Our last full day in Japan! Ben woke up early to visit Lake Biwa and the town of Otsu.

He came back to our room to meet me, and together we took a train to Nijō Castle. I was in the mood to read some placards and learn some history!

Unlike Osaka Castle, this site has mostly original or replica interiors, along with the famous nightingale floors. Pictures inside were forbidden. I was dismayed that the museum holding the original murals were closed. But the replicas in the castle were beautiful, and the woodwork and metalworks gorgeous. The gardens were beautiful too, but you were not allowed to walk through the paths and bridges. I’m glad we went to Shosei-en garden earlier, where we could wander all over.

For lunch we found local restaurant. The food was meh, but the casual, non-tourist vibes were strong and Ben loved that.

I did a little research the night before and found that the best place for official k-pop merch is in the Book-Off used bookseller stores. I wanted to try to get a lightstick or towel or any other sort of merch without paying the high taxes and import shipping. There were three Book-Offs within a reasonable range of our hotel and I tried all three! Ben joined me for two, and admired some video game stuff too.

Between shops we took a detour to cross the Kamo River Turtle Stepping Stones. I didn’t know they were supposed to be turtles! Erosion has worn away any detail. We had seen this crossing in a J-drama and it was a cute place to take pics. I’m glad Ben pulled us aside!

This Book-Off near the main retail district had the best selection. I bought the Seventeen mini-fan from their Japan dome tour earlier this spring. I had been wanting a hand fan as well, so double win! The staff member was very helpful when I asked if they could show it worked (it did, was fully charged and had original packaging too). She asked me my bias (S. Coups at the moment) and said hers is The8! We used the translation app share our SVT love and I expressed my excitement as finding k-pop stuff, since it’s so hard to find in Colorado.

We walked back through another shopping arcade where I had some delicious taiyaki with a pat of butter on the red bean. So good!! Then Ben went to try the famous Ichiran (he says it was terrible!) while I poked around Daiso.

We took a cab back to the hotel for Ben to rest. After all, he started his day with the big trip to Otsu! I wanted to do more last-day shopping. I went to the last Book-Off shop and then walked to the Aeon Mall. This was the most American style mall/shopping building I’d see all trip. They had a lot of cute stores!

I was so excited to find an American style food court, I texted Ben to meet me here for dinner. I know, I’m super lame. I was pretty tired of the same old options in Japan for non-fish, non-miso, non-mushroom eaters like me. Plus it’s fun to see familiar shops in different countries! I saw the Cha Eunwoo standee at Subway and just had to eat there. He’s in Astro, one of my fav groups, and Subway features heavily in a lot of K-dramas that we enjoy. The food court was fun in general – it was bustling with students studying and socializing after school.

After dinner we stopped by the gashapon shop. They had some many cute and weird choices! Ben got a random region of Japan. We both got keychain mascots from Japan (random pool included carp, tanuki, deer, tiger, and the dude Ben got). I got a Seventeen collab with Muzik tiger keychain. There were several k-pop groups represented – so fun! The shop also had little dioramas for you to take photos of your prizes.

On the way home Kyoto station had the stair lights illuminated. We got to our room and watched the most spectacular sunset behind the temple while getting ready to visit the baths one last time. I had another in-room massage to relax before our big journey home the next day.

Ben woke up early and toured the Hogan-ji Temple across from our hotel. Once I was ready for the day we went back together look about and get stamps in our book.

The forecast said heavy rain all day. We heard that Osaka has miles and miles of covered shopping arcades and underground malls, so we decided to spend the day there. We got on the train bound for Osaka and headed to Dontonbori. I didn’t know anything about the area except that it was famous for food stalls. I certainly did not expect the touristy atmosphere! The tacky oversized signs and figures made it feel like vintage Las Vegas.

Takoyaki are the famous specialty in Osaka, so that’s the first thing Ben ate!

I will admit, we didn’t eat as well as we expected. Due to a combination of norms it was uncomfortable to eat, plus it was a lot of fried/rich foods early in the days. You can’t walk and eat, but seating is rare. Trash cans are only for use from the stall you purchased, so you can’t gather several things and eat in one place. Drinks come from vending machines and were not very plentiful or cold. The serving portions were large, so we felt like we were wasting a lot of food by not finishing, but also not getting a lot of variety. It was fun to just wander around and gawk at all the Japanese tackiness.

We left the main Dotonbori arcade for an air conditioned underground mall. Another Studio Ghibli store had different displays and items than the Gion store. We also got lunch at Mos Burger to sit and rehydrate before going back upstairs to a different shopping arcade. I got a cute macaroon for later and found a k-pop themed photobooth store. This one was not as freaky as the Harajuku. Then another k-pop merch store (more fake stuff. I was so disappointed not to find authentic goods in Japan!)

Ben found a nice matcha shop that served authentic old fashioned desserts. He ordered Anmitsu and I tried a chestnut Mont Blanc. (I had to bother the waitress to bring me water. Who wants a thimble of hot tea on a sweltering day like this?? The locals, apparently.

Next we found a Parco mall with lots of character shops.

The rain really wasn’t that bad, so we decided to squeeze in a quick visit to Osaka Castle before it closed. I’m really glad we did! It was refreshing after the retail overload. We took a train with a single transfer, and then walked through a long garden to get to the main castle grounds.

We slowly made our way out of the garden, passing through a temple on the way.

Not pictured: that low point on a vacation when you are tired and hungry and lost and soaked in rain and just get really really mad. We were trying to find a specific place for dinner but got lost in the maze of underground streets that didn’t work with modern tech map navigation. When we found it, they had nothing I could eat but a requirement that everyone order an entree. After more bumbling we came to a calm, quiet dining hall with one of the best meals of the trip. It was delicious and full of vegetables. Then I indulged in an ice cream cone and we boarded the train back to Kyoto.

Whoops, apparently I took a video of the gardens from the day before. I’m just gonna stick it here where it doesn’t belong 😀

By late morning we finished at Fushimi Inari and some stalls and shops opened up nearby.

What excitement! A pedestrian train crossing!! I don’t get it 😀 Ben was very excited about this though.

We took the train back to our home neighborhood. After a refreshing drink (with New Jeans on the machine!) Ben led me to the Shosei-en Garden. These garden grounds to the east of our hotel are part of the temple to the west of our hotel.

Back to hotel! Ben wanted to rest (remember, he started his day before me and hiked up the mountain farther!) I wanted to shop at the Yodobashi mall. I got some Japan-specific items at Uniqlo, and then we met for dinner at a Doria restaurant. Doria is basically rice casserole with bechamel sauce. Oh man, this was very tasty! Then I got a quick treat at Baskin Robbins. No non-dairy aside from sorbet, so I got strawberry macaron. Delish!

Now we walked back to Nishi Hogan-ji Temple for an appointment. Ben has another penpal in Japan named Akiko. They are not as close as his other penpal, but she also wanted to meet us! She lives in a small town nearby and had work in Kyoto this week. She was able to meet us at the Lotus fountain between meetings. Akiko was very kind and enthusiastic to talk in person. Ben exchanged gifts and we took a few pictures. It was a short but sweet encounter!

Oh my gosh, they day is only half done! WE DID SO MUCH!!

We popped into our room across the street to drop off our bags and for me to freshen up (into a new dress from Uniqlo!). Ben made the brilliant plan to take a taxi to the top of the hill in Gion so we could explore it walking downhill only. Love it!

Gion was PACKED with tourists. I’m pleased that we glimpsed a real geisha in full costume from the back of the taxi. Everyone else you might see in photos are wearing rented kimonos, like we worse in Asakusa. The tiny streets and shops were packed with people posing for photos. It was so bizarre, like, everyone came only for an instagram shoot. As we sat in a cafe with drinks we watched a random woman walk in and pretend to shop three time while someone video taped her. Then she left without buying anything. So weird!

We left the historical Gion neighborhood to do some shopping at the “downtown” Kyoto street.

Now we were in the Teremachi shopping arcade. I had a hot tip that the Harajuku Chicago store was a good place to buy jinbei. This is a men’s summer garment that I hoped to get in Japan. (Koichi was confused when Ben told him I wanted one). Indeed, I found a lovely second-hand jinbei (that I’m wearing as I type this!) as well as a second-hand yukata to wear as a summer robe. Then I got a tanghulu for dessert (not nearly as good as the one in Shin-okobu) and we got a cab back to the hotel.

We woke up refreshed with good weather, ready for the day! Ben got up earlier than me (like usual) to eat breakfast and wander on his own. Then we took the train together to Fushimi Inari Taisha.

Fushimi Inari is the famous Fox Shrine with “10,000” Tori gates. Famous and crowded, but everyone said it was worth it (they were right. ) We arrived early, before the crowds and the heat. It was still a sweltering walk uphill. I didn’t go as far up the mountain as Ben. It was absolutely stunning. The woods were as magical as the gates and shrines. Here come a ton of pictures:

This upper landing shrine had many mossy alters near a pond. I decided to turn back here while Ben continued onward.

Before the trip I read online about a “secret” bamboo grove off to the side at Fushimi Inari. It was supposed to be nearly as good as the famous Arashiyama bamboo grove, with none of the crowds. It took a little poking around, but I figured out the entrance while waiting for Ben. He was game for an adventure, so we went for it! We didn’t go off any official paths. We saw staff members on the way and no one stopped us. As promised, we were all alone to enjoy this hidden grove. We didn’t walk get to walk “through” a bamboo forest, but we could see it and appreciate its beauty all alone. This was such a hidden gem. It felt like a sidequest in a video game. The landscape had such strong Legend of Zelda vibes. I would have lingered much longer if it weren’t for the giant mosquitos attacking me violently, the deeper we tread.

Today we said good-bye to Tokyo and hello to Kyoto. I was sad to leave our nice hotel in Ginza, but I ended up loving our Kyoto hotel too! Overall it was a bit stressful this day. There wasn’t quite enough time to plan activities in either city, so it was awkward at times. Also it was raining during our travels, which made walking with suitcases and umbrellas between stations and hotels difficult. But you’ll see we still had a good time!

Here’s what it looks like on the train. Ben was glued to his window the entire 2 hours. I tried to nap. My folks sent a funny video showing us zoom across the country.

Blowing wind and rain greeted us in Kyoto. We scampered to our our hotel and dropped off luggage (to early to check-in) then went to McDonald’s for drinks and Shaka Shaka fries. (It’s fun to try unusual products not sold in your own country, but I was underwhelmed.)

Kyoto Station had a skyway where we could survey the whole city. We spent some time exploring the station while hiding from rain.

As the rain lightened up we took the train one stop over to Tōji Temple. We didn’t go in, just walked around the grounds. We made a pit stop at a conbini to fix blisters and wet socks, and smiled while passing a group of high school boys. (We saw school-aged kids in uniform everywhere, every day, at all times of day! Why are they always out and about??)

I wanted to try a traditional mochi confectionary shop on the walk back to our hotel. Ben helped me communicate my purchase politely with the elderly couple who spoke zero English. On the way back we found an interesting “Witch House,” a small shrine, and the PHP building.

Finally it was time to check into our hotel! I booked their largest room with a view of the Nishi Hogan-ji Temple. I loved this view! It was a pleasure to see every morning and night. I changed into dry lounge clothes provided by the hotel and tucked into my sweets. So good! Seriously, the soft mochi with adzuki wrapped around the outside was one of the best local treats of the trip. The soybean powder dusted mochi was pretty good too.

After a refreshing rest we walked to Yodobashi Cameral mall food court for omurice.

We hurried back to the hotel for a shiatsu massage in my hotel room! One of the best decisions of the trip! Holy cow, was this good for my aching muscles. It was super cheap by American standards and kind of weird (fully dressed, laying on my side in bed, she used a towel instead of lotion/oil). It was so great though, I did it again two days later! During my massage Ben went wandering in the atmospheric rain. Here are some of his pics.

After the massage I bravely dipped in the public bath. I specifically chose this hotel because it had an attached onsen. We were both curious to try this classic Japanese pastime. I figured wandering down from our room would be easier than packing up and picking a random place in town. To our shock we LOVED it! A quiet, hot soak was such a relaxing way to end the day. The hotel had two baths – a larger one with an outdoor tub built with rocks from Mt. Fuji, a sauna, and a cold dip. The smaller bath had a basic indoor soaking pool. The hotel swapped gender assignment each night, so we both got to use both rooms twice (yes, we went all four nights!)

Today we played tourist with some locals! Ben has been penpals with Koichi for years. We were thrilled that he and his wife Kaho wanted to meet us. Not only that, they planned a whole day of fun together!

They wanted to show us the Asakusa district of Tokyo. We took a cab to a kimono rental shop to play the part. We saw many people wearing rented traditional clothes in many cities during the trip. I think we would never have been bold enough to try it without our friends as guides. Ben knows some Japanese and Koichi speaks English very well. But Kaho and I were completely at odds with language! I wasn’t sure how it would go when we had to separate by gender to get dressed. Luckily we both had translator apps, and mine had a strong signal in this particular building to cover when she lost her signal. She was very friendly and fun. We helped pick out colors for each other and got our hair done.

We met up with the guys who looked just as good! Ben and I both had trouble getting shoes to fit. Our friends were shocked to hear our feet are pretty average sized for Americans. Then we met the rickshaw driver who would be giving us a tour. A rickshaw!! Another activity we would never have booked ourselves, but ended up being so fun! The guide Mako had heaps of enthusiasm and said he was also a photographer. He took a lot of fun shots for us. We waited a little for our special guide who knows more English. We felt bad when this tiny woman appeared! Sion was more than capable though, and kept up a casual banter while huffing and puffing us through Asakusa.

And take-off! First we stopped at part of Sensō-ji Temple.

Next we rode to the Sensō-ji Gate for photos.

Then we rode a bit longer to a park with a good view of the Sky Tower for photos. I was enthralled by the rows and rows of hydrangea in bloom.

Our final stop was the Matsuchiyama Shoden temple. I hope our guides had time to get water and catch their breath. Mako didn’t rest long, he took us on a whole tour of the temple with instruction for entering, washing, and praying. Once again, he enthusiastically took a ton of photos, directing us where to stand and how to pose. I was surprised to find later he even took video! I definitely would have been uncomfortable dressing and play-acting worship while filming. But the locals seem to encourage it, so I guess it’s ok? This temple was known for its daikon motif.

Then we rode back to the start.

After our ride we walked over to Sensō-ji to get a closer look on foot. This temple felt like a busy tourist trap with heavy crowds and market stalls. Very unlike the temple we visited via rickshaw. We washed ourselves in the incense smoke and I touched the giant shoe for prosperity.

We were all hot in our robes and sore in our feet – even Kaho and Koichi admitted the geta and zori shoes were uncomfortable. So we went to the rental shop to change into our regular clothes before eating.

Lunch was tonkatsu. It was nice to sit and talk a little more about what we had seen so far. I made a terrible faux pas by eating my katsu curry with chopsticks. This launched an interesting discussion about how Japanese food is served in the US – including chopsticks with curry!

A short walk to the covered market arcade got us some delicious taiyaki! Seriously, it was so good, much better than any I’ve had in the states.

Time to get out of the heat – Koichi led us to a Japanese cafe to sit in the aircon and enjoy some cold drinks/shaved ice. They were interested to hear about our adventures the previous day in Kamakura and Disneyland. We were getting pretty good using our translator apps by then.

In the afternoon Koichi has booked a class to make traditional etched glass. We were all surprised and delighted at our success with the craft. It looks quite complicated, but it was surprisingly easy. It was a nice change of pace to sit and work on a project after the hustle of the last few days.

That was the end of our visit to Asakusa! We went back to Ginza and briefly stopped in our hotel to freshen up. Then we walked to dinner at a teppanyaki restaurant. This was one of the best meals of the trip – high quality food guided by friends who could translate the handwritten specials on the wall and communicate with the waiter. And by now we knew each other pretty well and could talk about the differences in our day-to-day living.

Filled with delicious asparagus, egg, beef, veggies, noods, and octopus (well, not me!) we spilled out of the restaurant. We gave them our gifts, including American snacks, Colorado art stickers, and beer from a local brewery in a portable cooler. We said our good-byes and promised to be safe on the rest of our journey. I think they were really worried about us, so cute!

Ben and I wanted to walk off the meal and talk about the big day, so we wandered over to the Imperial Garden, by Tokyo Station, and back home to our hotel. Oh, after I stopped for dessert at a shop we had been passing every day. It was my last chance to try it!

Tomorrow we leave for Kyoto. Good-bye Tokyo! Thank you Koichi and Kaho!!!

On the morning of Friday, June 21st, Rachel and I boarded the Hibiya line at Higashi-Ginza station.  We rode to Hatchobori station and switched to the JR keiyo line bound for Maihama station.  It was not very crowded and was a smooth ride!  Rachel bought an umbrella at the Maihama station Newdays store and then I walked to the entrance to the Tokyo Disney loop train and said goodbye for the day.

I realized that the unicorn Gundam statue was on the way to Kamakura city, so I found a route there.  I took the JR Keiyo line back to Shin-kiba station.  It was very crowded!  I began to be concerned that I would be causing problems for commuting people and started looking for routes to Kamakura city that would not be used by commuters.  From Shin-kiba, I took the Rinkai line to Tokyo teleport station, which was also busy, but not commute level crowded 😀

From there, I walked to see the unicorn Gundam statue!  I was very impressed 😀. It was still early, so no shops were open.  I was hungry, so I walked across a long pedestrian bridge to eat at Yoshinoya.  I had a breakfast set with raw egg and natto 😉

From there, I took the Rinkai line to Osaka station and switched to the JR Shonan-Shinjuku line bound for Ofuna station.  By now, it was raining a lot, but the train was quiet and I had a nice seat to watch the city pass by!

I saw train pressers with boards on the opposite platform when stopped at Yokohama station.  Honestly, I was afraid of experiencing that while in Japan, but I didn’t.  Having spent so much time on Japanese trains, I am a lot less afraid, but I still imagine it is unpleasant!

I arrived at Ofuna and switched to the Yokosuka line for Kamakura.  When I arrived, I was happy and amazed to see a giant Torii over the city!  I walked down the street a little, then moved over a street because I liked the look of an alley I passed 😅. I’m glad I did because I found another large Torii gating a beautiful tree lined walking path toward Tsurugaroka Hachimangu.  Even though the rain was heavy, I was amazed at the shrine.  It was very beautiful and peaceful despite many people being there.  I climbed the stairs and offered gratitude at the shrine!

I then wanted to eat しらす/whitebait since I heard it was a Kamakura specialty, so I started walking to “わさいやくら” (wasaiyakura).  Before I got there, I saw a shop selling small ceramic dishes, so I stopped to buy one for Amanda 😀

わさいやくら had a small line, so I chose to wait.  My meal was very good!  I had しらす and miso soup.  I also had a type of pudding I didn’t know.  My friend Akiko later told me that it was called “Chawan-Mushi”.

After lunch, I wanted to ride the enoden train,  and decided to visit the 大仏 (big buddha) at Kotoku-in temple.  The enoden was cute and fun!!!  But the walk to the temple took a lot of energy.  The narrow sidewalks were very crowded and I often had to move my umbrella and I got very wet.  I enjoyed visiting 大仏!  I thought it was very impressive and beautiful, as were the temple grounds.  

By the time I got back to the enoden, I knew I was too wet to continue my adventure in Kamakura city… I expected I would get a blister since my socks were wet. I had one last mini adventure as I loaded onto an enoden car with dozens of elementary school students. I was impressed how well behaved they were, as I only saw one potential “minder” for all of them.

I took the JR Shonan-Shinjuku line to totsuka station, transfered to the ueno-tokyo line for shimbashi station (where I saw a beard papa store) and finally took the ginza line to ginza station and walked back to the hotel.

I changed clothes and dried off and let my feet rest while the rain died down a bit.  Once the rain was lighter, I went out to explore Hibiya park. I was still tired, but it was a neat park and I saw lots of interesting plants. It was also nicely empty and peaceful.

From there, I explored Ginza some more and I found Yasuhira shrine in a small alcove.  It seemed to be a popular shrine for worship!  

From there I walked to the Hatchobori neighborhood and enjoyed the quiet neighborhood feel.  I also found a small shrine there called Hatchobori Tenso.  I liked the tan colored Torii there.  

I met Rachel at Hatchobori station, and I honestly can’t remember what we did after that, but I think we got a simple meal at a Lawson.

I was disappointed that I didn’t do as much in Kamakura city as I had planned, but writing it out, I see I did a lot! And I enjoyed my time exploring the quieter areas of Chuo city!  

Ben and I realized that we both had activities the other was not very interested in. Rather than drag one along, taking up a whole day abroad, we decided to split off for individual itineraries!

Ben rode the train with me to the Disney Parks to make sure I got there safely. I also made the most important purchase of the day at one of our station transfers – an umbrella. Leading up to our trip the weather was forecasted to be warm and cloudy. As the time approached the forecast changed to heavy rains. Indeed, most of the day was spent racing under beating rain and hard blowing wind. Quite unpleasant.

Yes, I was scared to be alone. I would have preferred the split day happen later in the trip after gaining more experience in a foreign land. But this is how the schedule worked out, and I did it! Well, a Disney Park is probably the easiest place to manage without speaking the native language, but I’ll still take the win!

Tokyo Disneysea is a unique park. It has a completely different landscape and many rides that you cannot ride anywhere else. Everyone says the atmosphere is insane, and you need at least a full day or two experience Disneysea to the fullest.

Phooey, I said. I only care about rides – no shows, parades, or character meetings for me. I don’t even care about the special food items that fans love to post on social media. I’ll eat whatever I can find. I ONLY want to ride the rides that are unique to Disneysea. I figured I could easily do it in a day, and possibly squeeze in Disneyland next door in the evening. All the online folk said it was impossible and ill-advised. Spoilers – that’s exactly what I did! When it’s pounding rain you don’t care about soaking up the ambiance, you’re already soaking! I sped through both parks in a single day and even left before closing.

I queued up an hour before the gates opened. We were up with jetlag anyway, and I wanted a chance in the lottery for access to the new Fantasy Springs section of the park. One can only enter there by gaining a virtual ticket after entering the park – so the sooner you scan in, the better your chance of getting a spot. I succeeded! I got a priority pass for the new Peter Pan Neverland Adventure and a standby pass for Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Journey (supposedly the best ride in the park).

Brief aside – Disney toilets are legit! Aside from the standard bidet/privacy noise options they had so many kid accessories! USA you gotta step up!

I went to the back of the park to “Indiana Jones: Temple of the Crystal Skull,” planning to blitz through the single rider line. As soon as I arrived they shut it down for maintenance! So I went next door to “Raging Spirits” and did my first every 360 loop on a coaster!

I was already cold and wet. I needed some time to plan the next moves and arrange more virtual passes. So I ducked into the “Mermaid Lagoon” for shelter. The inside was beautiful! The rides in there are mostly little kiddie rides, along with lots of dry seating and a gaggle of youths posing for the gram. I squeezed into a less favorable selfie spot, rather than wait for the prime location that had quite a crowd.

I was excited for a Potato Churro – silly me assumed it was sweet potato and cinnamon sugar. Instead it was savory and smooth with a “demi-glace” filling. Weird. A good precursor to the eerie ride “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.”

I had a priority pass for the big E-ticket ride, “Journey to the Center of the Earth” right next door, so I didn’t want to wander far. I got some famous popcorn (just caramel corn, not too crazy like their soy garlic, curry, or roast beef popcorn) and a regular Coke, texting my dismay at Japanese Coke options to my family while I sheltered from heavy winds under the volcano cavern.

“Journey to the Center of the Earth” was AMAZING. I was not prepared to be blown away like that! The theming and story-telling were great, the effects were all working and exciting, and the final animatronic was insane! Then the ride shoots you out of the volcano into the sky before racing to the finish. Totally awesome.

At this point I was mostly waiting for Indiana Jones to open again and for my time slot in the new Fantasy Springs. Another famous unique Disneysea ride “Sindbad’s Storybook Voyage” was closed for renovations. So I booked a pass for “The Magic Lamp Theater.” It was a stage show with some magic tricks by humans blended with 3D animation on the screen above. Not bad, mostly a good way to step out of the rain. It gave my shoes a chance to leak out in puddles at my seat.

Indiana Jones was operating again, so I headed that way with a short stop for a “Tipo Torta.”

This Indiana Jones ride is a little different than the version in California. Also, the ride is famous for actually keeping in good mechanical working order, unlike their USA sibling where the ride is coarser and many effects have been broken for years. I had a great time! Very spooky and thrilling! Seeing animatronic Harrison Ford talk to me in Japanese was a treat too.

Despite the fun rides, I was feeling a little lost at this point. Had I really done most of the park? Everyone said you need 1-2 days…the rain really dragged me down. Literally, it started pounding and pouring even more. I sheltered in a restroom for the worst of it, then darted across the park where rumors said I might find some Coke in a bottle.

It was fitting that I found my caffeine fix at the “American Waterfront.” Not only a coke, but a fountain coke zero and a sheltered table! I camped here until my time slot at Fantasy Springs.

Fantasy Springs was very beautiful, with shimmery ponds and gorgeous plants. The Peter Pan ride was cute. The theming in the queue was great. Most people said this was their most fun ride of the new area, so I was excited. It turned out the bobbing vehicle, the 3D glasses+screens, and the flying simulation made me to motion sick to fully enjoy it. Ah well.

I walked to the Frozen section around 3pm and eyeballed the 130 minute queue. I had a choice. Do I wait over 2 hours for this ride, then call it a day? Or do I delete my standby pass and switch to Disneyland? Obviously I chose the latter.

Tokyo Disney Resort doesn’t offer a park hopper ticket – you have a to buy a full day ticket for each park. Lucky for me, the yen is super weak so the cost of two tickets was still less than the cost for a single day pass to California’s resort.

Welcome to Tokyo Disneyland!!

The rain was letting up a little and staff were guiding the street rivers down the drain!

Straight to Haunted Mansion!!! I haven’t been on this ride since our trip to Anaheim in 2015. It was the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay during our WDW visit in 2016 and closed for renovations in 2020 at Disneyland (and currently closed for renovations AGAIN). This version was very close to the original. I love it still.

I wanted to ride Splash Mountain but the queue ballooned from 30 to 60 minutes while I was in Haunted Mansion. I also wasn’t keen to get wet again, as the rain continued to abate to a drizzle. So I just looked for the shortest lines for classic rides.

Pirates of the Caribbean was fun like usual. I liked hearing the ride safety information given in pirate accented Japanese, Chinese, and English. Behind me a girl whimpered “kowai kowai!” to her Dad the whole first half of the ride. Interesting that they updated the ride to include Jack Sparrow, but not to replace the wench auction as in the US.

Next Star Tours. Everyone took selfies with their glasses so I did too. Fun seeing the Force Awakens cast dubbed in Japanese. The flight video was the new version that ends in Batuu – the Star Wars land in Anaheim and WDW, but missing from Tokyo.

Outside I saw a crowd overflowing from the theater to watch the stage show. I heard they were super popular in Japan and it’s true! People were lined up on this far balcony to catch a glimpse. I skipped the Baymax ride, but walked through his large gift shop and fancy vending machines. They are CRAZY for Baymax in Japan. He seemed to be the most popular character.

A quick stop for a caramel apple churro – the closest to the original cinnamon sugar churro I could find. Then a quick pop into Pinocchio’s Daring Journey because it was nearby and had a short wait.

It’s a Small World was charming as usual. The guests had fun pointing out all the Disney IP characters that had been added to the ride in the last decade. I think the Japan dolls were expanded from the US version.

Now it was time for the big moment! As soon as I got in the park I had booked a priority pass for The Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast. This is widely touted as one of the top rides of all Disney parks worldwide in terms of theming, story, animatronics, tech, and general enjoyment. Boy oh boy did it deliver! This ride was incredible. I know I’m a theme park nerd, so it might not win over hard hearts. But everything I had read was true. It’s a plussed up dark ride that tells the movie story. The tea-cups swirl you around in an exciting but smooth (and not nauseating) dance. The animatronics are impressive. The story-telling and pacing is perfect, from the moment to enter the queue to the end. I got teary eyed, perhaps because I realized how close to my heart this movie is. I went to see it in the movie theater over and over, I performed it as a young ballet student, I saw it at the Denver Buell, and I choreographed it for a high school. I remember seeing the previews of this ride back in 2018 and thinking it looked amazing, but I’ll never see it unless they duplicate it here. And now here I was on the other side of the world getting to ride it! Well, that’s enough gushing. Here’s some photos.

That felt like the right note to end on. I looked at the 45 minute Splash Mountain wait and, as much as I wanted to see the original version (replaced at both US parks now) with Japanese-bayou accents, I couldn’t muster the energy.

I did some quick shopping on the way out – a Baymax keychain, a rose hairclip for Beauty and the Beast, and a Haunted Mansion purple wallpaper patterned towel for dance classes.

Ben patiently repeated the train directions over and over so I could get back to Ginza. We reunited and collapsed into bed. Gotta sleep well – tomorrow’s another big day!!

After the Seventeen Cafe we took the train to Shinjuku, where I found more idols! NCT Dream were plastered all over the station shopping mall to promote their tour. We stepped outside and saw the adorable cat billboard. It was just as cute in person! I didn’t know it made noises, somewhere between meows and baby-talk.

Just across the street we entered the real life streets of Ben’s beloved Yakuza game series. He seriously knew his way around the whole neighborhood because of those games!

My main objective was a proper, icy diet soda. I navigated us to a McDonald’s for Coke Zero drinks (they don’t have diet coke in Japan). It was cold and sort of coke-like, neither as sharp as a Diet Coke nor as rich as the US Coke Zero. Their “L” is slightly smaller than our US medium. Good think I ordered two! It satisfied well enough and bought us time in an air conditioned dining room. My “be prepared” motto paid off when they served me terrible, thick paper straws – ha Ha! I had a plastic straw from home! Yeah, I love diet coke, and I have strong preferences for how I imbibe. Those first few sips are the best part of every day. I missed it in Japan.

A little beyond Kabukicho is the neighborhood Shin-okobu, aka Korea-town. You could tell right away when the writing all switched to Hangul and we heard k-pop pouring out of every store. I could have spent a lot longer browsing the shops here, but it had been a LONG day by this time.

We took the train back to the hotel to rest and refresh. We decided to split up a little. I wanted to check out the mega flagship store of Uniqlo. Ben wanted to see a shrine on top of the nearby department store/mall. After admiring the stranger walking his cat through Ginza, we split.

Uniqlo was crazy crowded. I got slightly lost when I crossed over a suspended pedestrian bridge for a Uniqlo extension that blended into the designer shop Dover Street Market. I got sorted out and met Ben for dinner at a nearby noodle shop filled with salarymen. We walked by the Kabuki theater, beautifully lit for the evening, and went to another konbini for a sweet finish. Remarkably, Ben knew of a park bench where I could SIT and enjoy my shaved ice at my leisure.

Ben got an early start each day while I took longer to wake up. He usually walked around our neighborhood and ate a local-style breakfast. Here’s some photos he sent me from this morning:

I had a 10am cafe reservation in Harajuku. We had a couple hours to kill before then so we went o Shibuya before the crowds arrived. When we arrived at the famous scramble I was sure we were in the wrong place. It was so small! Ben found the Hachiko dog memorial and confirmed that indeed this was the famous Shibuya scramble. Not so impressive without crowds!

We popped into a konbini for drinks and curry bun before looking for nearby shrines.

Next stop was Harajuku.

It was too early for shops, so we walked and looked. We took some truly cursed photos at the Purikura booth shop where the noisiness was on another level!

More peaceful wandering:

The time has come . . . for the pop-up Seventeen Cafe!! Yes, I got to attend a real k-pop collab cafe for my FAVORITE group!

The cafe was running from May to July this year. It was very difficult to purchase tickets. The websites were all in Japanese and required a Japan-specific web account from hubsynch, which required a Japanese phone and address entered in a specific way that was hard for us to figure out (our local pal Koichi got on video chat to help spot errors!).

After all of that I was nearly turned away at the door when I couldn’t login to load my reservation live on the site! Luckily the cafe worker kindly took my email confirmation and my passport and compared it to their list. It really looked like I was going to be denied at first and I was panicking so hard. But we got in!!!

The cafe soon filled up – mostly middle-aged women. It was so surreal to see them comparing their card pulls, talking about the group, seeing the group members as their phone lock screens. I saw some show off merch they bought at the recent dome tour in Japan (that’s why the pop-up shop occurred). I tried to make small talk, comments to invite conversation, but was brushed off. So I was surprised to see my neighbor pose for the selfie! I laughed and got her permission to keep the photo.

After eating, if you still had time in your reservation allotment, you could browse and purchase merchandise. I spent too much money – I blame their blind pack system! I wanted to be sure I got a couple favorites and I DID, so it was worth it 😉

Day 2 will be continued in a later post. We did so much and it was barely 11 am!