Day 10: Fuji Chobo No Yu Yurari
On my previous solo trip to Japan I visited Takayama and really enjoyed my stay at one of the Hot Spring Hotels over there. Unfortunately, our schedule this time was a bit more packed so we didnt have time to go to Takayama, but I had to go to the hot springs at least once so we found a nice nearby hot spring near Mt Fuji; Fuji Chobo No Yu Yurari. My partner was not too keen to be seperated with me and neither did the idea of being completely nude infront of strangers appeal to her either. Fortunately, this place had a few private rooms which also included a nice view of Mt Fuji in the background. We left our hotel early in the morning and arrived just as the hot springs open. The place already had a queue, but and I was worried that the private rooms would have been booked out, fortunately, it seems that the majority of the people queuing up were locals and they seemed to prefer sharing the communal hot spring so there was not a lot of demand for the private rooms. Each of the rooms had a different mineral/crystal that was added to the hot spring to provide different effects. We chose the one with coal infused into the tub.
I think we probably spent tops one hour inside, which was more than enough and we spent the following hours roaming around the facility, enjoying the recliner chairs waiting for a complimentary bus to take us back to the train station near Mt Kawaguchiko where we took the train to Tokyo.
After checking into our hotel and grabbing some dinner, we head to plan for our itinerary the following day. Our friend comes into the story once again and recommends visiting Disney Sea. I didn’t have high hopes for it after briefly visiting Universal Studios in Osaka on my previous trip since quite a few rides were closed that time and the remaining rides had ridiculously long lines, but we ended up being persuaded by my friend anyway. I presumed that the ticket lines to buy tickets into Disney Sea would be long, and after a bit of searching online we realised that we could buy the tickets beforehand at one of the few Disney Stores around Tokyo so we headed out in the night to the Disney Store inside Skytree, since I was a bit more familiar with this location. Ironically, after wondering around inside Skytree for a bit, we managed to make it to the Disney Store before they closed but turns out that they did not sell Disney Theme Park tickets and they told us that the branch in Shibuya did. Fortunately, the Disney Store in Shibuya closed a bit later so we were able to get our tickets there before they closed up albeit a bit of a detour.
Day 11: Disney Sea
In order to get the most out of our day, we made our way to Disney Sea before it even opened. We got some bread at the train station, made our way to Maihama station and caught a disney themed monorail to Disney Sea. Even though we got there early, the place was already over crowded with people trying to get entry tickets (we were so glad we got the tickets the night before).
First thing we did was head to Toy Story Mania near the entrance which I read good reviews about online. Unfortunately it seemed like everyone else read the reviews so we were stuck waiting in line for a good 3 hours before we got in. It was cold so my missus was not happy. The 5 minute ride shooting virtual targets while wearing 3D lenses was very children friendly (which probably explains why the line was so long). I did enjoy the ride but we were quite hungry afterwards, after finish all the bread we got earlier so we grabbed lunch before heading to our next ride.
The food at all the cafeterias had a very similar menu of burgers, chips and a drink and they were surprisingly good for theme park food. After lunch we reserved tickets for the Haunted Mansion looking Tower of Terror ride (which we just thought was a haunted mansion). The reservation was late past midnight so we walked off to the next attraction. the rides at the Port Discovery section seemed very kiddy so we started to line up for the Indiana Jones Temple of the Crystal Skull ride. This was another hour or so wait but the indoor roller coaster was exciting enough with sudden jolts and turns and boulders hurling at you, but not too crazy with upside down 360 loops, so it was one of the more enjoyable rides.
Next up was the more exciting Raging Spirits ride. This outdoor roller coaster involved 360 degree loops and being flung around. Did I mention it was outdoors?! I have never been a fan of roller coaster rides so I really didn’t want to do it but my missus insisted so I ended up on the ride anyway. I did end up with my eyes closed for most of the trip anyway.
The sun was already setting after the Raging Spirits ride and we had enough excitement so we did some of the more tamer rides at the Arabian Coast area. The Flying Carpet ride, Aladdin Merry Go, Sinbad’s Storybook Voyage( indoor boat ride watching the story of Sinbad unfolding) and the 3D Magic Lamp Theater (showing an alternate story to Aladdin and Genie) were all very relaxing, enjoyable and children friendly. It felt like we were visiting Agrabah in real life! We also managed to catch fireworks which was very Disney magical!
The 20000 Leagues Under the Sea ride at the center of the theme park was a little disappointing, it seemed a lot more thrilling but it ended up being a slow ride shooting undersea creatures. We really wanted to do the Journey to the Center of the Earth ride but the theme park was already closing so we did not have enough time for it.
The last ride we did was the Tower of Terror ride which was more thrilling since it was already past 8 at night so it added to the spookiness. I had still thought that it was a haunted mansion walk with ghosts jumping out at you but after being taken into the lobby of the hotel with a short background story intro into the ride, walking through the room to the other side and finally being strapped into seats in the elevator, did I finally realise that it was one of those sudden drop rides. BUT it wasn’t just one drop! We were dropped several times and accelerated up right to the top where I opened my eyes for a brief moment to catch a view of Disney Sea before being dropped again. This was definitely the most scary ride I have ever been on!
Day 12: Miraikan
We didn’t really have much else planned for Japan but we still had 2 days til we returned home. We missed the Science Museum at Nagoya this time so we went to Miraikan instead. I didn’t expect much but really enjoyed me stay there. We got to see the Honda Asimo robot in action and there were a lot of interactive activities including talking to a robotic surrogate and a virus simulation. We also rode this Honda segue which was quite fun and not as hard as the segues that you stand on. I don’t recall much else of this day
Day 15: Wondering around Ueno…
We didn’t do much this day either but I do remember having fun going through the street stands around Ueno when I first went to Japan, and I really enjoyed this kebab at Moses’ Kebab. Their kebabs are quite different to the ones we have in Australia. They are wrapped in a pocket instead and the sauce was also different. We wondered back around to Sky Tree for the evening to do a bit of shopping and Akihabara to search for some souvenirs for my missus’ brothers.
Day 16: My Last Day
We had our flight to catch sometime around the afternoon so we didn’t really have much time to do anything else. Since we were living so closed to Ueno, our last destination was at Ueno Zoo. I don’t know if its because I have been to too many zoos now or I was a bit tired from the trip but it wasn’t as exciting. There was a long queue to see the pandas but we only had about a minute to take a selfie with the panda behind a window. We did have our last serve of Takoyaki before taking a train to Narita Airport.
I was a little shocked at how far Narita Airport was compared to Haneda Airport so I was glad we left early to make our way there. There was also a bunch of delayed flights and the airport in general seemed a lot older compared to Haneda Airport so I think next time I go to Japan I am going to try to go back to Haneda Airport.
Justin Monogatari 