DisneySea

A second Disney park in the heart of Tokyo!  As crazy as that sounds it is very true.  DisneySea was built due to demand - Disney is HUGE in Japan. It is a special park, unlike any other. It has a sea theme (no surprise there) and has boats a plenty. Most of the rides have water features of some kind.  Some of the rides are 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Nemo & Friends Searider, Flounder's Flying Fish Coaster, and more.  There were a handful of rides my son was too short (under 117cm) to ride.  We left those for grandma and grandpa to test out.

The park had the classic Disney feel and there was a ton to do.  However, I never fully got my bearings within the park because there is a huge mountain in the center of the park, which houses the Journey to the Center of the Earth ride (which my son is too short to ride), that should be the main landmark.  But there are menu things to do inside the mountain and it can't be seen from all parts of the park.  This is to say, I kept getting turned around.  Eventually, we did make it to all the various areas.

The parades were a little different in DisneySea - they traveled along water in boats.  Different and fun!

I must admit my favorite area was the Mermaid Lagoon.  Most of it is inside, which could be too crowded and crazy, but it wasn't too bad today.  The whole area is so aesthetically pleasing.  You do feel a bit like you're in Ariel's world.  All the rides are for young kids, which was great since there's so much that they can't do in other parts of the park.

They also had good things to eat!

At the end of the day, we enjoyed the Fantasmic show with Scorcerer Mickey and friends. It was reminiscent of a show I saw in Disney World, with fireworks and the whole 9 yards.  It was a great way to end the day.

I'm so glad we decided to stay in a hotel one last night, because the thought of riding the train home right now is totally overwhelming. I hope my son sleeps in later than 6:30 am.  I would be so grateful if he did!

Tokyo Disneyland

To put it simply, Tokyo Disneyland was magical. It is very similar to the original, and every bit of fun. Everyone in my family loves Disney for various reasons. I love the magical feeling of being transformed into a kid.  My son thinks Mickey is the greatest.  He also loves roller coasters, which made the day even better. 

I highly recommend coming in the winter on a week day!  The longest line we stood in was only an hour line. In my opinion, Space Mountain is totally worth the wait. After a bit of hesitation before getting on, my son readily agreed it was a fantastic ride. (He asked a cast member if the ride was scary or fun and she told him it was fun. This was all the convincing he needed.). Maybe it's my imagination, but Space Mountain felt longer here and a bit more intense. It was great!

The food was good for park food. We made sure to find and eat lots of fun Disney morsels. 

We were able to watch all 3 parades and the fireworks at the end of the evening. The performances were so much fun!  Each one had us dancing around to the music.  There were some surprising characters participating in the parades, like Mary Poppins, from cherished movies.  

After 12 hours in the park, this mom is beat!  My parents, however, are still at the park riding the rides and having a blast.  I'm going to bed a happy child at heart, dreaming of our wonderful day at Tokyo Disneyland.

Arriving early

When planning my parent's trip to visit us, I tried to make sure they would see and do a lot.  I also tried to leave time for relaxation and regeneration. This wasn't just for them, but also for my sanity, my husband's patience bandwidth, and my son's ability to continue on.  We've been busy, busy, busy.  Going to Osaka was an endurance test, especially with how much we walked (so MANY stairs going in and out of train stations) and sleeping in the same tiny Airbnb (no breaks from each other).

When we decided to go to Osaka, I intentionally left a day with nothing planned before we spent two days at Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea.  This morning, we slept in until the late hour of 8:30 (is there really such a thing as sleeping in when you have a four year old?).  Then we had a filling breakfast of eggs, sausage, scones, and strawberries. After drawing my dad a map to the bike store, he headed out, while I finished packing for my son and me.  My stepmom went to the shopping center.  When I had everything ready for our Disney adventure, I took my son to the park to play with his friends for a couple hours. The weather was lovely.  It felt great to sit in the sunshine for a bit and chat with friends.

We all returned to the house around 1 pm, to have a small lunch and start our journey to the Disney parks.  The route I chose had fewer transfers, but it took a little longer.  The 2 hour trip didn't feel that long since we were all very excited for what laid ahead.

As our train was nearing the station, we could see the castle and other familiar landmarks. My son was practically jumping off his seat. He demanded to know when he was going to meet Mickey.  This kid is on a mission!

We transferred to the Disney Monorail, called Disney Resort Line, which was cutely decorated with Mickey shaped windows and handrails. Between that and the smiling staff, we knew we had arrived to be a part of something magical.

Our hotel, the Sheraton Grand, is a partner hotel.  Since it isn't a Disney resort, it only features Disney themed items in the artwork on the lobby level.  We were put in a bay facing room, which is quite nice.  The water view is so nice!

When planning the trip, I decided we would stay in a hotel right next to the resort so we didn't have to travel back and forth.  That way, we can spend those extra three hours having fun instead of sitting on a train.  If it was just adults, we'd probably make the trek, but it isn't worth the added stress with a four year old.

We checked in, had dinner, and I went out for the evening while my parents watched my son (my husband isn't joining us for this adventure).  I went back to the train station where there is a large shopping area.  I thought it would be like Downtown Disney at Disney World, but alas, it is just another shopping mall.  4 floors of clothes, shoes, bags, eyewear, lotions, and other regular stuff you can see anywhere.  There was only one Disney Store.  While huge, it only offered a couple Tokyo Disneyland special items.  I wasn't impressed. But it didn't dampen my spirits.  I am at Disneyland after all!

Tomorrow we shall rise early and embark on my son's first Disneyland experience.  I can't wait to share this with him!!!

Kaiyukan

If there is one thing to do in Osaka, in my opinion, it is to go to the aquarium.  It is - hands down - the best aquarium I have ever been to.  Every time I go there, I confirm this belief.  Today, I did that again.

My husband had to work hard to get us behind the scenes tours, as they told him they don't let foreigners on the tour because "they won't understand the tour guide."  After pointing out that we were very aware that the tour would be in Japanese and were not expecting them to provide English anything, he finally convinced them to let us go on the tour.  My husband and I went on the tour years ago and have always wanted to go again because it was so interesting.  You have to pay an extra ¥1,000 on top of the entrance fee, but it is 1000% worth it!

We entered the aquarium a half hour before it opened with the rest of the tour group.  Only 20 people can go each day.  So, it is a relatively small group.  They tell interesting facts and stories about the fish, animals, and facilities. 

After we wandered around a bit, we are taken up above the largest tank in the aquarium to watch them feed the whale sharks and other fish.  For the whale shark, the staff tap a large scoop on the top of the water and wait for the whale shark to come over.  When it arrives (pretty quickly since it knows it is breakfast time), they put large scoops of shrimp into the water right next to the whale shark's mouth.  It opens wide and all the shrimp go rushing into it's mouth.  I wish they allowed cameras on this part of the tour because it is so neat to see, but alas they do not.

After we are done watching them feed the fish, we finish up the tour by proceeding through the rest of the permanent exhibits. 

My husband translated here and there, sharing interesting facts and stories.  Without him, we would have enjoyed seeing everything without the added information.  But with his help, we had an ever better time.  The temporary exhibit was weird fish that were, well, weird. I always like seeing new and interesting stuff and these fish definitely fit the bill.

It was sad to be done with the aquarium, because I could spend all day there.  But the crowds do get to be a bit much for me.  So, it was time to go.  Plus, we were all getting a bit hungry.

We grabbed ramen for a quick lunch and then proceeded to the Tempozan.  This ferris wheel is one of the biggest in the world!  It is a staggering 112.5 meters high!  As a person who is afraid of heights, it is terrifying.  However, I will not let that stop me, so I held on with white knuckles and went for it.  If I was going to die, at least it would be doing something interesting!  With lots of deep breaths, I enjoyed our 20 minute ride around the wheel even though I wouldn't let anyone move just in case they rocked our capsule.

After the death defying ride, it was time to wander back to Tokyo.  We were all more than tired, evident by the short tempers all around.  Once on the Shinkansen, everyone slept at least for a short while, which helped us get the last bit home. 

Osaka Castle

When someone visits us in Tokyo, they are visiting foreigners in a foreign place. We are still getting used to the city and our surroundings. But transport us, okay... my husband, to Osaka and "we" are experts. 

Today we took my parents to Osaka for a little trip within a trip. We left our house before 8:30 am to get to the Shinkansen station by 9:30. When traveling by Shinkansen, tickets are similar to an airplane ticket. It is for a specific train and seat. You must arrive in time to get on the train, otherwise, it will leave you. We left in plenty of time to catch the train, but almost missed it because the line in the women’s bathroom was long!  Some things are true no matter what country you are in.

Despite having to run for the train, as soon as we boarded we felt relaxed and settled in for a nice, laid back ride. The sky wasn’t totally clear, but we still had great views of Mt. Fuji from the train. When it is visible, it’s always a highlight of the train ride. 

We traveled through Osaka, to the suburb of Yao to go to one of our favorite restaurants. My parents were delighted to eat kushiage at Houzenji. As we walked through the door, the owners face lit up at the sight of my husband. I find it strange how happy it makes me for my husband to have this connection to his hometown. 

After a truly delightful meal, we went to the cemetery to pay our respects to all the family members that have passed on. 

Up next was Osaka Castle - a treasure of Osaka. It is truly majestic sitting up on its pedestal. Every time I see it, I’m amazed by it’s beauty. The excitement of seeing it makes me feel like a kid.  I just want to point and exclaim "look at the castle!!!"  The inside is completely modern with a museum and gift shop. The museum tells the history of the castle and has many interesting artifacts like paintings and dioramas. 

The grounds surrounding the castle are vast. We stopped by the plum garden, even though the plum blossoms are just starting to bloom. They will be in their full glory in probably another week. The air smelled sweet and the bits of color were still very enjoyable. There are pink and white blossoms, as well as red!

Since we were in Osaka, we had to have an Osaka specialty for dinner. My husband made reservations at a popular okonomiyaki restaurant. Boy, were we happy he did when we saw the long line outside the restaurant that we were able to bypass. We enjoyed Osaka style (the original style) okonomiyaki, negiyaki (a green onion pancake), yakisoba, and Hiroshima okonomiyaki.  It was a whole lot of cabbage pancakes, with some noodles too!

On our way to our Airbnb, we wandered through Dotonbori, a bright, vibrant, and interesting part of town. There are many famous sights along the street and you can’t help but stare every which way because there is so much to take in. The city has really cleaned up the area since I lived in Osaka, and I would say it is now a must see part of town. 

Finally, it was time to find our Airbnb and turn in for the night. We were all exhausted from the long day of traveling and sightseeing. Luckily it was a bit easier since we know how to get around Osaka easily and generally know where we are all the time. But after realizing we traveled on 12 different trains today, it doesn’t matter how well we know the area. We were all beat and ready for bed!

Smells a little fishy

When most people think of Japanese cuisine,  they think of sushi and other fish dishes.  Fish is a very common type of protein.  If you are not a huge fan, there is plenty of other ways to get your protein intake here, but fish is very common.

Going to the grocery store to see the fish department is quite interesting.  But even more interesting is going to the biggest fish market in the world, located right here in Tokyo.  Tsukiji Fish Market is known for their tuna auctions that happen each morning. 

We didn't attend the tuna auction, but instead arrived just after 10 am to wander through the wholesale market.  There is so much to see and enjoy within the market.  It is chaotic with flatbed carts driving up and down the main aisles, workers bustling here and there, as well as booths being washed down after a busy early morning rush.  There are so many unique underwater creatures that people eat in Japan that are not common in the states.  It is so interesting to see a container full of sea cucumbers and a tank with fugu (blowfish).  We all really enjoyed seeing all the market had to offer.  Unfortunately, they do not allow photos to be taken inside, otherwise I would have taken so many!  I really wanted to take a photo of the flatbed carts gathering tuna heads.  It was such an interesting sight and would have made an interesting photograph.

After wandering through the market, we went to what is called "Outer Tsukiji Market" where there are a variety of gift shops, cooking supply shops, and restaurants featuring the freshest of the fresh fish.  After looking at several posted menus, I found a restaurant that served both raw and cooked fish (most of the restaurants in the Outer Tsukiji Market are sushi and sashimi restaurants).  My parents were not interested in trying sushi, but my son and I couldn't resist a delicious lunch of raw fish. 

One thing I like about the restaurants in the market are how small they are.  They are very narrow and feature a bar for sitting, maybe two.  There are no tables, just the bar and stools.  Each restaurant fits less than 20 people.  The one we ate at had seating for 14.  I ordered a salted and grilled yellow tail for my stepmom and teriyaki black cod for my dad.  Everything was delicious and perfectly prepared.

People waiting in line to get into a restaurant.

Behind the restaurant was just as crazy as out front!

Once we were done eating, we wandered around and bought a couple things to take home.  By the time we were done shopping, we were ready to head back to Hikarigaoka.  We were all fished out for the day. 

It was super easy to get to (a direct train ride from our house).  I can't wait for more people to come visit so I can take them!