to drop their chopsticks on the floor.

Alongside the dishes that ride the conveyor belt, you can order your own food that gets slid along this other conveyor belt and lands directly in front of your table.

And the most fun part is your reward for sliding the plates back into the slot that counts all of your plates. Every 5 plates you get this little cartoon showing up on your table’s iPad where the Chiikawa characters either or lose against the monster or win, and subsequently you win a little ball with a toy inside:

We went to two Kura locations - one in Kyoto, which was already a lot of fun and then the flagship location in Asakusa. Highly recommend Kura for a unique sushi experience in Japan.

Bonus: The same company also owns Yakiniku King - THE BEST all you can eat Japanese BBQ experience across Japan - don’t @ me.

Everyone’s Wearing Yankees Hats

I forget where I read this but apparently there’s a culture of loving a specific thing in Japan, which I think boils over to Hong Kong and China. Like, people will love a thing, but not the actual whole thing.

For example: People will LOVE a movie character like Mickey Mouse without ever watching any film or TV shows with him within it - they get attached to the idea of the character and the subsequent products and activities around it (IE Disneyland).

Once I learned this, everything made so much more sense to me because I didn’t think people in Asia had the same level of access to North American characters like they do in the US and Canada.

Case in point, MLB stores.

When I was in Hong Kong a couple years ago I saw people wearing those chunky shoes with Yankee and Dodger logos on the side of them and I was so confused. At first I chalked it up to the cultural confusion that comes with China mass producing fashion - whether it makes sense or not.

And then I started seeing MLB stores and was like huh, baseball isn’t a thing in Hong Kong??

Turns out MLB Korea has owned the licensing rights to the MLB in Asia since the 90’s and they effectively turned MLB into a lifestyle brand, so much so that the MLB brand is the highest grossing Korean brand in China, more so than any K-beauty or K-pop brands - which is SERIOUS given how much the Chinese love their Korean and Japanese beauty brands.

If you walk down the street in basically any major Asian city you’re bound to see people wearing Yankees and Dodgers hats - technically both of which the average band-wagon jumper in North America will also wear. But these hats have now become fashion symbols.

Hong Kongers may never recognize Aaron Judge walking down the streets of Mong Kok but they definitely know a fashion trend when they see one.

Hong Kong’s Oldest Running Theme Park

You can’t go to Hong Kong without seeing pandas man, you just can’t.

Look how cute this guy is…as he crashes out:

Ocean Park, one of the most visited theme parks in Asia, and technically the world, is home to a bunch of giant pandas, ocean animals, and an interesting landscape of rides right by the ocean - duh.

Originally conceptualized in the 50’s, Ocean Park officially opened in 1977 after receiving significant funding from the Hong Kong Jockey Club in the 60’s to make the vision a reality of educating and conserving ocean wildlife alongside entertaining guests.

When you go to Ocean Park, you feel like you’re walking into Wonderland (Toronto) or a Six Flags (US) but as you walk further into the park, you also feel like you’re at an Aquarium or a zoo.

It’s got this interesting vibe to it that does a good job of blending amusement park rides with wildlife education, while being divided into two sections in on a mountainous landscape.

There’s a train that runs through the mountain to get to the ocean side of the park or you can take a gondola over the top.

Food and drinks are as you’d expect at a theme park in Asia, both in selection of food (mainly Asian with some Western options) and prices.

But I think what sets Ocean Park aside from any other theme park in Asia, and quite possibly the world, is the effort they make to create a unique experience with wildlife while you enjoy everything you’d normally get at a theme park.

And if you go on a nice day, the views are insane.