Day 5... and we move into the city! GAIJINLAAAA!

Day 5 has our adventurers moving onto the city.  Jeff, Steve, and I packed up and left the Tokyo Disney bubble (Bye Tokyo Disney!  See ya later!) and we headed to Shibuya in Tokyo.  Funny thing is, we really are going to see the bubble again later since we got tickets to see one of the last remaining shows of ZED on Sunday, which is closing at the end of the year.  I've been DYING to see this and the show was sold out on Wednesday (dark Thursday and Friday).  We even were able to score the Resort Hotel discount package even though we weren't staying there on Sunday and shouldn't have been eligible for it... so we'll be back on Sunday to the bubble.

We took the train over and that was pretty uneventful (but I learned through advertisements that McDonalds had a KOREAN BBQ BURGER CALLED THE KBG) and thankfully uncrowded.  We checked into the Shibuya Excel Tokyo which is very different then the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay.  The rooms are your typical Tokyo-style hotel... it's very nice but small and functional.  The beds are super firm, which is what I like, but poor Jeff doesn't seem to like it very much.  Also, the toilet seat doesn't warm, which I actually miss very much.  It still has the bidet/shower thing where it squirts water at your butthole or vagina but I haven't had the courage to try it yet.  Thankfully if you wait a little the water will be warm or you can have cold water squirt as well... ick.

The hotel is conneted to the train station so I got to see the Crossing from above and, one of my dreams in life to actually see in person, the Hachiko statue.  If you don't know the significance of the statue, read up on it... but needless to say, ever since I got interested in coming to Japan and heard about this wonderful story about a dog's undying loyalty to it's master... I've always wanted to see this statue that was erected to pay tribute to this wonderful dog.  It's always been my dream to see this statue for myself.  Now while I only saw it from above and while we're headed to the station, as I was walking away I did cry a little... it was that important to me.  More on this later.

After settling in a little we went to a Yoshinoya.  Yah, a Yoshinoya... just like the ones in California but waaay smaller.  It was just a long counter that you sit at and the food comes out to you in like 30 seconds.  People were just coming in, wolfing down their food, paying, and then leaving.  The seat next to me had like two people come and go by the time that we stupid gaijins were even done with our food.  Tokyo is just so on-the-move and everyone is such in a hurry.  It's crazy actually... but time is of the essence here.

After lunch Steve went back to the room to work (he's always working!) and Jeff and I went exploring a little.  First thing we did was actually walk through Shibuya Crossing so Jeff can get me closer to the Hachiko statue.  Shibuya Crossing is the largest, busiest intersection IN THE WORLD.  I was amazing on how many people just went through the crossing... and it wasn't even that busy (I've seen pictures during rush hour and it's just INSANE).  I felt so small among the hundreds of people that walked across, and even diagonally, through that square.  It was just insane.

After we crossed we got to the statue.  The statue is actually the most popular "meeting point" in Japan and there was a bunch of people around it.  Unfortunately, there's a smoking area nearby so it was just thick with nasty cigarette smoke but I didn't care.  I did the tourist thing and had Jeff take a picture of me with the statue and I could have died right there and been happy.  Again, I am so fortunate that I could do things like this finally at this point in my life and I am thankful for friends to help me accomplish it.

After meeting Hachiko for the first time, we walked over to the Family Mart which is kinda like a small 7-11 (which they also have here as well).  Halfway we walked past a Krispy Kreme and a Baskin-Robbins.  The Krispy Kreme prices were INSANE at 200yen for a single glazed donut.  200y right now is about $2.63.  LOL.

After buying some stuff Jeff and I headed back to the room to rest up for Sayuri's arrival.  Sayuri is a wonderful Japanese national that worked with us at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge for a term with the International College Program and it was wonderful to see her again.  Jeff and I met up with her, and since we really had no plans, just wandered around the city.  We went to a four story Disney Store (it's not that big because all the stores here are really skinny and they just build upwards) that had ALL sorts of stuff that they don't sell at the domestic Disney Stores.  All sorts of plushes, items, stationary... I do need to go back and get some more stuff here before I leave Japan to take some.  We also went to an eight-story department store called the Loft and walked around in there.

At that time Dustin, a Korean national that lives in Japan to go to school, arrived at Shibuya after work.  Sayuri and Dustin go to school together and Dustin too also worked with us at the same time as Sayuri at DAKL.  We met up with him and Steve and then headed to Roponggi Hills to head to the Mori Art Museum.  After a few trains and subway rides, we got to the art museum that is on the 54th floor of a high-rise.  Now Steve, Jeff, and I knew there was an interesting exhibit there about the Metabolism design movement in Japan in the 60s that we wanted to see as well as go on the observation deck to see the city from that high... but when we got there I ABSOLUTELY GEEK'D THE FUCK OUT.  On the pillars and on signs... the Mori Art Museum also had an exhibit celebrating the 25th anniversary of DragonQuest.  FUCKING DRAGONQUEST... my favorite RPG series of all times and it was HERE.

Dustin and Sayuri were hungry so we all split up and Steve, Jeff, and I headed to the museum.  The Metabolism exhibit was really interesting... and we all concluded afterwards that Walt Disney probably got a lot of his ideas about design and stuff for Epcot and such from this movement.  There were a lot of similiarities.  Now I'm not much of a "stand there and ponder"-type person when it comes to art museum exhibits and frankly, I wanted to go see what I really wanted to see at the OTHER exhibit, so I rushed a little and left to go to the second hall on the lower floor.

GEEK'D THE FUCK OUT.  All sorts of stuff from the DragonQuest series history.  Everything from still sealed, new-in-box, cartridges to all sorts of concept art and stuff... it was awesome.  They had some game you could play by choosing to be either a warrior, fighter, priest, or mage and it was like a puzzle... which I could not understand because it was all in Japanese.  Of course, before anyone asks, I chose priest.  There was also this real-life role-playing battle session where people from the audience got to act out two battles like you would have in the game.  It was hilarious.

At the end of the exhibit you took your game sheet and hold it up to this word puzzle and tell the lady at the end your answer.  I looked at it, looked at my paper which I couldn't even figure out what you needed to do since I can't read Japanese, and shrugged and headed towards the exit.  I guess the lady saw this and realized that I was a stupid American and stopped me, apologized for stopping me, and handed me a button.  It's was the little pin that you got for completing the puzzle.  I thanked the lady and then rounded the corner... and GEEK'D THE FUCK OUT.

Merchandise!  MERCHANDISE EVERYWHERE!!!  Lots of... EXPENSIVE AS SHIT MERCHANDISE!  Yah, FUCK YOU TOO horrible American exchange rate!  I spent about 20 minutes there trying to figure out what I wanted to buy and then realized that with the exchange rate, there's no way I could justify $77 for a Slime aloha shirt. :(  SAD FUCKING SLIME FACE. :(

So I waited for Jeff and Steve at the bar.  Yah, they had a FUCKING DRAGONQUEST-THEMED BAR THERE.  It had drinks and food items themed after the games... and yah, they were in Japanese too so I couldn't understand what was in each drink.  So I ordered the red one in the tall glass... and it was gross.  It had ginger ale (which I hate) and it left a spicy aftertaste... it was weird.  Steve and Jeff finally made their way through and we reunited to see the awesome cityscape in the distance.

We met up with Sayuri and Dustin (they went to a ramen joint and then Cold Stone Creamery) and we headed back to Shibuya.  On the way there I updated them on what was going on at DAKL.  Once we got back to the hotel, they had to leave and Steve decided that we were going to go to a Karaoke Box.  Now, I was unsure about this but it's VERY Japanese and fuck, they had food, so I was in.

After four screwdrivers... yah, it was a LOT of fun.  We spent like three hours in there and had an absolute blast.  We got back to the hotel, making a stop at the Family Mart, at around 4am and crashed hard.  That is after Jeff and I were just laughing and being just drunk assholes for an hour or so while we were eating our snacks and ice cream that we got at the Mart.

All in all, FUN DAY.  I got my GEEK ON and got to cross a few things off my list of things to do in my lifetime.  It's been an amazing trip so far and tomorrow we get to see something that I've also wanted to hit before I leave Japan... Akihabara.  The Tokyo electronics district where I will GEEK THE FUCK OUT.  We're supposedly also going to a Maid Cafe (look it up) and then Steve wants to go to a bar where the girls will slap you (!!!) and a bunny cafe.  It's a cafe where there's bunnies everywhere inside... real life animal bunnies.  EVERWHERE.  BUNNIES!!!

I <3 Japan.  Can I move here?

OBAKE!

Day 5 Fun Times!

Day 4 Otherwise Known As Cleanup Day:

So we move to the city tomorrow and finally leave the Tokyo Disney bubble.  I had a fabulous time and yah... it'll be sad to leave.  I am looking forward to seeing the sights and sounds of Tokyo though.

... I'm on my 10th Minute Maid Hot Lemonade bottle.  I'm going to be sad that I can't get this in the States.  It's good and it helps with my cough/sore throat shit I've been hit with since I've gotten here in Japan.

Today I woke up early while Steve and Jeff slept in.  I went to Tokyo Disneyland and hit some stuff that I wasn't able to do... Splash Mountain (with all the effect WORKING unlike the domestic Parks!), Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (felt so much like home but didn't), the Enchanted Tiki Room w/ Stitch (it was okay), and the Western River Railway (think Disneyland or Magic Kingdom train but with no stops... even has Primeval World, which I wasn't expecting).  I had lunch at the Hungry Bear Restaruant which actually sells curry and not burgers and fries like back at Disneyland.

RANT TIME!  Okay, at Tokyo Disneyland in Splash Mountain they have an owl Audio-Animatronic WITHIN FUCKING ARM'S REACH.  IN FUCKING ARM'S REACH AND IT'S STILL PERFECT.  No vandalism, it wasn't broken (or fuckin' STOLEN), nothing.  It was perfect and working.  You can't even do something like that in the States because our a lot of members of our society are HORRIBLE PIECES OF CRAP.  Back home if they were stupid enough to even have something within arm's reach, it'd be stolen, broken, ripped off, vandalized... you name it.  It's really sad that I come here and see, once again, how we can't have nice things because our society just raises people to be disrespectful.  Case in point?  Snow White's apple.

I went back to the room then and thought that Steve and Jeff would have left for Tokyo DisneySea, but they were still in the room when I got there.  So after a little bit we went over to Tokyo DisneySea and saw Legend of Mythica again (this time from the fort which was a completely different perspective then the other day when I saw it).  I took video again so I'll have both to show sometime eventually.  Did I mention that Legend of Mythica is like a super cool awesome show?  Well, it is.  That show is fucking awesome.

We then walked around for a bit and just explored a little bit.  We went up and walked around the deck of the S.S. Columbia and went down side streets in Med. Harbor and I was just blown away on how much detail was put into little things that most people wouldn't even notice.  They definately paid attention to detail and spared no expense.

We also explored a little bit of the Hotel Miracosta...  that hotel is OFF-THE-FUCKING-CHAIN.  I also spent a little bit watching the Cast Members and what it seems to be their normal operation.  I want to take a few things that I observed and start doing some of those things when I'm working at my hotel.  It's certainly inspired me.

I took off back towards the room a little early since I was tired.  Today is the last day in the bubble and yah... I'll be sad to leave Tokyo Disney Resort.  The Cast Members, the Guests, the sights and sounds were just so awesome... though it slightly felt like home and what I was used to, it was very different.  I'm blessed for being able to visit this magical place and I can't wait to come back.  I'm thinking Spring 2013.

Cleanup Day Photos (Part 1)

Cleanup Day Photos (Part 2)

Day 3 at Tokyo Disneyland and random UTTER FAILURES OF LIFE:

Today's secret word is... OBAKE.  O-B-A-K-E.  O-B-A-K-E.  OBAKE!

Obake is the Japanese word for spirit or dead people or ghost.  It sounds awfully like BUKKAKE.  Which could actually best some up what happened to us today... and boy did we not like it.

It all started when we got up and went downstairs to the lobby to purchase Cirque du Soleil tickets.  ZED is the show here and it is closing at the end of the year... so we all wanted to see it.  Unfortunately, BUKKAKE decided to rear it's ugly head and made it so there was only ONE seat in the entire house available.  Fail.  So now we're trying to see if we should go on the weekend, since the show is dark on Thursday and Fridays, or if I should try to see it on my own on Monday before my flight.  Scary.  Damn BUKKAKE. :(

So we went to Tokyo Disneyland and also saw the Disneyland Hotel later that day.  Boy, that Disneyland Hotel is so beautiful.  We went to Monster's Inc. and got a Fastpass for that and also hopped in the regular queue.  After that we had to go to lunch to meet up with Steve and Jeff's friend, who had cancelled at the last minute, so we had lunch at some Hawaiian burger place at Iskipari.  Jeff and I had a hawaiian pineapple bacon burger set.  Steve had a major fail and wound up getting a BLT avacado SANDWICH.  Who the hell goes to a good burger joint and gets a sandwich?  Unfortunately, he actually wanted the burger but didn't say that so they gave him the sandwich.  Lulz.

We then went back to Tokyo Disneyland and tried to get a Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Fastpass.  Well, we would have if we got there 10 seconds sooner because right as we popped our tickets in the machine, they ran out.   Queue the Price is Right fail horn sound.   FAIL.  BUKKAKE'd #3.

We then sat down to watch the Halloween parade, "Welcome to Spooky Street", which I got good video of and will post soon.  Horrible.  That's when we learned a new Japanese word.  OBAKE.  Again, sounds awfully like BUKKAKE.  O-B-A-K-E.  They also had this weird Macarena-style hand motion thing dance weird OBAKE thing.  It was hilarious to watch.

We saw Haunted Mansion Holiday which was AWESOME.  It's just weird to see Disneyland's version and then see what WDW's could be (since TDL's Mansion is almost exactly like WDW's version minus the upgrades in the last few years) and it made me sad because WDW really needs Haunted Mansion Holiday.  Fuck the tourists.

We then got a waffle!  They have a place that sells Mickey waffles ALL DAY LONG.  I was in heaven.

We then went back to use our Monster's Inc. Fastpasses and then went to the Disneyland Hotel.  The Disneyland Hotel is AMAZING.  Absolutely amazing.  Such detail and it's just so wonderful.  Speaking of Monster's Inc... that ride is amazing too.  So much fun.

After the Disneyland Hotel we went back to the room for a quick nap before heading outside of the Disney bubble to meet up with Steve and Jeff's friend who couldn't meet up with us for lunch.  We went to like this dive Japanese restaurant but it was fun.  My first visit outside of the bubble though was this really kinda rundown shopping mall that was kinda scary but hey, that's part of the real Tokyo right?

Boy, what a long day but super amazing.  So many people dressed up in costume (one of the few times of the year during Halloween season where even adults can go in full costume) and a lot of them were really good.

Rant time!

What is up with Tokyo Disney Resort's merchandise situation?  There is like NO good merchandise anywhere... and all the cool stuff I had heard about (like Shirki stuff at Tower of Terror and the Rocky character stuff from Monster's Inc.) is all gone and replaced with generic shit.  Seriously, that's the one thing that I don't like about Tokyo Disney Resort... the merchandise selection sucks balls.  Total bukkake.

The Cast Members are so polite and wonderful though... they thank you for waiting even if you only waited for like five seconds.  They spiel to Guests in walkways and attractions, even if there is no one to spiel to... they are constantly waving at you as you pass by them on foot or on an attraction.  The Guests don't raise their voice, I didn't see anyone screaming at anyone else, at parades and shows everyone is seated and doesn't crowd around you, there is no flash bulbs going off in ANY show or attraction... it's like the Twilight Zone of Disney Parks.  I wish we in the States could learn a lesson from the Guest and Cast Members here on how to fucking behave.  Being here for the last few days makes me realize how fucking awful we as a society are... it's really sad.

Last day at the Tokyo Disney Resort tomorrow!  I can't wait to see the shit that I didn't yet and then move to the city the next day.

OBAKE Photo Album!

Day 2 in Tokyo DisneySea:

Full day at Tokyo DisneySea today.  After a semi-late start, we got a Fastpass for Journey to the Center of the Earth and then we went through the standby queue.  The lava monster looks like Magmaw from Blackwing Decent in World of Warcraft.  HA HA.

After that we got some Yukatan Sausage Rolls which was good... and I washed it down with a melon soda (their larges are not that large) and a apple tea soda.  Indiana Jones was down so we got some chocolate popcorn.  We went on the DisneySea Electric Railway to get Fastpasses for Tower of Terror.  The standby was too long so we decided to see the Mystic Rhythms show which was fucking good for a stageshow.  After that we went to the Fort and did this game called Leonardo's Challenge, which was all in Japanese but we still kicked it's ass.  Then Steve and I went to see the Legend of Mythica and that was FUCKING AWESOME.  I took video of the show so I'll post that soon.  We then we back to the room (Jeff had gone back to his room earlier because his vagina hurt and he was tired... oh yah, he's a Ginger and he can't be out in the sun for very long).

Steve and I went to Iskipari (which is like a non-Disney run Downtown Disney complete with drug store and supermarket) and we went shopping.  We got back to the room and I just hit the wall... I was so tired.  We took a nap for an hour and then we got up to go see FANTASMIC!.

O.M.G.  FANTASMIC! was FUCKING AWFUL.  Steve Davidson, what did you do?  World of Color was so AMAZING and this was absolutely AWFUL.  Honestly, I think Florida's FANTASMIC! was better.  HOLY SHIT.  Just kidding, they both are FUCKING AWFUL.

AFter that we went to use all of our Fastpasses starting with Tower of Terror.  I loved it and the queue (like all the other queues) are great.  Then at Indiana Jones, Steve and Jeff got "WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH!!!"ed by the Cast Member checking Fastpasses because all of ours we like HOURS after the time we were supposed to use it.  I guess in Japan they can and have denied people coming back after their return time ended.  Indiana Jones felt like home and it made me miss working the attraction.  We then went back to Journey to the Center of the Earth and then left DisneySea.

Everything closes at like 11pm at the hotel so Steve and I ordered room service.  We had kasudon, however I didn't realize it had egg so literally I spent like $30 for rice and miso.  Ugh.  I couldn't scrap enough egg off and egg grosses me out.

So we're going to Tokyo Disneyland tomorrow bright and early... hopefully I can get enough sleep and I won't hit the wall halfway through the day like I did today.

Oh yah, yesterday going through Customs the agent asked me where I was going and I told him Tokyo Disney.  He then took a good look at me and asked, "Do you work for Disney?".  Mind you, I wasn't wearing ANY Disney apparel at all.  I guess I just have that fucking Disney magic aura or something.  Jeff is laughing and making fun of me right now... but he's a Ginger and he has no soul anyways so it doesn't matter.

Until next time!

Day 2 Photo Album!

SoCal & Day 1 in Tokyo, Japan:

Good lord... after all the stress of moving into a new (though temporary) place and then two days later coming out for BlizzCon only to then head out to Tokyo, it was damned worth it.  BlizzCon was a blast this year and I even got to hang out with some old friends to celebrate with lunch at Club 33 for their 25th wedding anniversary.  I went on Little Mermaid (SUPER AWESOME!), Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, Ghost Galaxy, and Haunted Mansion Holiday while I was there as well.

The flight out to Tokyo wasn't too bad, though I had this older Korean gentleman that either didn't realize it's a TOUCHSCREEN in front of him and not actual push buttons or he was just kicking my seat.  I wanted to yell at him in Korean but I didn't.

We arrival into the airport was long and man, where there a LOT of people!  Holy crap.  We bought our train tickets into the city and just chatted.  The N'ex is awesome.  The seats move so two rows can face each other and there's a vendor girl in there with drinks and snacks and stuff.  45 minutes later we were in Tokyo station and geeze, even MORE people.  AN INSANE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE.  We had to transfer to another line which was a pretty long walk to get to Maihama station, which is where Tokyo Disney Resort is at.  All in all, I think it took like two hours or so.

We checked into the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay which is off-the-hook and get this, they have a Disney Cruiser Bus that takes you from the monorail station to the hotel... which is RIGHT ACCROSS THE STREET.  It was like a minute ride and would have been like a three minute walk, but they have a flippin' bus that runs if you don't want to walk.  We dropped off our stuff in the room, had enough time to take pictures of the bidet/heated seat toilet (it's nice!) and we bolted back to the Tokyo Disney Line (their monorail that you pay for) to get to Tokyo DisneySea for a few hours.

OMG.  The details EVERYWHERE were just absolutely amazing.  Even things like the monorail platform and the station... the details everywhere were just mind-blowing.  When I walked into DisneySea and saw the huge globe that graces their entryway... I literally cried.  I've always wanted to come to Japan and see Tokyo Disney and I'm finally here.  I didn't take a lot of pictures because we only had a few hours but today I will.  Folks were waiting for FANTASMIC! but even then lines were still long at the major attractions.

The detail, the sights, the smells... the sheer amount of people was absolutely mind-blowing.  The details everywhere, like the outside, were just awesome.  I couldn't even believe how awesome everything was.  That night we hit 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (which I thought was a walk-through display attraction BUT IT WAS A FLIPPIN' AWESOME DARK RIDE), Sinbad, StormChasers, Aquatopia, and the ferry ride back to the entrance.  We had a gyoza sausage roll (you know the one, the one with the pictures with like the two hour line or whatever for a outdoor vending cart!) which only took like five minutes.  They are SO efficient here... even on a short line they had someone in front taking orders and it was all like clockwork it was rediculous.

I saw like four popcorn carts (black pepper, curry, caramel, and strawberry) while I was here but didn't try any of them.  Maybe today I'll sample a few.

After the Park closed we went to the hotel bar and had a few drinks... two (very strong) screwdrivers and I was out for the night.  I feel pretty good right now.

Going back to DisneySea today so it should be very cool.  Will take pictures and the like today (maybe some video with my PlaySport).  I still can't believe I'm actually here and it's a dream come true.  I am so thankful for my friends Jeff and Steve and that they would be willing to let me tag along and for other stuff... and I can't thank them enough.  I'd never be able to do this on my own so it's nice to have friends that can show me around.  Thank GOD I didn't have to navigate the airport and train stations by myself like I was originally supposed to.

Day 2 here in Tokyo, Japan awaits!  Now to just get Jeff out of bed.

BlizzCon 2011 (didn't take much)

Club 33 / Trader Sam's / Disneyland Hotel

Arrival in Tokyo and a Few Hours at Tokyo DisneySea