Japan 2024 - Tokyo National Museum and Ueno Zoo (May 31)

Today we had to leave Disney, and head to the City of Tokyo.  We were hopeful that we would be able to get our luggage delivered to our AirBnB, but unfortunately it takes a day…. And we didn’t pack the way we should have to just leave one bag and let the rest come the next day so we had to think of an alternative plan.  After some discussion we decided to leave our luggage at the Disney Ambassador Hotel where we staying, head to our destinations of the day.

It was pouring rain this morning, and we had to get breakfast and Lola was not successful getting a breakfast buffet reservation.  Unfortunately we couldn’t get through the mall, so we had to walk outside.  We got soaked by the time we got to the restaurant.  We were all excited to try the McDonald’s at breakfast.  The manager came to make sure we meant to order a sandwich without the bun.  AA and DD tried the Teriyaki McMuffin.  They said it wasn’t too bad. Turner wasn’t doing too well, and seemed to be breaking out in a rash, so we stopped at the little convince store before heading on the train to Tokyo. The lady was super helpful and even had a children’s antihistamine and B an umbrella.

We got to the Station which was in between the our hotel and Disneyland. We talked to a person to figure out what tickets to get, and headed to Ueno Station where the Tokyo National Museum and Zoo were off of. 

Off the subway, and 2 happier kids, one with a map, other with an umbrella.

Once at the Museum we went around on the 2 floors learning about Japan treasures.  It was amazing the range of artifacts, and the age of some of them.  They had an arrow head from 3500 BC.  There were also many of the stuff was from the 4th-10th century.  We couldn’t believe how some of the stuff was just separated by you and a rope, and people respected it.  There were items in the museum that were Important Cultural Property  and others that you couldn’t take photos because they were likely owned by a private person or sacred property. There was art, swords, scrolls and maps. There were different sections that definitely had more interest of some than others, and it switched between all of them.

After we explored, Lola found a Japanese restaurant right outside called Yurinoki.  We had to separate but we all enjoyed our first really cultural Japanese meals. Lola had the fried rice while Adam had a plate of variety. The kids had spaghetti and sauce and pork cutlet, while DD had a bento box, and MbMell had tempura and Udon Soup.  AA even had some weird sweet bean soup, which has balls of white things that he thought was interesting.

We walked to the zoo after lunch where we had a great afternoon seeing the animals at the first modern zoo in Japan.  It opened in 1882.  Our legs were still pretty tired.  They have over 300 species and we did not get to see them all.  They had a large variety of animals. Highlights included a very small tiger, lots of interesting birds, 4 giant pandas, 2 polar bears, penguins and the most interesting small animal house, where we saw bushbabys, aardvarks and kangaroo rats that bounced so far.  B was disappointed we missed the Vivarium by 2 minutes.  We also got to see the baby Gorilla that actually celebrated its 2nd birthday today. An older Japanese man told us, and we saw later on a sign that it was actually May 31st! We didn’t have enough time to finish, but missed all the African animals, but that was ok.

We then headed back to Disney to get our luggage and try and make our way to our AirBnB. The train ride was pretty uneventful. Once back at Maihama Station at Disneyland Tokyo, we stopped for dinner. Lola found a Hawaiian Restaurant called Kaila,  that she was pretty sure she could eat at.  That wasn’t the case, but the staff tried really hard to get her something she could eat, and she ended up having a Hawaiian salad that consisted of smoked salmon, avocado and tomatoes. Everyone enjoyed their food and Longboard beer, even though we didn’t know we were supposed to use the QR code on the table to order,  it it all worked out.

We walked back to the Ambassador Hotel to retrieve our bags and go to the washroom.  Then all the way back to the station (this took about 30 minutes). Once at the station we bought our tickets and got on the train. We were to transfer and get on another train line at Ichikawashiohama Station, but once we got to the transfer the trains were so full and we each had a piece of luggage.  We tried to split up (2 adults to 1 child ratio) but that still didn‘t work to get on. It was way too crowded.  We tried for 2 trains and no success, so we ended up ordering a 2 taxis from the station and successfully made it to the Airbnb.  T slept in the taxi with MBMell and DD while B and Lola looked out the window the whole time, as we got closer and closer to sky tree tower.

We got the kids to bed, and unpacked at our Airbnb.  It is a very interesting set up, and 2 sets of stairs on 3 levels.  Our body’s are sore and going up and down the stairs is a little difficult.  Kids were happy to have their own beds in their own room, and the adults were happy to have a slightly larger beds and seperate rooms as we have been sleeping very close to each other in the other hotel.  We settled in, made a plan for tomorrow and went to bed.

 

Another full day of walking tomorrow.  Our legs and bodies are so tired.

Lola

Japan 2024 - Disneyland (May 30)

 B was pretty excited again this morning when she found out Lola had gotten another breakfast buffet reservation the night before. We all got ready and headed to DisneySeas by bus to check out the Oceano Restaurant in the Mira Costa Hotel. It was just as good as the last time. Majority of the food was the same and B was sure excited to eat meatballs and spaghetti again. Lola really enjoyed the beef shank and rice, yes for breakfast.

We then decided to go on the monorail to get to Disneyland Tokyo. This is a little different than we are used to, as we had to pay to get on.  The men figured out the 1 way ticket and away we went. It wasn’t the fanciest monorail we have seen, but it was still really nice.  A short ride to the other park going past our hotel. Before leaving DisneySeas, we could see the Sea of people waiting to get in, most equipt with and umbrella to shade them from the sun. 

Once at Disneyland gate, we could get into the Happy Entry line as we were at the Disney hotel and head close to the front of the line.  We weren’t sure we were going to make it for this Time, but rope dropping is always fun.  We made a plan as we waited for about 15 minutes for the park to open, as we were getting in 15 minutes before the “general” public.  We are going straight to Enchanted Tail of Beauty and the Beast. Since we had been at the park before we kind of knew our way, and many of the people were stopping at Space Mountain instead.

We got to the entrance and we were so proud of the timing.  On our way MbMell also got a priority pass for space mountain following this ride so we were pumped.  The Beauty and the Beast ride was absolutely stunning.  The rooms as we walked through the entrance were so neat, with the rose, stair case, book cases and my favourite the armed hallway.  Lola accidentally had her flash go off in one of the rooms, she was sure embarrassed, and T made sure to remind her about no flash photography.  The ride started in the kitchen were we loaded up in our tea cup, and headed through the story of Beauty and the Beast. It was just magical, dancing along through so many of the scenes of the movie.  I think this was many of our favourite rides now.  We still can’t figure out the Disney Magic of the Beast turning into a human right in front of our eyes.

Next we went to Space Mountain, where we got to skip the line with our pass and it was glorious.  And all of us went on this dark roller coaster even MBMell and T.  The ride was a little different than other space mountains we have been on in other parks, and maybe the best one. It is closing soon and not reopening until 2027 so we felt like we needed to go on it.

Next we went on Peter Pan’s Flight, a classic we hadn’t compared yet.  This one was a little different where you got to ride through the scene on the boat, but the flying boats we were on were very rough starts and stops.  No one really was a fan.

While in line we Mobile ordered at Huey, Dewey & Louies’s Good Time Cafe.  This is the best meal DD said he had at the park, and it was a mickey shaped pizza.  AA had an interesting sandwich that had egg salad on it. He said it was good.

It was pretty hot out, so we went on the Roger Rabit Ride where the queue was inside and not super long. The ride was interesting, but MBMell and Lola went together as you could spin the cars, and Lola knew she could hold the car pretty straight for MBMell.

After our little cool down, we found a spot for the Harmony in Colour Parade, right near toon town. We waited over 1 hour and of course right at about 15 minutes before T had to use the washroom, but thankfully they had enough time. The parades are so nice because everyone sits.  And therefore everyone can see!  We had a second row seat, and watched the parade.  It was interesting as the songs in the parade were all English.  It was pretty amazing!  We love a good Disney Parade.

We decided we were going to head back to the hotel to chill, but wanted to take some photos at the castle, and do a little shopping.  We forgot that MBMell wanted the Toy Story Mochi, but as we were leaving, Lola said it would be a good idea to do it now, so we entered Plazma Ray’s to order some drinks and the snack.  To our surprise they were 3 different flavours so we had to order another round to make sure MBMell could try them all. Everyone enjoyed them but T. (Well and Lola as she couldn’t partake)

We headed to a store on our way out, and accidentally lost B and T. As every adult thought they were with them.  The store was connected to other stores, and we thankfully found them in the first store, happily making a purchase as B had her wallet and her own money.  The purchase was really for T, but his wallet was with DD so he made sure to pay her back.  We had a little scare, but those kids stayed in one spot and were just fine.

Exiting the park we found Scrug McDuck, AA’s fav so we had to take a photo.

Back at the hotel, the kids played on their iPads, and the adults enjoyed not walking and each others company.

We headed to Outback Steak house for dinner, where MBMells non alcoholic drink was huge and the guys beers were tiny.  We were all happy to not eat Park food for dinner, and had a great meal.

Back at the park we went on Jungle Cruise to see all the fake animals, but all the corny puns and jokes were in Japanese so we didn’t get any of them.  It was similar to that other jungle cruises but not the same.

T really wanted to see the Electrical parade, so we found a seat by the castle and waited for that to start.  Due to weather, the show was a little different and no street dancers, but still pretty amazing parade.  The fireworks were canceled because of the rain coming. So we headed back to the hotel early.  The kids were excited to take a bath!

We had an awesome day, and are leaving for Tokyo in the morning, wish us luck.

Lola.