Melissa had a few things on her bucket list for Japan and going to Tokyo Disneyland was one of them. We went on our first trip and loved it and love them parks, so we didn't mind going again.
We lined up with the rest of the crowd about an hour and 15 minutes before it opened and knew to grab the fast passes on our app as soon as we scanned in. There were a few rides that we didn't want to miss including the Beauty and the Beast ride which is definitely worth paying for a fast pass for.
The park was busy, but not terrible and we got lots of rides in during the day.
Jalen was loving his cowboy hat that he bought :)
Or course we had to try all the popcorn.
Beauty and the Beast is the most incredible ride, and I knew it would make Melissa cry. I feel so emotional when I'm on the ride, especially hearing the singing in Japanese.
We didn't realise on our first trip that you could actually go inside the castle (we just thought you could walk through the middle of it, but it was all outside). It was so beautiful inside.
The light parade and lightshow at night were both absolutely incredible.
We had such a fun day and stayed till about 9:30 pm when the light show finished. Melissa felt so emotional and cried on the monorail as we left. I'm so glad we could all go back and experience it with her. We were all very tired, but happy and needed a good nights sleep after a busy few days.
On our third day in Japan, we left our accommodation in Asakusa and caught the train to drop off our luggage at our next hotel which was the Hiyori Hotel Maihama (near Tokyo Disneyland).
The train stations were never really that far away from where we are staying, and I don't mind walking through the streets with our luggage.
Unfortunately, the trains were often very full, and we felt bad taking up lots of space with our luggage. We didn't end up forwarding any luggage on this trip as it was just too hard because we were staying in Airbnbs rather than hotels (except for at Disneyland). We ended up splitting up between train carriages after a couple of trips, as we realised it would be easier with our suitcases.
We dropped off our suitcases at our hotel and then caught the train into Shibuya so that Melissa could see Shibuya Crossing and everything in central Tokyo.
We paid for a drink at the Magnet store so that we could go up to their lookout.
Inside people from all around the world had written notes and hung it on the wall.
We all spent a bit of time looking around Shibuya before meeting back up again, so we could walk together to Harajuku and Shinjuku.
The Nike store is so cool and all I could think about was how much Aaron would've loved it.
We went to Takeshita Street which we knew would be hectic, but we also wanted Melissa to experience it and I was keen to get some crepes.
We are very wary of the touts there (very big African men, who try to lure you into their shops) as the boys were lured in last time and we've heard lots of stories about them. We avoided them as soon as we saw them.
We always find the different drinks so fascinating. Apparently, this Pepsi has a high amount of caffeine in it - more than a regular Pepsi.
We ended off the day at Shinjuku which always has lots of people out and about, drinking on the streets. I don't mind visiting there, but wouldn't want to stay there.
The boys and Melissa had fun trying on glasses in the Blue Elephant store.
We all ended up getting different things for dinner. Kobe and I found a place where you could just order food on the iPad which we loved.
We then jumped back on the train for the big trip back to our hotel at Disneyland. It wasn't quite as close to the one we stayed at on our first trip, but we still loved it. They had a shuttle bus which we could get to the Disney monorail. They had a little station in the foyer where you could choose a couple of little treats every night like face masks, or bath bombs.
Every evening they had free dashi chazuke from 9:30 pm - 11:00 pm which is a rice soup. It was for when people were coming back from Disneyland or DisneySea. It was fun to put on your own toppings on top of the rice and broth and it was really yummy. They also had free drinks every night.
We had joining rooms in this hotel, and we loved that they supplied us with Japanese pyjamas and slippers. We were tired after a long day but were ready for a big day at Disneyland the next day.
Our second day in Japan started off, the way that our first day ended - back at the Konbini to grab some food for breakfast. It's such a cheap, easy option (especially things nothing really opens until 10 am) and the food is actually so good.
We had decided to have a sleep in but Jalen was up and about a lot earlier than us and went out exploring around the area. Once we grabbed our breakfast, we walked to meet him so we could catch the train together.
To get to the train we had to walk through the area around Senso ji which I'm always happy about. It's always packed during the day and lots of people were dressed up in kimonos.
Our first trip to Japan was in January which meant it was winter. We were lucky when we went as it was a very mild winter and it didn't really feel cold, but we were loving the spring weather during this trip and got to see the end of the blooming of the cherry blossoms.
We caught the train to Yokohama for a day trip, which was only about 20 minutes from Asakusa. On the way there I was looking up information about Yokohama and I read that it had the 'world's largest Ferris wheel' but didn't see the other detail that said 'with a clock'. So the rest of the day we kept joking about it being the 'world's largest Ferris wheel with a clock' and now we have a joke whenever we see something with a clock saying it's the 'largest ______ with a clock'.
Jay, Kobe, Melissa and I decided to go on the Ferris wheel (Harri isn't a fan of heights) and loved seeing Yokohama from above. Below us was a theme park, which we decided to go to when we got off. We tried to buy tickets to go on a roller-coaster, but they don't let you know when you buy tickets from the machine when the roller-coaster is shut, so we ended up having to get refunds for our tickets.
I'd heard about the Noddle Cup Museum and thought it would be fun to check out since it was free. It was actually very cool and had some great displays and things to do and see.
We decided to pay 500 yen (about $5) to design our own cup noodles, but we had to select a time to do it and it was about an hour wait. We didn't mind as we were all hungry and came across this cute little area where you could order noodles from different places around the world and it was all so cheap. I think each option was only around 500 yen ($5) and the food was really yummy.
The meals were small, but delicious and we ended up buying a couple each from different countries.
I still think about the shaved ice that we had there. I'd never had anything like that in my life, and it was so delicious and just literally melted in your mouth.
Once it was time to go and design our own cup noodle, we bought the cup out of a vending machine and was then shown to a table where we could spend as much time as we wanted decorating the outside with markers.
It was actually lots of fun, and nice to just sit down and relax a bit.
Once we finished decorating the outside, we had to take it over to where they fill it and we got to choose the toppings that goes inside including the protein, vegetables and spices. They then wrap it up and put it in a bag which is filled with air to protect it. We loved the whole experience.
We then walked to the Red Brick Warehouse which had lovely shops inside and beautiful gardens outside.
This is the kind of photo I wanted.
This is often what I'd get, as I would be telling off the boys about something, and they obviously all take me very seriously! ;)
We can always rely on Jalen to make us laugh.
Yokohama was beautiful and it felt very different to Tokyo, even though it wasn't far away. It reminded us a lot of Sydney being on the harbour and with all the lovely old buildings as well as modern ones.
When we got back to Asakusa I wanted to just walk around on my own for a while (one of my favourite things to do in Japan is just wander by myself and take in the sights) and was so happy to come across a street show that I saw on our first trip.
Everyone just got their own food for dinner, so Kobe and I decided to go and check out the food at the supermarket, as we knew they have amazing meals that are really cheap. They also discount them after 7 pm.
We ended up buying a few different things and some things for breakfast and the salmon meal I got from the supermarket, was some of the best salmon I've ever had and it cost about $7 AUD.
Before going to bed that night, I decided to go out for another walk by myself to see Senso ji at night one last time, as we would be leaving Asakusa the next day. There is just something so incredible about it and it blows my mind that it's just in the middle of a huge city.
I felt like we'd already done so much in our first two days and loved being back.
