[Japan] Tokyo DisneySea!

My family and I spent a day at Tokyo DisneySea. When I was planning our trip, I asked my family if they wanted to go to either of the Disney theme parks in Tokyo. We decided to go to DisneySea since based on my research, adults enjoy it more while Tokyo DisneyLand is more for kids. .

Tokyo DisneySea

And I'm glad we did because for me, Disneysea is the most beautiful theme park I've been to! Granted, I haven't been to many. But I just absolutely love its concept and design. There are several themed ports and the rides in each area tie in very nicely to the theme, making the experience that much better.

Beautiful scenery at DisneySea

The first ride we got on was Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull at the Lost River Delta themed port. It looks spectacular outside but even the inside was very artfully created.

Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull

We then made our way to the Arabian Coast themed port. We had lunch at the Casbah Food Court where we enjoyed some delicious and filling curry dishes. 

Caravan Carousel at the Arabian Coast

The sun was blazing so we headed to Sinbad's Storybook Adventure. This was such a pleasant surprise! The sets were beautiful and vibrant and the quality of the animatronics was topnotch. What made the experience even better was the song that played as we went through the ride. It was so inspiring and uplifting that I searched for it online after our visit. It is called "Compass of your Heart" and it was written by award-winning composer Alan Menken. It is also sung by Kenji Sakamoto and he has an amazing voice!

Exit of Sinbad's Storybook Adventure

Mysterious Island is another incredible themed port. It's at the center of DisneySea and the volcano that stands tall here can be seen anywhere in the park.

Fire coming out of the volcano in Mysterious Island

I love the drilling rig that was built into the side of the volcano. It really makes this area look even more interesting.

Journey to the Center of the Earth

There are two popular rides here that are not based on Disney shows or characters and that are not available in any other Disney theme park: Journey to the Center of the Earth and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Journey to the Center of the Earth is arguably the most popular ride here but it was under maintenance for most of the day. We did get on 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. I thought this ride was just okay but it was kinda nice to feel like we were going into the depths of the sea and seeing all sorts of scary creatures.

Mysterious Island

We had coffee and snacks near the entrance and from a distance, we got to see the Duffy and Friends Smile and Fun Show while eating. Before the show ended, my family made our way to the DisneySea Transit Steamer Line boarding area at the Mediterranean Harbor themed port. The show ended just as my family got there so we ended up being in front of the line. It was quite nice to see the theme park from a different perspective.

Duffy and Friends Smile and Fun Show

We then passed by Mermaid Lagoon. Once again, this themed port is very well-designed. From afar, it already looks beautiful.

Mermaid Lagoon

But when you get up close and see the level of detail, it becomes even more impressive. The people who designed and built DisneySea really did a phenomenal job.

Little Mermaid-themed mosaic tiles used at the Mermaid Lagoon

By this time, we were getting quite tired (it was also our 11th day in Japan) and my mom and one of my nephews wanted to head home. However, my other nephew still hadn't gotten on any thrill rides yet so we all agreed that he would go on one more ride. Journey to Center of the Earth was finally operational in the late afternoon but the waiting time was about 2 hours while Tower of Terror had a 90-minute wait. The best option left for us was Raging Spirits which had a 45-minute waiting time. I took my nephew there. Once again, this ride looked fantastic.

Raging Spirits

While he was in line, I went back to  the Mermaid Lagoon to see more of it, take some photos, and check out the souvenir shop. Once I was done, I decided to get on one ride myself: Flounder's Flying Fish Coaster. I'm not really a big fan of thrill rides so this kiddie roller coaster was perfect for me haha. The waiting time when I got there was only 20 minutes long so I would be able to get on it and head back to Raging Spirits to meet my nephew as he exited the ride.

Flounder's Flying Fish Coaster

We might have been able to get on more rides that day if it didn't rain heavily in the mid-afternoon. I actually took my nephew to Raging Spirits then and he was in already the queue when it started pouring. Unfortunately, he was still at the part of the line that wasn't covered so he got drenched. He decided to leave the queue and found me standing under some trees nearby so we decided to look for better shelter. I had our raincoats in my backpack so our upper bodies stayed dry but it was raining so hard that out shoes and socks got soaked. Definitely not the best feeling haha. (Interestingly enough, it rained both times we went to theme parks in Japan.)

It rained heavily in the afternoon

On the plus side, for most of the rides we got on, the lines were not that long. I also love the fact that 2023 is the 40th anniversary of Tokyo Disney Resorts. (Tokyo Disneyland opened on April 15, 1983.)

Happy 40th anniversary, Tokyo Disney Resorts!

I'm really happy that we got to visit Tokyo DisneySea. It is an incredibly beautiful park and it has a great combination of Disney-themed rides and unique attractions that you can only find here. Hopefully, I can visit this place again in the future.

Next: Hunter's Bar, a Monster Hunter-Themed Restaurant

[Japan] teamLab Planets and an Afternoon in Odaiba

Another great experience we had in Japan was visiting teamLab Planets. To be honest, though, I wasn't initially convinced that I should include it in our itinerary. I actually wanted to visit teamlab Borderless because I had seen pictures that people took of their visits there and I though it looked really beautiful. Unfortunately, it was closed (the plan is to relocate it somewhere else in Tokyo). My initial concern with teamLab Planets was that we would get our feet wet. I thought it would be such a hassle to have to take off your shoes and socks, keep them in a locker, get wet, dry yourself, then retrieve your shoes and socks before you leave. Nevertheless, this trip wasn't just for me. I showed the website and photos of teamLab Planets to my family and asked them if they would like to visit this place and they said they did. Thankfully, we did, because our trip here was awesome and we got to take some really amazing pictures here.

teamLab Planets

Before entering, we were given a briefing about how our visit would go. We left our shoes and socks in individual lockers before going into the exhibit. We walked up a gentle incline that had water flowing; I think this is meant to clean the feet of the guests. After passing the Soft Black Hole where we had to walk over huge cushions, we made it to the first main attraction: Infinite Crystal Universe. Here, we walked through a maze of crystal-like lights that kept changing colors. It was beautiful and made for great photo ops but I gotta say, it was a bit disorienting because we weren't sure exactly where to walk. I also had to ask one of the staff where the exit was to the next room haha.

Infinite Crystal Universe

We then entered Drawing on the Water Surface Created by the Dance of Koi and People. Colorful Koi images swam through the water and whenever people would touch them, they would turn into flowers. While this was initially the section of teamlab Planets that I was most uncertain about because it required us to walk through shin-deep water, it ended up being my favorite part of our trip here. 

Drawing on the Water Surface Created by the Dance of Koi and People

Next was Expanding Three-Dimensional Existence in Transforming Space. There were large spheres of light scattered all over the room that kept changing colors.

Expanding Three-Dimensional Existence in Transforming Space

The next room - Floating in the Falling Universe of Flowers - was probably my least favorite, mainly because it made me a bit dizzy. Before going in, you will see a sign that recommends lying on the floor to enjoy the images of flowers being projected on what seemed to be domed walls of the room. It really gave us the illusion that the floor we were on was slowly turning and moving upwards.

Floating in the Falling Universe of Flowers

We then made our way to the Garden area. The first attraction here is the Moss Garden of Resonating Microcosms. It had these beautiful align egg-looking installations scattered across the garden. (They actually light up at night but we didn't get to see that since we were there during the afternoon.)

Moss Garden of Resonating Microcosms

Finally, we made our way to the Floating Flower Garden. When I saw pics of this, I thought the flowers were images projected on a screen. As it turns out, they seemed to be real flowers hanging from the ceiling and moving up and down as guests walk around. The walls are mirrored, giving the illusion of being in an endless floating flower garden. This is the only section were visits are timed.

Floating Flower Garden

We ended up spending about 2 hours here. Since we were already close to Odaiba (we already took the Yurikamome line to get to the Shin-Toyosu station which is right next to teamLab Planets and the Yurikamome line goes to Odaiba), I told my family we should go see the Unicorn Gundam Statue so I could take a photo.

Unicorn Gundam Statue

Odaiba is an artificial island and our trip here turned out to be a bit of a pleasant revelation for us. I was originally thinking I would just pass by here to take a photo with the Gundam statue but we ended spending about an hour here enjoying the many different points of interest, including the Flame of Freedom sculpture.

Flame of Freedom Sculpture

We also got to see the Odaiba Statue of Liberty, which was built to celebrate the friendship between Japan and France.

Odaiba Statue of Liberty

The cloud formations were magnificent that afternoon and they provided a fantastic backdrop to the Rainbow Bridge that connects Odaiba to the rest of Tokyo.

Rainbow Bridge

I also had to take a photo of the Fuji Television Building, with the very distinct and unique Hachitama Spherical Observation Room.

Fuji Television Building

It's quite amazing to think that we got to see and do a lot at teamLab Planets and in Odaiba all in just a few hours. We also got to have some coffee and snacks at the Bakery & Pastry Shop at the Grand Nikko Tokyo Odaiba.

Coffee break at the Bakery & Pastry Ship at the Grand Nikko Tokyo Odaiba

Next: Tokyo DisneySea!

[Japan] Hachiko and Shibuya Sky

One of the most popular places to visit in Tokyo is Shibuya so I made sure to take my family here. Hachiko statue and Shibuya Crossing were already in our itinerary. But as I continued to plan for our trip, I asked a friend of mine who had just been to Tokyo whether a visit to the Tokyo Skytree was worth it. He suggested that it would be better to go to the top of Tokyo City Hall or Shibuya Sky. Since a trip to Shibuya was already in our itinerary, I thought it made sense for us to go to The Roof of Shibuya Sky.

The Roof of Shibuya Sky

While the plan was to just go to Shibuya one time and do everything there on the same day, we actually ended up going there twice. Our first visit was on our 10th day in Japan. We got there in the morning and we immediately made a beeline for the Hachiko statue. Hachiko was an Akita dog who has become a symbol of loyalty and faithfulness in Japan (and even the entire world). Part of what made him globally popular was the Hollywood movie Hachi: A Dog's Tale that was based on his life. Born in 1923, Hachiko would go to the Shibuya station everyday to meet his owner, Prof. Hidesaburo Ueno, upon his return home. Unfortunately, in 1925, Ueno passed away at work. Despite this, Hachiko continued to go to the Shibuya station everyday for the next 9 years to wait for Ueno until his own death in 1935. This bronze statue stands just outside Shibuya station to honor and commemorate Hachiko.

Hachiko statue

When we arrived, there was a line of people waiting for their turn to have their photo taken with the statue. Thankfully, the line was relatively short. Everyone in my family got a chance to have our photos taken with Hachiko.

Photo op with the Hachiko statue

Japan is actually celebrating his 100th birthday this year so that made our visit a little more special.

Happy 100th birthday, Hachiko!

Right next to the Hachiko statue is Shibuya Crossing. This intersection is famous for being the busiest pedestrian intersection in the world.

Shibuya Crossing

We then made our way to Shibuya Sky. My plan was to go up to The Roof in the late afternoon because I read that the recommended time to visit is right before sunset; that way, you could see enjoy the views during the day and in the evening. However, when we got there, we were greeted with signs that said all tickets that day were sold out! I asked the ticket counter if tickets were still available two days later, which was our last day in Japan. The only available slots were in the late morning to right after lunch so I got tickets for the latest available time (1:40PM). This meant that my family returned to Shibuya two days later.

Incredible view of Tokyo from The Roof of Shibuya Sky

I was quite thankful for a couple of things when we finally made it to The Roof. First, it wasn't crowded when we were there. This allowed me to take several shots of my family without a lot of other people in the frame. Second, it didn't rain. I could actually see a small patch dark clouds some distance away while we were at the top of Shibuya Sky but thankfully, we didn't experience any precipitation.

Dark clouds looming in the distance

It was also pretty cool seeing Shibuya Crossing from the top of Shibuya Sky.

View of Shibuya Crossing from The Roof

We stayed there for maybe 30-45 minutes, enjoying the views and taking a lot of photos, before heading back down. There are several souvenirs both at the rooftop entrance (which I think is on the 46th floor) as well as at the floor where you can purchase tickets (which I think is on the 14th floor). My mom and I preferred the souvenirs on the ticket counter floor so we bought several magnets and Hachiko-themed items there.

Hachiko Stuffed Toys sold at souvenir shops at Shibuya Sky

If you plan to visit The Roof Shibuya Sky, it is recommended to purchase tickets online many days before you actually go. Buying tickets online gives you a discount which you don't get when buying directly from Shibuya Sky. Also, confirming your slot as early as possible gives you a better chance of getting a late afternoon slot that will allow you to stay until the early evening. You can also book a roof seat and enjoy some drinks.

The Roof Shibuya Sky

Next: teamLab Planets and an Afternoon in Odaiba

[Japan] Temples and Popular Areas in Tokyo

My family and I spent most of our Japan trip in Tokyo. While there, we got to visit some of its most famous temples and districts. Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa is Tokyo's oldest temple, and one of its most popular and important. There are a lot of buildings in this Buddhist temple complex, including the Main Hall, the Kaminari-mon Gate (which is the main entrance), and the Hozo-mon Gate. It seems that Hozo-mon means Treasure House, and apparently, many of the treasures of Senso-ji are kept on this gate's second story.

Senso-ji Temple Hozo-mon Gate

Aside from its historical and religious significance, what I love about this temple complex is that it has a lot of greenery. To one side of the main hall was a peaceful garden area. I was very pleasantly surprised to find such a beautiful oasis in the middle of this very busy city.

Garden in Senso-ji Temple

In front of the Main Hall is a huge jokoro, an earthenware incense burner. Smoke from incense is believed to have a healing effect which is why several visitors who pass by often fan the smoke from the jokoro towards themselves.

A jokoro, or incense burner, at the Senso-ji Temple

The path between the two main entrance gates is a short street called Nakamise, which is lined with several shops. My family and I ended up getting a lot of souvenirs here, such as magnets, pens, and chopsticks.

Nakamise street leading to Senso-ji Temple

Another temple we visited in Tokyo was Meiji Jingu or Meiji Shrine. This Shinto shrine is located amidst a beautiful forest at the heart of Tokyo. It is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken.

Meiji Jingu

There is a relatively long walk from the entrance of the shrine to the main temple area but it was quite relaxing because the tall forest trees provided a sense of serenity as well as much-needed shade from the scorching summer sun. Several large torii gates can be found throughout the pathway that leads to Meiji Jingu.

One of many torii gates at Meiji Jingu

Along the way, we passed by a large display of sake barrels that were offered to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken by members of the Meiji Jingu Nationwide Sake Brewers Association...

Sake barrels

...as well as a large display of wine barrels were offered by wineries from Bourgogne in France.

Wine barrels from France

Another popular area in Tokyo that we visited was Ginza, which is known as Japan's premium shopping district. We were there on a Saturday and it was cool to discover that Chuo Dori, the main street that passes through Ginza, is closed to traffic on weekend afternoons.

Chuo Dori, the main street that passes through Ginza

Our main purpose of going here was to visit Uniqlo. My brother asked us to see if a specific shirt was available here because it wasn't avaialble in the Philippines. The Uniqlo store in Ginza has an impressive 12 floors and its own cafe! You can also customize clothes. We ended up getting a total of 14 items here, including my brother's shirt. 

Uniqlo Ginza

I also got to meet up with my friend Tim in Ginza. He's been living Tokyo for a few years now and he suggested we have drinks at one of his favorite bars in the area. Instead of giving me directions to the bar, though, Tim suggested that we meet at the Godzilla statue in Ginza. He thought I might like to see it and he was right. Naturally, I had to take a photo.

Godzilla statue in Ginza

Another famous district in Tokyo is Akihabara. I took my family here so we could visit Hunters Bar, a Monster Hunter-themed restaurant. (I will write more about this in a future post.) We also passed by Radio Kaikan. There's a shop at the entrance that sells a lot of Japanese snacks and treats. We ended up buying a lot of boxes of Tokyo Banana here for our pasalubong to family and friends.

Akihabara

Chuo Dori also runs through the Akihabata district so people could freely walk across the street.

Chuo Dori passing through Akihabara

Finally, on our last day, we made an attempt to visit the Imperial Palace, which was supposedly walking distance from our hotel. (It kinda was, but it was a really long walk!) I saw online that there are free guided tours and that same day registrations can be done at the Kikyomon Gate. Unfortunately, we seemed to have followed the wrong directions and ended up at the Imperial Palace East Gardens instead. Since we were already there, we decided to walk around for a bit and take a few photos.

Imperial Palace East Gardens

That said, I didn't want to leave Japan without getting to see the Imperial Palace so while my family was resting at our hotel in the late afternoon of our last day in Tokyo, I decided to head back. I wasn't really able to do anything while I was there but I'm quite happy that I was able to take a photo of it along with the very elegant Nijubashi bridge.

Tokyo Imperial Palace and Nijubashi Bridge

Next post: Hachiko and Shibuya Sky

[Japan] Mt. Fuji and Lake Kawaguchiko

When I was planning our trip to Japan, my Mom told me she wanted to see Mt. Fuji. I did too. As such, I did a bit of research on the best places to see this world-renowned symbol of Japan and Lake Kawaguchiko seemed like the perfect place. I decided to include a day-trip to this town located 2 hours away from Tokyo in our itinerary.

Mt. Fuji

The challenge of visiting Mt. Fuji is that even on a sunny day, there is no guarantee that you can see its magnificent peak. That's because it is a volcano with its own microclimate. To maximize our chances of getting to ssee the peak, my plan was to wake up early each day, check the visibility of Mt. Fuji via the livestream videos, and if skies were clear, we could go to Lake Kawaguchiko that day. (I planned our Tokyo itinerary in such a way that we had multiple days that I could switch around with each other.) On our first full day in Tokyo, the livestream at around 7am showed that Mt. Fuji was fully visible from Lake Kawaguchiko so we decided to go there immediately.

Mt. Fuji covered by clouds

My plan was for us to take the bus from Shinjuku. We arrived in Shinjuku before 9am and it took us a while to figure out where the bus terminal was. Unfortunately, when we got there, we were told that the next available bus would leave at 12:15PM. That would be too late for us. We abandoned that plan and decided to take the train instead. While on the train, I checked the livestream again and unfortunately, Mt. Fuji was already hidden behind clouds. Still, the town of Fujikawaguchiko where Lake Kawaguchiko is located is beautiful so I thought it would still be a good day. I also had a couple of activities lined up so I figured this trip wouldn't be a total bust. Our train ride took about 2 hours and it was around noon when we arrived.

The beautiful and serene Lake Kawaguchiko

My main plan here was for us to take the ropeway to the top of Mt. Tenjo where you can get incredible panoramic views of the town as well as a great unobstructed view of Mt. Fuji. Unfortunately, when we got there, the waiting time to head up Mt. Tenjo was one hour. We felt that it was too long of a wait so we instead walked over to the lake shore and got tickets to the sightseeing boat instead.

Lake Kawaguchiko Sightseeing Boat

The boat ride over the lake lasts 20 minutes. It was a relaxing experiencing, and while Mt. Fuji remained shrouded, the cloud formations were glorious and it was still quite impressive to see this iconic volcano.

Spectacular cloud formations over Mt. Fuji

We tried to go back to the ropeway after our boatride but the waiting time was still an hour. We also ran into a few more problems in the afternoon that prevented us from maximizing our short stint in this beautiful town, including the discovery that all modes of transportation heading back to Tokyo were fully booked! (I was actually advised when buying tickets in Tokyo that I needed to buy return tickets upon arrival in Kawaguchiko because they sell out pretty quickly but I forgot to do that because of all the chaos of figuring out how to get to Lake Kawaguchiko.) I was told that we could get tickets for the next departing train but we wouldn't have any seats. It was a 2-hour ride, which was quite a long time to be standing after a long day, but there didn't seem to be any other feasible option so my family decided to take the tickets. We ended up just sitting on the floor or leaning against the walls of the sections between train cars.

The peak of Mt. Fuji starting to become visible

It was on this train ride back to Tokyo that we finally got to have an unobstructed view of the peak of Mt. Fuji! Better late than never, as they say. Thankfully, I was still able to take relatively good photos even from behind the window of a moving train.

Mt. Fuji as seen from our train back to Tokyo

It was a long day with many ups and downs, and it was probably our most stress-filled day in our entire Japan trip. Thankfully, things got better for us in the remainder of our trip. And I'm also thankful we got to see and take photos of Mt. Fuji.

Next: Temples and Popular Areas in Tokyo