Day 5: Sayonara Tokyo!

Last day in Japan! As the doors of the Odakyu Departmental Store opened promptly at 10am.. we were greeted by bows and choruses of 'Ohayo gozai maz!' from the staff who lined up along the aisle (English translation over the PA system: Good morning! Thank you for visiting our store at opening time). Maybe that's how new visitors feel when they visit Hope Church? Except that we shake hands instead of bowing.. Ha ha ha.. Oh yeah.. the very clean public toilets in Japan were definitely worth a mention too.. some even had the works.. bidets with temperature control.. toilet sheet covers.. infant seats.. disinfectants..

We decided to try out the traditional Japanese bath at the hotel.. Jimmy took the boys to the guys section while I went to the ladies. It was quite an interesting experience to share an open shower area.. a common bath.. with a choice of hot or cold water.. and the option of baking your fats off in the charcoal sauna. Call it different culture or upbringing.. but I couldn't quite bring myself to abandon the towel even though I was the only one there.. what if some stranger walks in??? Hmmm... Anyway, after some last minute eating (finally succumbed to McDonald's but at least we had Ebi Fillet Burger instead of the usual!) and shopping at the airport (Royce Chocolate).. we boarded the plane again and headed home.. tired but very happy campers!!!

Day 4: Hakone

Finally, a relatively relax day trip to Hakone Park.. definitely more sitting than standing or walking.. ha ha! We enjoyed the scenery during the 1.5 hour journey on the Odakyu Limited Express 'Romancecar'.. the bonsai trees in quaint gardens.. vegetables patches (I think they were mostly radish and sweet potato).. cottages with Japanese tatched roof.. and it rained for the first time since we landed in Tokyo.

When we arrived at Hakone-Yumoto, we were greeted by rows of shops selling intricately designed products.. chopsticks.. bowls.. bamboo mats.. everything looked very tempting but also very expensive.. which was probably good in a way? Ha ha ha! Jared fell asleep on the winding bus ride up the mountain to Motohakone-Ko.. which we later discovered was bad idea.. cos he promptly vomitted after alighting. Fortunately, I had a couple of air-sick bags with me (that's what mums do).. and only a blob ended up on the pathway. Then lo and behold.. a grouchy old man appeared out of nowhere.. proceeded to pour a bucket of water to wash away the puke.. all the while tirading in Japanese.. er.. I think he wanted us to cross the road and puke there? In front of his rival's shop??? We apologised by saying 'Solly.. solly..' in our best Japanese accent.. bowed repeatedly.. and moved quickly away from the vicinity!!!

Next, we took a slow walk along the Ancient Cedar Avenue.. hundreds of years old towering trees that were planted by the Edo Shogunate in 1618. This helped to somewhat settle Jared's stomach before we headed for the Hakonemachi pier to catch the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise Ship.. sailed across Lake Ashi on the top deck with the cool breeze caressing our faces.. and landed in Togendai where we took the Hakone Ropeway up to the volcanic mountains.

We were greeted by the over-powering smell of sulfur at Owakudani, which apparently wasn't recommended for people with asthma or heart conditions.. tried the famous smoked 'Black Eggs', which we suspect, were cooked by burying them in the hot sand.. but to our surprise and relief.. they looked the same inside and tasted no different from the usual hard-boiled eggs!

We continued our journey to Sounzan.. and then downhill to Gora via the Hakone Tozan Cablecar.. similar to the one up the Penang Hill.. except for the modern-looking and clean carriages.. ha ha! To top it all off, we had a taste of the riding in the local train.. screeching and swaying.. back to Hakone-Yumoto town.

Day 3: Tokyo Disneyland

I woke up in the morning with aching neck, back and feet.. not exactly excited about another day of mad rush, walking non-stop and long queues.. but then again.. it's DISNEYLAND!!! This time around, we didn't boo-boo and managed to purchase the right train tickets.. hee hee! We were greeted by Pinocchio, Jiminy Cricket, Mickey, Donald, Daisy at the entrance.. and it was quite a feat trying to take a picture with each one of them..

We decided to start off the day with the milder adventures.. Pirates of the Caribbean (Featuring a very realistic-looking Jack Sparrow).. Jungle Cruise (had a very animated guide describing the unfolding scenes of elephants, hippos, crocodiles and Red Indians).. Explorer Canoes (counting 'itchi ni..itchi ni' while trying to paddle in synch).. It's Small World (which left the song ringing in our ears for quite a while).. Grand Circuit Raceway (Jared was a terrible look-backward and bump-left-right driver).. Pooh's Hunny Hunt (no wonder the Q was darn long.. it was so cute and fun!).. Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters (Justin was a better shot than me!).. and leave rides like Space Mountain till later.. if at all.. much to Jared's chagrin..

Tokyo Disneyland probably catered to 90% local tourists since everything was in Japanese.. the songs.. narrations.. theatre performances.. and the ONLY English translation was at the 3-D MicroAdventure! But no matter.. we had a BALL of a time.. and oh.. I owed Justin S$100 for daring to get on the Big Thunder Mountain (runaway train roller coaster ride).. ha ha ha! Bribery works??

Jared's Ratings:

• Splash Mountain*****
• Big Thunder Mountain****
• Space Mountain***
• Grand Circuit Raceway*****
• Gadget's Go Coaster***
• Peter's Pan Flight***
• Pooh's Hunny Hunt*****

Justin's Ratings:

• Grand Circuit Raceway*****
• Gadget's Go Coaster****
• Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters*****
• Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin****
• MicroAdventure!***

Day 2: Tokyo DisneySea

Crunch time today! We faced the daunting task of getting to DisneySea (apparently the only one in the world) via Japan's famous train network. Initially, we had trouble buying tickets from the vending machine cos we couldn't read all the stations' names in Japanese.. until we learnt to press a button for English.. duhh so 'sua ku'! Then we had to use the coins of various sizes (not necessarily in accordance to their value.. 500> 10> 5> 50> 100> 1) so we don't end up lugging a few thousand worth of yen in our pockets.. Next, was trying to figure out the confusing labyrinth of long tunnels and passageways (which seemed never-ending on the way back to the hotel at night).. BUT as we exited at Maihama Station, we discovered that we didn't put in the correct fare.. and ended up having to JUMP the barrier (which fortunately was rather low).. so now we have souvenier tickets! Ha ha ha!

Jared.. being taller and probably even more gung-ho than our previous trip to Movie World at Gold Coast.. wanted to try EVERYTHING and was upset when we said 'No'. Justin.. on the other hand.. was terrified of getting on the fast rides and absolutely refused to get into the queue.. as different as night and day.. haiz.. So, in order to be fair to both of them.. I went on the scary rides with Jared while Jimmy explored other stuff with Justin. However, I drew the line after waiting ONE HOUR for a ride with Jared's incessant whining 'Why so long?'.. 'I'm hungry'.. 'Are we there yet?'.. 'What time is it now?' Although the Dreams Fireworks finale was cancelled due to wind conditions, the water shows were impressive enough.. with huge floats, jet skis, kites, flags, drums, fire-infernos, dancing fountain, lights, music and fireworks.. and of cos, the Disney favourite characters.. Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Pluto, Chip and Dale..

As for food.. we had cold pita bread sandwiches from the Arabian market, red bean pancakes/buns, authentic Italian pizza and pasta at restaurant situated beside the Venetian Gondolas and cooled off with mango 'ice-kacang and Mickey/Minnie ice-lollies.

Jared's Ratings:

• Tower of Terror*****
• Indiana Jones Adventure****
• Aquatopia****
• Flounder's Flying Fish Coaster***

Justin's Ratings:

• Scuttle's Scooters*****
• The Whirlpool****
• Aquatopia****
• Flounder's Flying Fish Coaster**