Travel Briefs

In the Shinto calendar, days are assigned animal representations (tokens/emblems/totems) in a rotation. Each February on the Day of the Horse (falling typically in mid-February), a market for traditional kites can be found at the Oji Inari Jinja Shrine (1-26-26 Kishi-machi, Kita-ku, Tokyo, Japan; phone +81 03 3907 3032). The kites are each shaped like a yakko, a servant to a samurai. 

The tradition dates back to the Edo period (1603-1868), when people considered kites tokens of good luck and purchased them to help ward off fires during the year. 

In southeastern Switzerland, near the city of Pontresina, more than 1,800 ibexes (mountain goats) make their home on Piz Albris mountain. Around April-June, they migrate down into the valley to what has been dubbed an “ibex paradise.”

Visitors may encounter the animals on the Ibex Promenade, an easy one-kilometer hike. Seven stops contain placards with info about ibexes. During the spring season, free 1½-hour guided promenade walks (available in English) can be booked. 

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities announced on Nov. 2 that the tombs of the workers who built the pyramids at Giza, discovered in 1990 on the Giza Plateau, would be open to the public for the first time starting immediately. The 4,500-year-old tombs are known as the “cursed tombs,” due to the curses written on the tomb walls to protect the occupants from plunder. 

The fact that these tombs were allowed to be built beside the king’s pyramid is one of the reasons archaeologists believe that the pyramids of Giza were built by laborers and artisans and not by slaves. 

In 1967, Princess Cruises (800/774-6237, www.princess.com) was the first cruise company to send a ship through the Panama Canal. On Oct. 26, 50 years later, the line’s Caribbean Princess became the first neo-panamax cruise ship (holding more than 3,000 passengers) to go through the new, expanded locks of the canal. 

Smoking was banned at 20 beaches in Thailand after complaints about too many discarded cigarette butts. At one location in Phuket, Patong, more than 101,000 butts were cleaned up at one time along the 2.5-kilometer beach. 

At each of the beaches where smoking is banned, which include popular spots all along the coasts, smoking is allowed outside of the beach area, and containers are provided at beach entrances for smokers to discard their cigarette butts. Those caught flouting the ban could face up to a year in prison or a fine of up to THB100,000 (near $3,000).

Kenya has banned all disposable plastic bags of less than 0.6 millimeters in thickness, which include grocery, shopping and garbage bags. Travelers who have disposable plastic bags in their luggage upon arrival, such as from duty-free shops, will have those bags taken from them at the airport.

Zip-lock-style disposable food bags are included in the ban, but it is not clear if travelers using them to store items in their carry-ons will have the bags confiscated. Zippered clear plastic bags and pouches are among the reusable bags still allowed. 

US and Canadian citizens can apply for a tourist visa to Brazil online starting Jan. 15, 2018. The processing time is anticipated to be no more than 72 hours. (The process of applying for a tourist visa at a Brazilian consulate can take more than six weeks.) The Web address for the application and the cost had not been announced as of press time, but it was believed the visa cost of $160 per US citizen would remain the same. 

For more information, contact the Consulate General of Brazil in Washington, DC (202/461-3000, cgwashington.itamaraty.gov.br/en-us).

Giant cuttlefish grow to 1½ feet long and can camouflage themselves by changing shape, skin texture and color. Once a year, in early July, they congregate for their breeding season at Stony Point in Upper Spencer Gulf Marine Park near Whyalla, South Australia. To view these fascinating sea creatures, 2-day, 1-night tours are offered on certain dates each June and July by pureSA (111 Franklin St., Adelaide, SA, 5000, Australia; phone +61 8 7226 9011, http://puresa.com.au).

Until April 8, 2018, the exhibit “Winnie-the-Pooh: Exploring a Classic” is being held at the Victoria & Albert Museum (Cromwell Rd., London, England; phone +44 20 7942 2000, www.vam.ac.uk) in Gallery 38. The largest Pooh collection ever shown in the UK, it has more than 200 objects from 1920 to today, including original drawings, branded products and even A.A. Milne’s original manuscript. 

The museum is open 10 a.m.-5:45 p.m. Sat.-Thurs. and 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Fri. Entry to the permanent collection is free, but entry to Gallery 38 costs £8 (near $10.50).

Visitors to Dublin, Ireland, can download the Dublin Pass app onto their iPhones or Androids for free and get the same benefits of the physical Dublin Pass card but on their phones. 

The Dublin Pass provides free or discounted as well as fast-track entry to attractions throughout the city along with access to a free, hop-on/hop-off bus tour. Passes are available in 1-, 2-, 3- and 5-day increments. A 1-day pass costs €52 (near $62) and a 5-day pass, €104. 

The app also contains sightseeing guides and maps and alerts users to limited-time offers.