#jarea2014

The Happiest Place in Tokyo.

Today was a big day for me. I visited my first Disney theme park. I’ve only ever been to Japan and, the last time I was here, the park was closed following the earthquake and tsunami in 2011. Needless to say, I was pretty excited.

I’m not typically one for theme parks. In particular, I don’t like roller coasters. The only types of rides I tend to enjoy are those that involve tunnels or water. Luckily, Tokyo Disney Sea is filled with both.

We started out rather late in the morning, taking a Yamanote line train to Shinjuku, a Chuo rapid to Tokyo and then a Keiyo line train to Maihama. We arrived near the middle of the day and the place was packed.

Another reason why I don’t do theme parks? Queues. There’s very little value in spending so much money on a ticket and then spending most of your time waiting in a queue. Luckily there were two big rides that I simply had to try out; Journey to the Center of the Earth and Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Crystal Skull. Both involved waits of upwards of two hours but were totally worth it.

Journey to the Center of the Earth was great. Cool animatronics, awesome lighting as well as some great twisty, pitch-black sections and an fantastic drop made the ride for me. Pity it was over so quickly!

Indiana Jones was similar but just as fun. If you’re a fan of the movies it is definitely a must-try ride.

To top off our day we grabbed some Minnie Mouse merchandise (I needed a poncho because it was cold and I just had to have a purple bow headband) before watching the water/light show.

Definitely a fun day.

Such walking. Many steps. So tiring. Wow.

Today was a very long day full of walking and short train trips. We visited a few different places on the opposite side of the city which made for an interesting day.

We started off by heading to Kanda and taking the Ginza Subway to Asakusa. This made for a good opportunity to grab a Suica card to make getting around on non-JR trains that much easier (Suica and Pasmo are compatible now).

Asakusa, of course, is the home of Senso-ji, the massive temple complex. Kaminarimon Gate, Nakamise shopping street and, of course, Senso-ji itself, are a sight to behold on a busy Sunday and, boy, was it busy! At times we felt like fish swimming upstream.

We walked up Nakamise street, eating taiyaki and purchasing small gifts for family back home. We headed towards the main prayer hall, taking photos along the way (including one photo with a couple of rather drunk Japanese guys) and got our fortune.

Walking around the grounds also allowed us to grab some of the food on offer. If you’ve never been to a temple or shrine on a busy day, do it, as some of the food stalls see incredibly cheap and awesome tasting food that goes down really well when you’re hungry.

After we’d had our fill of food, we hopped back on the train and headed to Hamamatsucho and to the Pokemon Centre. I didn’t spend nearly as much money as I did last time but Tal spent more than enough to make up for it. It’s definitely the place to go if you’re a Pokemon fan.

Our last stop of the day was Akihabara Electric Town. This is one of the coolest parts of the city to simply wander around in, with lots of shops offering everything from cameras, SD cards, games and toys to cables, cases, bags and cosplay outfits. I also spotted a guy walking his pet duck…

We decided to finish off our day with some great food at a small place near our accommodation. We’re going to need a good sleep tonight. We’re off to somewhere special tomorrow!

Today was Ghibli Museum Day!

Words cannot describe how much I love Studio Ghibli films. They’re some of my favourite animated films of all time. Porco Rosso, My Neighbour Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service…all share a special place in my heart.

I visited the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka the last time I was in Japan three years ago. There’s a certain child-like happiness that seems to overcome you as soon as you see the Totoro standing in the box office out the front.

The building itself is wonderful. So many nice little touches, like dust sprites and such in the glass of light fittings, famous Ghibli characters in the stained glass windows and the giant Catbus (for kids only, unfortunately). It’s such a pity that you can’t take photos inside. The rooms full of the desks of animators, film cells, storyboards and exhibits on the principles of animation more than make up for it.

After having our photo taken on the roof and eating at the wonderful Straw Hat Cafe, we hopped back on the train and went to Nakano Broadway, just across the road from JR Nakano station. This is another one of my favourite shopping spots in Tokyo made even better by the fact that there is now a UNIQLO there! I grabbed a new black hoodie and grey cardigan (to replace the ones I bought last time I was here) before we headed into the actual Broadway building to have a look around.

So many otaku store, so much manga and so much gashopon! I had forgotten how much of a gold mine this place could be. If you’re looking for a cosplay outfit or figurine then this is definitely the place to go. Mandarake takes up most of the shops, including one massive store on the top floor that sells some very cool (and very expensive) vintage toys, but there are some other really awesome smaller stores there too!

Lots of walking done today.

We started relatively late, which was nice. We had to be out of our room by 11 so that our air conditioner could be fixed. The staff here are so lovely and apologetic about it we just wanted to help them.

After stopping off at the local 7/11 for sandwiches and water, we headed from Shin-Okubo station to Shinjuku. A whole two minute train ride. There we grabbed our JR Passes and scoffed some of our food (I hate eating on the street but I was about to pass out).

From there we headed off to Harajuku station and met up with a friend of ours from work, Rhys. We took the short walk to Meiji Shrine, had a look around, snapped some photos and then headed back to the station for a train to Shibuya.

At Shibuya we checked out the famous Hachiko Wall and statue of Hachiko and braved the crossing. I had forgotten how much I liked the area around Shibuya station. So bright, colourful, and full of people.

We went to the Shibuya Apple Store, bought some things, had a group photo and then parted ways. Our friend was due on a flight to LA and wanted to get to the airport nice and early.

I thought it might be nice to walk to Harajuku again, just like old times, so we continued up that street after eating at the cafeteria in the LoFT& department store. Once we got to Harajuku again we headed straight for Takeshita dori, my favourite part of the city.

So many shops selling so many awesome clothes, shoes, socks and jewellery! We headed to the big Daiso there for some supplies, I grabbed some kawaii earrings at Paris Kid’s and, once we’d walked the length of the street, we headed back towards the station.

After a small detour, I eventually found our way back to the famous Kiddy Land store in Omotesando. It’s funny when you take a look at the people that we inside that store; most of them were adults! I decided to get some cute origami crane earrings for my mum and an umbrella, which will probably come in handy at some point.

We headed back to Shin-Okubo, sore from the walking but happier for it. After a nap we went back to the 7/11 for some food (we were too tired to really go out) and retired to our room for an evening of Japanese TV (Old Bird was on).

That was one of the worst plane trips I’ve ever made.

Staying at the Rydges near the airport was a great idea. We ended up being ridiculously early for our flight after checking in, going through security and going through customs in record time.

The flight to Seoul was decent enough. Plenty of food and good service on Korean Air.

We also made our connecting flight without a hitch.

The issue? Horrible weather in Tokyo made for the worst turbulence I have ever experienced. It was so bad I thought I was going to be sick and couldn’t wait to be off the plane. I sincerely hope that we don’t have that kind of problem on the way home.

We ended up landing late because of the turbulence and were extremely lucky to make it out of the airport relatively quickly. We managed to race for a Skyliner, change at Nippori to a JR Yamanote train and didn’t get lost in Shin-Okubo.

We’ve both been pretty sick overnight. Tal is at least getting some sleep whereas I’m finding it very hard to do so. We’ve both been up several times during the night because we’ve been sick.

I really hope things improve tomorrow. Considering going out really early to go to the 7/11 down the street to get some things to eat for the both of us. Hopefully a bite to eat and a shower before a leisurely walk around Tokyo will make us feel better.

We’re off! Follow the adventure!

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