Flight 12 of 17
Friday, April 13 – Monday, April 16 We arrived in Tokyo at 11 am, caught the bus to our hotel in the Akasaka district of Tokyo, then walked around the streets nearby. We stopped at an Indian food restaurant for lunch, appropriately called “The Indian Restaurant,” and each enjoyed three curries (pumpkin, bean, and chicken) while wearing bibs! With half a day left, we decided to tackle one of Tokyo’s two Disney parks (Tokyo Disneyland today, Tokyo DisneySea on Sunday.) After finally figuring out the Tokyo subway system (which included learning to recognize Japanese symbols), we made our way to Disney.
Exploring the Akasaka district of Tokyo
Disneyland Time!
Ryan & Kristen...eager to get in the gates of Tokyo Disneyland
We bought our “After 6 pm” tickets to the park. With 20 minutes before we could enter, we wandered through the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel, a beautiful hotel very similar to the Grand Floridian in Disney World. We entered the gates right at 6 pm. At the end of Main Street (here, called the World Bazaar), we could see the castle, and realized that other than the World Bazaar, this park was very similar to Disneyland/Hong Kong Disney/Magic Kingdom. We made our way around the different areas (Adventureland, Westernland, Critter Country, Fantasyland, Toontown, and Tomorrowland). We had a great time on the Jungle Cruise ride, which was narrated entirely in Japanese, making it that much more entertaining! We enjoyed the Big Thunder Mountain rollercoaster, the Electric Light Parade, it’s a small world, Space Mountain, Astroblasters, the Monsters Inc. ride (unique to this park), Haunted Mansion, Pinocchio, and a few other rides. Throughout the night, it started to drizzle, and eventually began to downpour, so we skipped a few of the outdoor rides, and grabbed dinner at the Tomorrowland burger place.
Lauren & Kristen in front of the castle
Yes, they really do have Curry Popcorn at Tokyo Disneyland
On Saturday, we all slept in, which was much needed! Of course it was pouring outside, so the first thing we did was buy umbrellas. We noticed umbrellas are like accessories in Tokyo, and our $2 plastic umbrellas didn’t measure up to some of the Burberry and other designer umbrellas we saw. We took the subway to the Ruppongi Hills shopping area and walked around. Then we made our way to a sushi restaurant where Lauren and Ryan enjoyed picking their sushi off a conveyor belt, and drinking green tea from a self-serve faucet at everyone’s seat! (Kristen had some rice!)
Where better to get sushi than Japan?!
We walked to Mori Tower—a wonderful place to get a skyscraper-height view of Tokyo. After about two minutes of waiting in an extremely long line, someone approached us and said we were probably in the wrong line. It turned out we almost waited three hours to see a pirate anime exhibit. (We must not have looked like the “pirate anime” types!) We made our way to the 52nd floor and enjoyed the beautiful view of Tokyo from the Mori Tower Observatory. We could see the entire city, including Tokyo’s very own red Eiffel Tower (called the Tokyo Tower). The city was dense, as we expected, with few roads and not much greenery. However, we were all surprised by how tall it wasn’t! At the 52nd floor of the Mori Tower, we were higher than most buildings! While at the observatory, we meandered into the Mori Art Exhibit, featuring the work of a female Korean artist. The art was futuristic, creepy, and the kind that might give people nightmares. Needless to say, we enjoyed the view of Tokyo much more than the art! Next, we grabbed dessert at a recommended bakery called Harb’s, which featured several delicious strawberry-themed desserts for the end of Japan’s strawberry season. Our one hour wait for the desserts was worth it! Ryan had the strawberry pie, Lauren had the strawberry tart, and Kristen had the strawberry cake.
Our next stop was Tokyo Midtown. After walking in the cold rain, our next stop was a Japanese version of the Gap, where we all bought hoodies and long sleeved shirts that we donned immediately upon buying! We took the subway to Shibuya, which to us was the first part of Tokyo that looked like the city we imagined. At Shibuya Station, we posed with the Hachiko dog statue. (You may have seen the Richard Gere movie about the loyal dog that waited for his owner at the subway station even after he died.)
Here, we crossed the busiest intersection in the world – Shibuya Crossing – a 6 street intersection that’s filled with people and bright advertisements (reminding us of Times Square). This quintessential area is the typical scene of Tokyo you see in the movies, and before visiting, it was how we’d imagined the entire city. After exploring the main streets and side streets, we finally found the perfect restaurant! It was referred to as Japanese casual dining, and the menu reminded us of a Japanese TGIF. It was like a tapas version of Japanese food, so we were able to taste several different cuisines. Each party gets a private room with a sliding door, and you press a button when you’re ready for the waiter to take your order. Thanks to Lauren’s recommendation, we all enjoyed tasting varieties of plum wine. And dessert (ice cream in a breadstick and green tea tiramisu) was surprisingly delicious! We grabbed a cab back to the hotel and saw that the taxi drivers really do wear white gloves. We also realized why everyone takes the subway and not the cabs ($25 for a ride that couldn’t have been 5 minutes).
On Sunday, we made our way to the Harajuku area. The streets were surprisingly busy with lots of pedestrians, lots of teens with crazy outfits and hair (which made for great people watching), designer stores, and ridiculously busy side streets. We walked a bit and then headed to the Meiji Temple Shrine park area. We walked through the entire park, beautifully covered and surrounded by trees. We got to the temple area, washed our hands before praying as part of the tradition, and then proceeded to the Shinto temple. We observed the shrine area, wrote out prayers, witnessed a traditional Japanese wedding processional, and walked back to the Harajuku area to explore the crowded side streets. Back on the main street, we had lunch at a pizza buffet. The food wasn’t great, but at least we had the chance to try four Berry Pizza, Shrimp Pizza, and Pineapple Custard Pizza! You won’t find that at Domino’s! However, we did enjoy the Japanese curry.
With about a half day left, we decided it was time to return to Disney to go to the other park…Tokyo DisneySea. Once we stepped inside the gates, we had officially visited every Disney park in the world! (That will change in about five years when Disney Shanghai opens, but I guess we’ll just have to visit Shanghai!) The first part of DisneySea was called “Mediterranean Harbor” and we were all very impressed with its look that resembled a very nice Venice. We soon realized how unique DisneySea was compared to other Disney parks around the world and had a wonderful time exploring! We went to the “American Waterfront” which reminded us of EPCOT, except with American cities instead of different countries. We caught the end of an Easter parade, and then took the Electric Railway to “Port Discovery.” We enjoyed strawberry popcorn, and the two main rides (Aquatopia and Storm Rider) which were both very well done.
Cherry Blossoms!
On Monday, we took the subway to Ueno Park to see the cherry blossoms. They only bloom for about two weeks a year, so we were lucky to be in Tokyo at the right time. We enjoyed walking around the park filled with the cherry blossoms, statues, temples, and shrines. We were approached by a monk who insisted on a donation so that we could have happiness. (So we can thank Lauren for her donation that bought us all happiness!) We washed our hands in front of another shrine, where Ryan was able to bang the gong out front!
View of Tokyo from Mori Observatory
Kristen and Hachiko: The World's Most Loyal Dog
Here, we crossed the busiest intersection in the world – Shibuya Crossing – a 6 street intersection that’s filled with people and bright advertisements (reminding us of Times Square). This quintessential area is the typical scene of Tokyo you see in the movies, and before visiting, it was how we’d imagined the entire city. After exploring the main streets and side streets, we finally found the perfect restaurant! It was referred to as Japanese casual dining, and the menu reminded us of a Japanese TGIF. It was like a tapas version of Japanese food, so we were able to taste several different cuisines. Each party gets a private room with a sliding door, and you press a button when you’re ready for the waiter to take your order. Thanks to Lauren’s recommendation, we all enjoyed tasting varieties of plum wine. And dessert (ice cream in a breadstick and green tea tiramisu) was surprisingly delicious! We grabbed a cab back to the hotel and saw that the taxi drivers really do wear white gloves. We also realized why everyone takes the subway and not the cabs ($25 for a ride that couldn’t have been 5 minutes).
Crossing Shibuya Crossing - the busiest intersection in the world
Throughout the day, we made a few observations:
- Everyone is very good at following the rules, whatever the rules may be.
- Everyone is very courteous, and they always hand you things with two hands. It is such a polite culture!
- Men have CRAZY hair styles, and not just the young men!
On Sunday, we made our way to the Harajuku area. The streets were surprisingly busy with lots of pedestrians, lots of teens with crazy outfits and hair (which made for great people watching), designer stores, and ridiculously busy side streets. We walked a bit and then headed to the Meiji Temple Shrine park area. We walked through the entire park, beautifully covered and surrounded by trees. We got to the temple area, washed our hands before praying as part of the tradition, and then proceeded to the Shinto temple. We observed the shrine area, wrote out prayers, witnessed a traditional Japanese wedding processional, and walked back to the Harajuku area to explore the crowded side streets. Back on the main street, we had lunch at a pizza buffet. The food wasn’t great, but at least we had the chance to try four Berry Pizza, Shrimp Pizza, and Pineapple Custard Pizza! You won’t find that at Domino’s! However, we did enjoy the Japanese curry.
Ryan at the Meiji Temple Shrine washing his hands before prayer as part of the Shinto tradition
More Disney Time!
About to enter the world of Tokyo DisneySea
With about a half day left, we decided it was time to return to Disney to go to the other park…Tokyo DisneySea. Once we stepped inside the gates, we had officially visited every Disney park in the world! (That will change in about five years when Disney Shanghai opens, but I guess we’ll just have to visit Shanghai!) The first part of DisneySea was called “Mediterranean Harbor” and we were all very impressed with its look that resembled a very nice Venice. We soon realized how unique DisneySea was compared to other Disney parks around the world and had a wonderful time exploring! We went to the “American Waterfront” which reminded us of EPCOT, except with American cities instead of different countries. We caught the end of an Easter parade, and then took the Electric Railway to “Port Discovery.” We enjoyed strawberry popcorn, and the two main rides (Aquatopia and Storm Rider) which were both very well done.
Just inside the gates of Tokyo DisneySea
We ventured to “Mysterious Island,” which is so impressive that you actually feel like you’re in a volcano. The two rides here, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Journey to the Center of the Earth were fantastic! We stopped for a snack…a Mickey shaped maple churro – and it was delicious! (Churros are great; maple churros are amazing; Mickey shaped maple churros are spectacular!) We then headed to the “Lost River Delta,” where we took advantage of the single rider line to get through the two most popular rides in no time: Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull (awesome) and Raging Spirits (rollercoaster with a loop). At “Arabian Coast” we sincerely enjoyed the Sinbad ride for kids, and had some Japanese curry for dinner. We walked through the indoor/outdoor “Mermaid Lagoon,” tried some caramel popcorn, and watched the fireworks. We then had a fun time exploring a random pirate ship and a random Italian themed area!
With about 30 minutes until the park closed, we headed to the Tower of Terror to see how it compared to Disney World’s Tower of Terror (Kristen’s favorite ride ever). The physical ride itself was basically the same, but the story leading up to the ride replaced the Twilight Zone with the tale of a missing explorer. After Tower of Terror, we explored a random cruise ship, stopped by the souvenir shop, and then finally made our way out of the park and back to the hotel. Overall, we were all thoroughly impressed with Tokyo DisneySea. The park was enormous, the rides were very well done and very smooth, and the story/buildup to the attractions was great. The different sections were so fun to explore, very true to their themes, and so different from all other Disney parks. As expected, DisneySea is located right next to the sea, which made the view amazing. We all had a fantastic time, and Kristen & Ryan would definitely rank this among one of the best Disney parks in the world!
Having a blast at Tokyo DisneySea!
With about 30 minutes until the park closed, we headed to the Tower of Terror to see how it compared to Disney World’s Tower of Terror (Kristen’s favorite ride ever). The physical ride itself was basically the same, but the story leading up to the ride replaced the Twilight Zone with the tale of a missing explorer. After Tower of Terror, we explored a random cruise ship, stopped by the souvenir shop, and then finally made our way out of the park and back to the hotel. Overall, we were all thoroughly impressed with Tokyo DisneySea. The park was enormous, the rides were very well done and very smooth, and the story/buildup to the attractions was great. The different sections were so fun to explore, very true to their themes, and so different from all other Disney parks. As expected, DisneySea is located right next to the sea, which made the view amazing. We all had a fantastic time, and Kristen & Ryan would definitely rank this among one of the best Disney parks in the world!
Elevator ride (i.e. Tower of Terror)
Cherry Blossoms!
The cherry blossoms only bloom for 2 weeks/year...good timing!
Enjoying the gardens and temples at Ueno Park
We left the park, wandered around the Ueno neighborhood area, grabbed some crepes for breakfast, then headed back to the hotel. We had lunch nearby at a Japanese restaurant, where Ryan and Lauren had soba noodles and shrimp tempura. (Kristen had some rice!) We walked around the corner and explored a beautiful park near Hie Shrine with an outdoor staircase covered with red banners and pillars.
Enjoying our last few hours in Tokyo
We eventually made our way back to the hotel and caught the bus to the airport. We visited two different lounges (United and ANA) trying all the fun, free snacks in each of them. It was then time to board our respective flights—Lauren back to Seoul, and Kristen & Ryan to New Zealand. So we said さよなら (“sayonara”) to Lauren, who was a wonderful travel companion, and boarded the plane to New Zealand!
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