Bebpo:
VIDEO I'm back home going through post Japan travel depression and sickness. I feel like I found my place while in Japan, and coming home really bummed me out. I eagerly await another trip in the future, maybe one with not as much packed into it. We did so much during our trip that we barely got around to everything we wanted to do, but that's ok it gives us another reason to come back.
Not to bore anyone but I put together a little album of our trip. You can check it out here:
https://imgur.com/a/LDYQ2c9 Our trip was wild, first day we had to travel from San Jose to Seattle and had a layover there till we got on our flight to Narita. From Narita we had to go through immigration which was a first for us, we ended up missing our train to Tokyo because the name on my ticket wasn't correct, Thanks JAL. After that we had to book it to Tokyo to get on the last Shinkansen to Nagoya. It was such a blur that day.
Time in Nagoya/Suzuka was interesting as the Friday before Hagibis was to hit land everyone was uncertain about what was going to happen. Formula 1 ended up cancelling Saturdays events and we were forced to stay in our hotel as nothing was open. The combini's ran out of food and booze very soon after the rain started coming down. Once Sunday came around we had beautiful weather that sadly burned our pale asses alive. We ended up taking a train to Osaka later that day and you can see how fried I am with the Pepsi. I wish we could have spent more time in Nagoya, I didn't get around to having some Yamachan! (we get it once a year at a local Japanese supermarket)
So after all the fun had past with Formula One and Hagibis we headed to Osaka/Kyoto. We immediately went to Nintendo Live 2019 in Kyoto and it was awesome! The missus got to get her Animal Crossing fix and I got to be on the main stage for Ringfit. We got some merchandise while we were there and the missus even won some exclusive Animal Crossing goods and took a few pictures with some of the Animals. We then went to Kyoto city and that was just a mistake, the tourists and foreigners make enjoying anything there impossible. My advice is to not go to Kyoto honestly.
After we were done with Nintendo Live we just kinda wandered around Osaka for a few days. Seeing all that there is there to offer. We went to Den Den town, Dontonburi, a LaLa Port for the see through bottom Ferris wheel/Gundam Station/Shopping! We also went to USJ and had a freaking blast! I'd go out on a limb and say that theme park is one of the best I've ever had the pleasure of going to. Their churro game is strong as hell at USJ. Chucky x Hello Kitty was amazing to experience and Beetle Juice Rock'n'Roll Concert was amazing and just how I remembered it from years ago. We got to experience all of the Halloween Horror night experiences and my favorite was the Terminator experience cross Sadako, it was by far the most entertaining and unique experience. We even got to see a bit of the Mario land construction while there, you could see it coming together in the background. I think outside of Kyoto I'm all about Kansai life and the people there are just special. I could do without the Chinese tourists who honestly ruin a lot of the more popular locations.
But the funnest thing we did in Osaka was on the last day there we went to the Cup of Noodle museum. The missus didn't really plan to go there, but we had the time and our train to Tokyo wasn't till later in the day so we went. And boy am I glad we did, the normally reserved chicken ramen cooking class had a 2 person vacancy due to a cancellation, lucky us. If you get an opportunity to do this I suggest it, best $10 I've ever spent. They took us step by step through the history and process of making the classic ramen. We got to design our own packaging and the intensity of the flavor before going through the cooking process. We also made our own Cup of Noodle, because why not!
We later traveled back to Tokyo for a weeks time and got our feet on the ground. We had a very tight schedule so it only left us with a few days to explore. So we hit our list and went to Akiba, Ikebukuro, Harajuku, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ginza, Odaiba, and a few other places in between. A few thoughts on some of the area's to pass and some that I think deserve more time in.
Akiba: I was super excited for this place, but after going to Den Den town the only thing that was impressive was the Soft On Demand building and Yodabashi camera. I spent a few hours wandering around before becoming bored of the higher prices and overall touristy vibe I got from this area. We had fun golfing on the top floor of Yodabashi and seeing the Square Enix cafe which was all booked up. We did get our Ramen on here at this super spicy place that claims to have one of the hottest ramens in the world. I got my ramen Oni style and survived like a champ, the head chef gave us both a reaper and a highball as a "gift."
I think the one thing I was most excited about was being able to visit Soft on Demand and seeing the mirror truck irl. I got to meet several "stars" and got to view a live tapping which was unique. I was given a gift bag with a bunch of Soft products and a very special item from that tapping with a new star. Highly suggest not just going there, but planning a visit ahead of time if you are a perv like me.
Shinjuku: We were here for two things the Government building and Egg Slut. One of these disappointed the other was even better than the one we have in the states. Shinjuku is home to a lot of western American high end chains which we didn't see much outside of this area. We traveled through Times and checked out the park before heading to the Government building which was closed to the holiday, which we didn't know about. So a slight disappointment which lead us to Sky Tree village.
Sky Tree Village: forget what people say about this being a waste of money, we had an absolute blast here. I am a pussy when it comes to heights and this tower will challenge anyones height freights by a magnitude unheard of anywhere else in the world. It also didn't help that a 3.x earthquake happened while we were 350m in the air.... We got tickets for the 450m gallery even though we were warned it was poor visibility, I thought good maybe then I won't be so scared. Welp after that earthquake happened it cleared up and the elevator to that floor has see through doors! But once I got used to it, I was having a blast and the missus dropped so much cash cause each floor had exclusive Hello Kitty merch (they got us good.) We did the touristy thing of taking pictures and sending letters which is all fun and good, but we were really taken away with the view. We spent hours up there enjoying a few drinks and having a bite to eat, which was later deposited on the 450m floor which is some kind of record I think in terrestrial terms. All in all highly recommended and if you get a chance to try the Tomato juice just do it, the stuff is amazing. Oh and this is where I got to geek out at all of the Ultraman stuff!
Ikebukuro: Figure city! We spent hours looking through shops here and found some of the best deals in all of Japan or so we thought. A word of warning this place is scammy as fuck. A lot of shops claim to be tax free here, but they just want your information. They required us to fill out forms with more information than I felt comfortable with giving. Seeing as this was our first time doing anything like that during our trip I thought it was normal, but it wasn't. So be warned if they ask for anything more than the information given on your Passport don't do it. We had fun looking at game shops and figures and bought some, but I regretted it when we were on our way out of the country.
Harajuku: This place was by far the most touristy place that we went to in Tokyo per capita of people there. But it was great as we got to go to some of our favorite niche fashion shops and buy lots of clothing. ACDC rag was awesome and we got there just as a new line got debuted so we bought the whole line, cause why not?! If you stray a little around the main drag you can find some of the coolest hype beast shops in all the world. There was drops from dozens of companies while we were there and it made for some awesome sight seeing. We also visited a shrine while we were there and fed some koi in a park just off the main strip. Lots of fun for a morning but once it got packed we got the fuck out. We also witnessed how Japanese television films live on location in a busy location. Building up and tearing down sets in front of shops as traffic moves by, was something to see.
Shibuya: We were here for one thing and one thing only. To see Perfumes Reframe concert at the opening of the Line Shibuya. This whole event was amazing, first of all we had to get tickets which were by a lottery and to top that off we had to get the same day or we'd have had to go separately. Well I worked some magic and got us in as one of just 8 foreigners allowed per showing and we got amazing seats together, others weren't lucky to be seated together. The concert/performance was just amazing, everything about this experience was peak greatness. After we were done with the concert, we got back to the station and realized where we were and just laughed that we didn't recognize Shibuya crossing while we were there. In a fit of hunger we found an Ippudo around a corner and enjoyed one of the best bowls of ramen I've ever had in my life. It also helped that they had a gyoza that was steamed and put in a bowl like soup. We weaved and wandered and got to witness the massive amounts of people traversing this area and then we made a mistake. We went into Shibuya 109 and my wallet burned not even 10 feet into the damn place. The missus was crazy about some Samantha T purses and then I saw it in the back of the display area, my undoing in life. They had Sailor moon bags and wallets... Exclusive to that particular location and all but sold out of most I let the missus go a little crazy and get a few purses and a new wallet. I'm not gonna say no to something so unique and limited like that. It even came in their own special wrapping with Tuxedo mask, Luna, and a few other SM elements. But that wouldn't be the end of it, as we added more bags to my arms we ended up with a whole new wardrobe and more clothing than I think we traveled with in the first place. I quickly found the escape at the bottom of the building into the subway system and got the fuck out before more damage could be done.
Ginza: I liked this area, I was keen for a higher end experience and I wasn't let down. Even the hello kitty store in Ginza is posh and expensive as fuck. But for me it was about some of the best food spots I've ever had the pleasure of going to. Since our hotel was just a few blocks away we spent each night roaming around the shops and finding all sorts of unique food and shopping opportunities. It was clean and upscale, that was till it was garbage day and the Ginza rats took to the streets. Funny thing about Ginza is once you leave the main streets you see a glimpse of normal life. Which is exactly what I got when I had to do our laundry at a local laundromat. Best hour of doing laundry in my life I think. As I spent the time talking to locals and making new friends who would later help us out in a time of need. People here are just normal and while the shops might be fancy the people are just as kind and giving as most others I met while in Japan.
Odaiba: This place was fun. Not only is it home to the museum of poop, not shitting you at all it's at diver city and it a fun instagram place. They also are home to lots of unique little spots like the Gundam protector, Toyota museum where I got in a self driving Toyota taxi, and Joyopolis! We got to see a 4D movie in English no less while we were there since Joyopolis sold out of tickets at 8am the day we were there. Lots of shopping and one of the only stores to carry the coveted Hello Kitty Reebok's which were bought up the moment the missus saw them. We had a blast hanging out here and seeing things. I loved the Gundam cafe and got some merch, like a color changing mug all in all a good end to our open days while in Japan.
So that almost wrapped up our trip if it weren't for Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Sea. Which we thought would be a nice bookend to our vacation... Nope! First the ticket issue, they sell out days in advance. So you have to make sure you know which days you are going and if you aren't sure because of an injury you've gotta travel to Ikspiari to get tickets before they sell out which they almost did for our two days. They had just 170 more tickets for Sea and under 100 for Land when I got our tickets. Our new friends from Ginza warned us about how early the "fans" come out to the park, we were not prepared for the crazy "fans" that go to Disneyland and in a moment of desperation we got on the horn and got some early 15 passes from our pass holder friends, which I thought would give us head start to the madness at this park. Disneyland is stroller city, if you have a leg injury do not come here as there is limited seating and it is only for expectant mothers and stroller parking! I learned this the hard way as I sat down and was yelled at by a cast member to stand up even with my splint clearly visible. This whole day was a utter disaster and a horrible experience. We got to go on most of the rides we wanted to and saw the unique experiences, but it wasn't enjoyable. Thankfully we had teamed up with our Ginza friends later in the day and they got to talking to customer service and we got a partial refund which was awesome!
Disney Sea, just go! This is the best Disney park I've ever been to hands down! It wasn't stroller city like Land was and there was a lot of space for people to move around. Even though the next typhoon was approaching and dumping rain on us we enjoyed the crap out of this park. That refund money almost immediately disappeared in the park thanks in part to Duffy and his friends. Gelatoni is the cutest damn character ever! This whole park is must better laid out and has some of the most unique food options I had seen yet. A Demi glazed potato churro, yes please! A taro filled sweet potato biscuit that is shaped like a churro, hell yeah! We could spend more and more time in this park, but we had to get ready for the trip home and by the end of seeing everything there we both were just amazed at the uniqueness and quality here at this park. Oh and those strollers from Land, we found them in Ariels grotto which is hidden inside the mountain so as to contain the kids, amazing! Big Band Beat isn't to be missed and the King Triton concert is just awesome. Still we enjoyed USJ more for some reason...
Packing up we realized we bought more than we could fit in our suit cases that we brought, and we brought duffles to put our clothing in and get them out of our suit cases. So I had to make a mad dash to a luggage store which just so happened to be a mega donque in Shibuya during rush hour. With little time left I was able to pack us up and we were so close to being over our weight on our bags by .3 and .9 it was amazing we got out of Japan. That was till I went through customs, remember that shady shit in Ikebukuro? Well the Japanese tax guy didn't like what he saw and after a bit of back and forth on a translation device he just asked me to pay for the owed tax and I'd be free to leave. I thought that would be the end of my troubles, but getting back to the states we had to retrieve our bags and go through immigration where a picture of me was taken and I got detained for over 2 hours. I got stopped after the missus was passed through, but I didn't know I wasn't passed through as well. I had all the luggage with me and so I got stopped. Having to go through each bag took a long time and after a 10 hour flight you are just done. I was eventually let go into the security check with TSA where their millimeter wave machine kept saying I had something in my thighs and groin. So I had to yet again be taken aside and took off my shorts to be searched, I got my yearly exam out of the way. So by now I'm 3 hours in Seattle the missus has no idea what has happened to me and I get to our connected gate and our plane has been grounded due to mechanical issues. So we got stuck in Seattle for a night and stayed without our luggage and amenities till the weather cleared the next morning.
We got home, but we both really missed Japan after the end our our journey. We met so many people that were kind and so different than the folks we have back at home. So we started planning our next trip almost immediately and we'll be looking at opportunities in the near future that might allow us to stay there longer. We won't be back before the olympics, but I'm looking at winter/xmas next year/year after for 2 months. The missus will by that time have completed her 2nd official Japanese language examination, and might have some working opportunities while we are there if she gets sponsored.
TLDR: Japan is our new home and we love it!
