Better Late Than Never - A Tokyo Disney (And Japan) February 2019 Report (Updated 18th April - Arashiyama & The Temples!)

[grayquaza]

So with the fortress done and dusted, I got on my way to JTTCOTE. Thankfully, it was just across from the fortress so no hurrying! I was a little surprised that it was up and running considering all of the rain. JTTCOTE uses the same ride technology as Test Track, and that closes when there's even a slight risk of rain. Though I suppose you do reach 65mph on TT, and you're outside for longer as well... Anyway! It was another thrilling journey through the volcano, and also my last time riding it!

As I came off JTTCOTE, I was pondering what to do next. I walked around the rim of Mysterious Island, and suddenly spied a sign for something called a gyoza dog. I'd heard it was one of the more popular snacks in TDS and I had no idea where it was being sold. So it was lucky that I came across it. Turns out it was being sold at a snack stand that was underneath that main area of Mysterious Island, down an easily missed set of stairs. It also took you down to an observation deck for the Nautilus, which I was also wondering how to get to. So it pays to be observant!

It was a small space with maybe a dozen tables at most? There was no queue at the stand so I got the gyoza dog alongside a cup of green tea and snagged the last available table. My luck had suddenly turned, despite the rain, since not even 5 minutes after sitting down, the snack stand was suddenly rammed with people!

It came in this cute 35th anniversary packaging.

And here's the main star. It's a little unassuming but it's packed with flavour. Despite the name, it's just a long gyoza with a pork and vegetable filling. I definitely understood the hype, it was pretty great!

Of course, here's the Nautilus. Unfortunately it's simply a prop, so you can't go inside like the one they have in Disneyland Paris. But it's a good looking prop nevertheless. It's also pretty difficult to get a good picture of it!

I also found another Golden Mickey, this one is holding a jellyfish in a tank.

After my little trip downstairs, I took my usual route over to Port Discovery. There was a queue for the Nemo SeaRiders but no queue at all for Aquatopia. Can you believe it? So of course, against better judgement, I got on it in the rain! It was wet, to say the least.

Now to break tradition, I actually took a left instead of a right and walked over to the American Waterfront. This land is pretty expansive and split in two areas. There's the part I'd already been to themed to New York. The other part that I walked into was themed around Cape Cod, and the only part of the park I hadn't already visited. It's also the home of Duffy and friends. I'm sure you all know how popular they are in Tokyo by now, so no need to elaborate.

Ah, Cape Cod. Famously known to be in the shadows of an active volcano. Judging by the amount of umbrellas floating about, it was a little busy here.

Alongside the Pixar Playtime event that was happening, there was also a Duffy event going on called Duffy's Heartwarming Days. Other than a few limited menu items, this was mostly contained to the Cape Cod area, and thus my first time seeing anything about it. I think it was mostly something cooked up to sell merchandise, honestly!

While taking pictures here, a couple asked if I could take their photo, and of course I obliged. Then they asked if I wanted a picture myself. I declined since I can't say I cared for the photo spot. Although looking back now, it'd be nice to have had a proper photo of myself that wasn't a selfie!

This was a cute sign. The shop itself was busy and filled to the brim with Duffy merchandise. While I'm ambivalent to the bear, I was warming up to a little green cat called Gelatoni and I did consider getting a small toy. However, I think I may have told myself to do it later, which is never a good idea! So yeah, no Gelatoni to call my own...

You may recognise this statue as the same one they have on board the Disney Magic. AKA the only DCL ship I've been on. So that was a fun connection for me!

Speaking of statues of Mickey Mouse, there's also a golden fisherman Mickey around!

By this point, I'd already covered what I wanted in Cape Cod. Honestly, there wasn't much of interest to me in this area of the park. Which is probably why I'd waited until the last day to even see it. There is a Duffy & Friends show attached to a counter service restaurant called Cape Cod Cook-Off, but you have to purchase some food if you want to watch it. Since I'd already eaten, and there was actually a queue to even get in, I didn't bother. Instead, I followed the bridge over to the New York section of American Waterfront.

 

[Jabroniville]

Haha yeah, Cape Cod is pretty forgettable. I remember climbing up to a lighthouse or something and that’s it. Okay scenery but pretty plain. I wonder if they just had limited space right there and needed something small?

 

[grayquaza]

Haha yeah, Cape Cod is pretty forgettable. I remember climbing up to a lighthouse or something and that’s it. Okay scenery but pretty plain. I wonder if they just had limited space right there and needed something small?

There is indeed a lighthouse that I think I also climbed up to. But not actually inside, I don't think it was open. It would be nice to know a little more about the history & development of the Tokyo parks. I'm sure there's a YouTube documentary somewhere!

 

[grayquaza]

Once on the New York side of American Waterfront, I'm pretty sure I went straight to the SS Columbia. I was hoping to visit the Teddy Roosevelt Lounge but there was a small queue to get in. Considering I only wanted to take a look inside and not actually stop for a drink (I don't even drink alcohol so a bar isn't the best place for me!), I decided to move on.

Off of the ship, I noticed one of the popcorn stands had no queue which was a peculiar sight! So I made a bee-line for it. Again, none of the popcorn buckets at this stand excited me. The popcorn was pretty exciting though. For some reason, I had it in my head that it'd be blueberry. So I was surprised when I was given strawberry instead. But not a bad surprise, it was pretty tasty! A bit like a strawberry milkshake. I looked for somewhere to rest out of the rain, which I think was under some awnings near the Tower of Terror.

While I was in the area, I thought I'd pop into the attached shop. There was a lot of ToT related merchandise, as you'd expect. And also these elephants? They were the only pictures I took inside the store, go figure.

On the way out, I passed the FP machines and I did the unthinkable for me, I got a FP for ToT with "full intention" of getting on the ride! Or at least checking out the queue... It wouldn't come up until the evening so I had some time to think about it.

From here, I popped over to the Toy Story Mania section of the park. This has been a handy picture for me, since the timestamp on all my pictures is in Greenwich Mean Time instead of Japan Standard Time (plus a superfluous 17 minutes...) so having a clock helped me figure out when I did everything!

The queue was massive and there were no FP left (not that it mattered since I couldn't get one now!). But it was a cute little area. There's a tiny area called Carnival Corral with a few little activities. There are funhouse mirrors, a diorama with handles you can turn to make things happen, and some sort of game where you run on the spot as fast as you can to get a rating. Nothing ground-breaking.

Normally I'd share a video but other than the boardwalk style exterior, and maybe the queue, the ride's exactly the same as elsewhere. Besides,3D screens do not look that good when recorded!

Outside of Toyville, you can find this fancy looking area. Right behind this lovely fountain, you'll find some restrooms!

In the courtyard in front of ToT, there were these little games set up for the Pixar Playtime event. This one was a ring toss. I don't think the screen on the spelling thing actually did anything, you just hooped whichever letter you could. I don't think I did that well! Afterwards, you gathered all the hoops and put them aside for the next player. Common courtesy and all that, but I don't think you'd see that at the American parks.

There was also a Cars game, which involved remote control cars, I think? Not like Scalextric, I don't think... It's been nearly 3 years and I only watched a couple of kids play it without giving it a try myself!

From here, I decided I would walk back to the Cape Cod area to get on one of the boats. On the way, I remember looking around the docks next to the bridge. There were lots of crates and cargo for "atmosphere" but the rain had picked up, so my camera was tucked away in my bag at this point!

The boat can be caught from the same area as where Duffy meets guests. It goes around past Port Discovery and stops at Lost River Delta. A different journey to the one I'd done the previous two evenings.

Another view of Cape Cod and Mount Prometheus. There's still a long queue at the Cookout! I believe that blueish building on the right is where the docks for the boat could be found?

Now here's a mystery... While I definitely got off the boat at LRD, since they disembark everyone at each stop, the next two pictures in my camera roll are from the Cape Cod area. Did I go back? If I did, why? There's only 11 minutes in-between shots as well so I literally must have backtracked for some reason!

Gelatoni, my beloved...

And then back to Lost River Delta! I think my camera must have messed up somehow...

Anyway! This is a special picture for me. Every time I'd walk past this drink stand, I'd stop in my tracks and think, "Hidden Mickey!" See it? Right in the middle... Now, I doubt it's an official one since you can only see it from that spot, but I had to get a picture of it to commemorate the moment.

And here's a not-so-hidden Mickey. It's also the last golden Mickey statue I took a photo of!

From this point on, I put my camera away. It was just too wet to keep it out all the time, even if I was missing out on some good shots! Given my location, I imagine I rode Indiana Jones Adventure, and Sinbad once again. My two favs! And also Raging Spirits was there too, I guess! I circled back to Mediterranean Harbor and stopped in one of the shops to browse. It was getting time to be serious about souvenirs. I don't think I bought anything, however. Saving it all up for nearer the end of the day. After this, it was around 1:30pm so I decided it was time to head over to Tokyo Disneyland. But before that, I decided to swing by the MiraCosta again. Anything to keep dry for a little while!

But don't worry, I would be back in DisneySea later on to give it a proper send-off. For now, how's about a video that gives you a walkthrough of TDS, to really help acquaint you with the park and all its little nooks and crannys. You can finally get a sense of where everything is!

 

[Jabroniville]

Neat stuff! I was curious why rain stopped your photography so bad but then I remembered you're a serious photographer with a real camera, not me wiping off my basic iPhone 8's screen off and stuffing it back in my pocket after every shot, lol.

I do think that looks a bit like a Hidden Mickey, even if it's only a basic one from one angle.

The whole New York area has a pretty neat look to it- there's not much "Park Stuff" to do but things like that fountain (which I actually don't remember) are great for ambiance. I recall one time getting food in the "NYC Subway"-style restaurant they had there... maybe?

How many times do you think you rode each thing? I think I managed the submarine & Center rides several times per day due to shorter lines, but Indie/Tower once per day, and never tried Toy Story because the line was just too crazy at all times and I'd done that in all the other parks.

 

[grayquaza]

Neat stuff! I was curious why rain stopped your photography so bad but then I remembered you're a serious photographer with a real camera, not me wiping off my basic iPhone 8's screen off and stuffing it back in my pocket after every shot, lol.

I do think that looks a bit like a Hidden Mickey, even if it's only a basic one from one angle.

The whole New York area has a pretty neat look to it- there's not much "Park Stuff" to do but things like that fountain (which I actually don't remember) are great for ambiance. I recall one time getting food in the "NYC Subway"-style restaurant they had there... maybe?

How many times do you think you rode each thing? I think I managed the submarine & Center rides several times per day due to shorter lines, but Indie/Tower once per day, and never tried Toy Story because the line was just too crazy at all times and I'd done that in all the other parks.

At the time, my phone's camera was really bad quality, otherwise I would have used it more often!

I think the place you're talking about is New York Deli. Which is a tad uninspiring for a restaurant name...

I about managed to do most attractions at least once. Things like Sinbad, Pirates, and Haunted Mansion never seemed to have lines so I managed to ride them multiple times. Things like Pooh, Monsters Inc, and JTTCOTE that always seemed to have queues, I still managed multiple rides thanks to Fastpass. And thanks to single riders, I rode IJA maybe five or six times? I actually managed about

 

[grayquaza]

Now the main reason I entered the MiraCosta is because I knew there would be a way to the monorail station from there. But while I was in there, I decided to check back in the store for my mum since she wanted to know the prices of Pandora charms.

They weren't as good a deal as the ones she could get in the USA, or at home. Even the Tokyo Disney exclusive was over $100.

This statue of Mickey on the boat in the centre of the lobby is wonderful.

The change of temperature when switching from outside to inside led to my camera lens fogging up for a bit...

I walked around the lobby and checked every passageway but I couldn't find the way to the monorail. All I could do was head back outside...Which is where the entrance was! It was to the side of the entrance to the hotel, go figure.

It takes you along a bridge and you can see the plaza to TDS. I know I've been blaming the rain, but I don't know how I never managed to get a proper picture of the globe in the plaza! I think it's called the AquaSphere? It's practically the park's icon alongside the volcano!

A little reminder of what was happening over in DisneySea. Pixar Playtime, that is. Not the rain.

The monorail journey was quick, and pretty soon I'd made it back over to Disneyland. Everyone's prepared for a wet day!

This was the centrepiece in World Bazaar celebrating the 35th anniversary. I think each step had a Mickey Mouse that was dressed in the costume he wore for that year's anniversary.

From this point on, I'd put my camera back in my bag! I really didn't expect so much rain. From here, I do know that I went over to the lottery ticket dispensers in Tomorrowland. I managed to win two tickets; one for a show called Mardi Gras, and one for another show called One Man's Dream II. Which was pretty cool, except it turned out that Mardi Gras was an outdoor show! I went over to the theatre in Adventureland maybe 5 minutes before it was due to start and it was shut. Very disappointing, especially since my boys (The Three Caballeros) were the stars!

So this had me worried a little. I had left watching the parade to the last day because I clearly did not check the weather forecast at any point and assumed I'd be OK. I was beginning to suspect they may cancel it...

But before then, I decided to hit up some low-wait rides. Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, that sort of thing. I also went to watch Philharmagic once more, which is the only time I got my camera out so I could take a picture of the Hidden Mickey in the tuba. You can find the same one at every other Philharmagic! It's on the right hand side of the screen.

While in Fantasyland, I managed to grab one last Fastpass for Pooh's Hunny Hunt. It was for the last hour of the park's opening, so I was going to make it my final ride.

I walked back to the hub to prepare for the parade and there was nobody about. Usually there'd be throngs of people lining the parade route, but nope. Empty... I hadn't heard any announcements that the parade was cancelled, and yet it appeared the locals knew something that I didn't!

There was still a good 15-20 minutes to go, so I decided to put that time to use and stopped in the Sweetheart Cafe for one of the Mike Wazaowski melon breads. I wouldn't be able to eat breakfast at the hotel before heading to the airport the following day so this was a good substitute. I think I also got curry bread for lunch but I don't quite remember... I forgot to get a picture of the melon bread, so here's one I nabbed off Google.

I hung around the hub as the parade time drew closer, hoping that maybe I'd missed something. Finally, about five minutes beforehand, an announcement rang out saying the parade was due to start!

I nabbed a spot near the Partners Statue, behind where the lottery ticket viewing spot is found. A pretty great spot, if this weren't such a rainy day!

So Dreaming Up is a parade that's a big fan favourite. It has a super catchy song, and very dynamic floats. Unfortunately, due to the rain, the more fantastical elements such as Peter Pan flying weren't happening. I also don't remember if a few floats weren't running or I just didn't get a picture of them. Because while my camera stayed in my bag, I did get a few photos on my phone. They aren't amazing, but it's something!

It kicks off with Mickey and Pluto in a Fantasia inspired float.

Followed up by Goofy, who leads the Alice in Wonderland float.

Up next is the Pinocchio float.

Minnie is up next, leading the float with the Disney Princesses.

That's Aurora, Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel on platforms. Probably the least interesting float, unfortunately!

After this is Chip & Dale, leading a float for Beauty & The Beast, except it's just Belle? Quickly followed by the Winnie The Pooh float.

Donald and Daisy share a magic carpet float together, but instead of an Aladdin float, we get this awesome Big Hero 6 one instead!

And finally, there's the show-stopping finale float with Mary Poppins and Peter Pan. Unfortunately, the rain had grounded both of their flights so a bit of a downer!

Overall, I was glad that I stuck around so I could see the parade. I just wish I'd done it on one of the earlier days! It's a very fun parade indeed. And of course, here's a video showing the parade in better conditions.

 

[Jabroniville]

Wow, those floats do look really cool! I like that they have a unique parade there- it seems different from the one I saw in 2015 or so. Interesting that they didn't have a Frozen one I remember Frozen being HUGE in Japan the year I went, but that it seems to have deflated a tad in the years since (the sequel didn't do as well as the first one did).

I forget- had you missed the parades entirely the first day you were there? I see you went to the night time one (I mostly remember Paint the Night the year I went- that seemed state of the art so I'm shocked it's mostly gone).

 

[grayquaza]

Wow, those floats do look really cool! I like that they have a unique parade there- it seems different from the one I saw in 2015 or so. Interesting that they didn't have a Frozen one I remember Frozen being HUGE in Japan the year I went, but that it seems to have deflated a tad in the years since (the sequel didn't do as well as the first one did).

I forget- had you missed the parades entirely the first day you were there? I see you went to the night time one (I mostly remember Paint the Night the year I went- that seemed state of the art so I'm shocked it's mostly gone).

I think the Dreaming Up parade debuted in 2018? The one before that was called Happiness is Here, which was also very popular! I did see the night parade but not the day parade. However, it's always been Dreamlights at TDL. I think Paint The Night is the HKDL parade?

 

[grayquaza]

After the parade was finished, I checked the app for any short queues. I noticed it's a small world was one of them and rushed over, desperate to get out of the rain. It wasn't until I was inside the building and in the queue that I realised my rain coat wasn't as waterproof as I'd assumed. I'd been out in the rain for so long that the water had seeped straight through! It's one of those big, puffy coats as well. I suppose it's designed more for warmth than rain. I was still pretty peeved about it. I took it off while on the ride so the both of us could dry off a little!

Again, this was the last picture I took before sticking my camera in my bag. This time, however, it stayed in there for over 3 hours so...

I wouldn't be long before I would be London-bound...

I don't really recall much of what I did in those 3 hours, but I do know that I returned to Tomorrowland at some point! I decided to get something to eat from the Pan Galactic Pizza Port. It's an intriguing restaurant, a little bit like Cosmic Rays. There's an animatronic alien who leads a show of sorts. I can't say I paid much attention because it was in Japanese, and the seating was pretty limited. It turned out that a strong, American tradition had made its way to the Japanese parks. Every single table inside had someone reserving it while their companions bought the food, meanwhile I already had my food and nowhere to sit! So I was forced to head outside to eat instead... At least it was under cover, right?

I got a chicken and tomato calzone, along with a drink. It was pretty good! Almost made up for being stuck outside...

Afterwards, I think I might have ridden Buzz Lightyear? It's possible! And then I finally decided to try Star Tours. It's pretty much the same as the American parks, right down to the queue. The actual ride was all in Japanese, but the sequences were the new-at-the-time Last Jedi scenes. I hadn't experienced them so it was interesting to see that they were included.

It was while I was riding Star Tours that I had a sudden daunting thought. Online check-in for my flight home had already opened! I thought I would have gotten a reminder from BA but they didn't send me an email. It was maybe 5pm at this point, and since my flight was at 10:50am, online check-in had been open for nearly 6 hours! After the ride, I found a seat in the corridor to the exit and checked myself in. Unfortunately, all of the aisle seats had been booked up, and most of the window seats were gone. I managed to find a window seat in a row with a free middle seat, so I chose that in the hopes it would stay empty for that little extra elbow room.

It was almost time to go and watch One Man's Dream 2. But first, I decided it would be the perfect time to actually leave the park and visit the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel. I hadn't stepped inside at all on the trip, and couldn't really see another chance to do so.

It looks pretty comparable to the Grand Floridian. Very lavish and Victorian.

The elevators had this cute Mickey and Minnie pattern on them.

I stopped by in the shop and checked back in on the Pandora situation for my mum. She wanted more prices, which I managed to send over, and she decided they were too expensive, go figure!

After about 15-20 minutes in the hotel, I quickly fled back to TDL, thankfully a minute's walk away, and rushed back over to Tomorrowland so that I would make it to see One Man's Dream 2.

Like Fantasmic, this is another show that has since vanished from the Tokyo parks. From what I understand, it was massively popular and there was a whole finale event with merch and stuff that lasted a few months before it closed in December 2019. It was replaced with a Minnie Mouse show at the start of 2020 for a Totally Minnie event which was cut short due to the pandemic, and I don't think the theatre has opened since. There is another Totally Minnie event happening next year so I imagine they'll bring it back!

So you might be wondering about the name and, yes, there was an Original One Man's Dream. From what I understand, it was almost exactly the same as OMD2 but since it closed in the 90s, they updated a few things when they brought it back in 2005. And you can definitely tell it was of its time. There's a segment of the show about A Bug's Life which threw me for a loop.

It was an open-air amphitheatre, and we were undercover, but only just. So while you were allowed to take pictures, I mostly just watched. I wasn't really close enough to the stage to get decent pictures with my camera, although I did try! I don't really have much to say about the show so I'll just let the photos flow!

Overall, it was pretty fun and I'm glad I had the chance to watch it, but I don't think I'll miss it! Give it a watch and see what you think.

 

[Jabroniville]

Wow, the Disneyland Hotel looks great! It's kind of one of the things I've always wanted to do- go around the various nice hotels Disney has... but it's tough to just blow time away from the parks on a hotel, you know? I mean, park passes are expensive! And there's stuff to do! But I do like taking those moments from time to time (I luckily did so with the Contemporary at WDW last month).

I had to check to see if OMD was one of the lottery things, and yeah, you indicated it was. Which explains why I never saw it, haha. I managed to fail to get tickets on both of my days. I'm not sure how rare they are or how hard they are to get. How big was the theatre? It definitely seems like a very involved show, with LOTS of people. I see Snow White even has a costume change!

 

[grayquaza]

Wow, the Disneyland Hotel looks great! It's kind of one of the things I've always wanted to do- go around the various nice hotels Disney has... but it's tough to just blow time away from the parks on a hotel, you know? I mean, park passes are expensive! And there's stuff to do! But I do like taking those moments from time to time (I luckily did so with the Contemporary at WDW last month).

I had to check to see if OMD was one of the lottery things, and yeah, you indicated it was. Which explains why I never saw it, haha. I managed to fail to get tickets on both of my days. I'm not sure how rare they are or how hard they are to get. How big was the theatre? It definitely seems like a very involved show, with LOTS of people. I see Snow White even has a costume change!

Having a look at the hotels is all a part of the Disney experience for me! I'm still a little disappointed that I didn't manage to visit the Disney Ambassador hotel as well. But unlike the other two hotels which are right outside the park gates, it's a little further afield.

It's certainly big but I would say it's smaller than the Beauty and the Beast theatre at DHS? I think there is an area for non-ticket holders but you'd have to queue well in advance to get those seats.

 

[grayquaza]

With the show finished, and closing time quickly approaching, I decided it would be time to head back over to DisneySea for a final send-off. But before that, why not check out a full tour of Tokyo Disneyland, so you better understand the layout of the park. This was from 2021, so it includes all the latest additions.

The monorail really came handy in this last two days.

My first stop was over to the Tower of Terror since I did get a Fastpass for it and all. But alas, the FP queue looked like it was backed up and I didn't have much time until the park closed. So I decided I would pass up the opportunity, sadly...

Okay, so I wasn't that upset! I hate that feeling in your stomach on free-fall rides so I've generally avoided ToT. The only time I broke that rule was for Mission Breakout in California Adventure because the allure of Guardians of the Galaxy exceeded my fear of the ride! And yeah, once was more than enough!

Instead, I returned to the Arabian Coast so I could get dinner at the Casbah Food Court. I'd tried eating there before but the line was too long. This time, it was far more manageable. While I was waiting, a CM went down the line and handed out little forms with the menu items to everyone so you could fill out your order while you waited. I think it was in Japanese and English because I managed to get my order done without any issues.

The Casbah Foot Court is massive, I think it might even be one of the biggest dining areas in the Tokyo parks. So there was no shortage of tables! I had been eager to eat here since it serves Indian style curry, which I love. Japanese curry tends to be sweeter and milder, and I'd been missing the spice. I also wanted to get the special Pixar Playtime meal.

It's themed to the Incredibles, if you couldn't tell. It came with a red vegetable curry, fried chicken strips, a scotch egg, and a black naan bread. On the side was a lemon and raspberry jelly mousse dessert, and a drink. It definitely reached my expectations! The curry was delicious, though not as spicy as I'd hoped. The sides added some interesting variety.

The little dessert was adorable! Obviously designed for Jack Jack, with the "hair" spike and the cookies. It was tasty as well, lemon and raspberry make a great combination.

After dinner, I still had about an hour left to go. So I made my final voyage with Sinbad, since it was next door to the restaurant. And of course, I couldn't end my stay in TDS without one more ride on Indiana Jones Adventure. My official last ride in the park! I was sat in a car with a group who were quite chatty. The person I sat next to told me she studied abroad in London for a while! So we had a little bond over that.

I made the short walk back to Mediterranean Harbour, a little bittersweet. As I neared the entrance, I did stop for one more photo. I realised I hadn't taken any pictures of myself at all! So I had to fix that problem so I could say yes, I have been to Tokyo Disney Sea!

On my way out, I finally remembered to grab a few maps and programmes. Useless now that I was leaving, but they make for great free souvenirs!

While Tokyo DisneySea was getting ready to close, that didn't mean it was time to leave. Oh no, I got on the monorail and went back to Tokyo Disneyland! I still had about an hour before it was due to close but I didn't really have much to do except soak in the ambience. I don't remember if I went on any rides, but I do know that I stopped in a shop in Tomorrowland which was mostly dedicated to Stitch merchandise, since my sister had been asking about some Stitch ears hat. Like a Mickey ear hat, but Stitch.

I did find this hat, but it wasn't what she wanted.

There was a lot on display. In the end, while I couldn't find the ears, she asked me to get her a fork and spoon set instead. (Which she has still yet to use...)

With the night drawing to a close, I had time for one last ride. I still had a FP handy for Pooh's Hunny Hunt. However, when I got to the ride, the CM let me keep the FP since it was so close to closing time and the queue was pretty much empty, which was very nice of them!

After riding, there was 10 minutes left to go. I had a couple of things I wanted to buy in the Pooh shop, which I gathered up quickly so I could pay. I got a small tin of cookies, and a ceramic pot with grape flavoured tea bags. Both are very cute and I still use them. The tin has some small chocolates in, and the pot is filled with some loose leaf green tea.

There was still a couple of minutes left before the park closed, and I was able to get back into the queue for my official last ride! I'm glad I did because my previous rides on PHH were all in the same vehicle. Since it's a trackless ride, each vehicle has a different path it takes through the ride. So I got to experience something new.

When I left, the store was closed, the ride was closed, and Tokyo Disneyland was closed. It was still raining, of course, but I decided to take a few photos on the way out.

I saw somebody else take this exact photo, thought that was a pretty neat idea, and then copied them...

All of Fantasyland was quiet. I think I may have walked back through the castle.

If it weren't for the lights, you could probably mistake this for Magic Kingdom...

I took a little detour to the left, where you'll find the Snow White grotto.

I think it's a duplicate of the grotto in Disneyland. There's also a wishing well too, where Snow White sings in Japanese.

I spent a bit of time here trying to find a good shot, and generally just chilling. It was really dark around there so I think I evaded being spotting by the CMs sweeping for loiterers...

It truly was empty by this point. I think the rain had finally helped to clear everyone out!

Of course, I had to grab a last minute selfie...

You can see I wasn't the last one, there were a few more people waiting around. But the train times dictate how long you could loiter about, so we were all on our way out.

And that's it, the final picture. Goodnight Tokyo Disneyland!

On the way out, I stopped at Bon Voyage so I could grab a few last minute souvenirs. I got a couple bags of sweets for my nans, which I think were caramels? Then a tin of chocolate crunch for everyone else. I also finally picked up the Mickey foaming soap dispenser, which pumps out soap in the shape of a Mickey head. I believe they've recently started selling them in the American parks as well, but I do regret only buying one bottle. We still get some use out of it, but it's difficult to come by foaming soap in the UK.

When I got back to the hotel, I still had quite a bit of packing to do. It was lucky that I'd brought a duffel bag with me since I had a lot to bring back! I think around 2 AM, I decided to make another visit to the hot springs spa because, yeah. It was still open at 2 o clock in the morning! There were maybe half a dozen other men using it as well. But it was a great way to cap off the night. I spent a good half an hour in the outside bath, still raining mind you, and just thought about what to do.



So that's that. My short time at the Tokyo Disney Resort has come to a close, maybe dragged out a bit longer than I anticipated. But did I enjoy it? Whole-heartedly yes! Would I recommend it? Yes, again! If you've ever been on the fence about making the journey, I would whole-heartedly recommend it. In fact, 2023 has never looked better for TDR as the new Fantasy Springs expansion to Tokyo DisneySea is planned to open! Mini lands for Frozen, Tangled, and Peter Pan. With any luck, Japan will have finally opened its borders by then

However, while my Disney TR has come to its conclusion, it's not really the end. I'm going to jump back to the beginning, to when I first landed in Japan and recap the highs and lows of my journey around the country, before I came to Tokyo Disney Resort. And hopefully I'll wrap it up before the end of 2022!

 

[Jabroniville]

Great stuff so far! I really liked reading all the little things, and reminiscing! I was gonna suggest you recap the rest of your vacation, and then I got to the point where you said you were gonna do just that, haha.

I do love that "Empty Park Ambiance" at Disney, usually during fireworks or when it's closing. There's really nothing else in the world like it. It's tricky in Tokyo because there's a language issue so you can't explain sometimes that you're not trying to sneak about, haha. But it's a lot of fun.

What's some stuff you would do differently if you return to Tokyo Disney? Aside from take all your pics when you can just in case of rain .

 

[grayquaza]

Great stuff so far! I really liked reading all the little things, and reminiscing! I was gonna suggest you recap the rest of your vacation, and then I got to the point where you said you were gonna do just that, haha.

I do love that "Empty Park Ambiance" at Disney, usually during fireworks or when it's closing. There's really nothing else in the world like it. It's tricky in Tokyo because there's a language issue so you can't explain sometimes that you're not trying to sneak about, haha. But it's a lot of fun.

What's some stuff you would do differently if you return to Tokyo Disney? Aside from take all your pics when you can just in case of rain .

Thanks, I think it may end up being more than a recap as I am not very good at condensing things!

Good question, I think I'd spend an extra day in Maihama itself so I can properly visit the hotels and Ikspiari without cutting into park time. And be less indecisive when it comes to food! I wasted a lot of time looking for somewhere to eat at times. Maybe try to be less frugal since I kept not buying things that I like. There's probably other things, but I'm not sure what else.

 

[grayquaza]

Before I move onto the rest of the report, I thought I'd add a few things I forgot to share for Tokyo Disney Resort. Namely, the park maps!

First up is Tokyo Disneyland.

And then Tokyo DisneySea.

Those were the English map, and the Japanese maps are pretty much the same. However, there's also an exclusive Japanese information leaflet called Today which goes over what's happening in the parks for the month. The special events, the show and parade times, the limited food items, and new merchandise. There isn't an English equivalent offered, but it's still worth grabbing it.

Here's Tokyo Disneyland.

And here's Tokyo DisneySea.

There was a little game you could have played around Tokyo DisneySea for Pixar Playtime, with mini tasks you could complete and get a sticker for.

This is where the stickers go, and there are also questions with answers under the flaps.

Finally, it's not a map but I forgot to show a picture of the Winnie the Pooh things I picked up. So here they are!

 

[grayquaza]

Day One - Tell Everybody I'm On My Way!

Let's jump back to the very beginning - the 12th February 2019. I arrived at Heathrow Airport at around 8am, my dad having so graciously given me a lift, yet it wasn't too busy. I'd already checked into my flight the day before to ensure I had a decent seat, so I just had to hand my suitcase over. Then I grabbed a tea and a lemon muffin with my dad before finally bidding him farewell and heading through security.

In the departures area, I filled up a water bottle I'd brought with me and browsed a few shops until my gate number came up. It was the furthest gate from departures that you could get, which always seems to happen to me. Does anyone ever get a gate number that doesn't take 10 minutes to walk to? Anyway, I still had to wait half an hour outside the gate until they started boarding. It was a relief to when I was finally sat on the plane and settled in for an almost 12 hour long flight!

I had an aisle seat, which I prefer to a window seat since I like having the option to get up without having to get around other people. Plus, the seat next to me stayed empty so I stuck my backpack underneath it and enjoyed some room to stretch out! The plane promptly left on time, and I was on my way!

The flight itself was unremarkable. Apparently, I watched Bohemian Rhapsody and Mamma Mia 2, had an underwhelming chicken & rice dinner, tried to get some sleep, had an underwhelming breakfast which I barely ate, then stuck on cartoons while finishing my immigration forms. Finally, at 06:30 JST, we landed at Tokyo Haneda airport, right on schedule!

Immigration wasn't too troublesome. I did get in the wrong line at first, which was for residents, but other than that I made it through quite efficiently. I even managed to grab my suitcase with little wait and made it to arrivals in no time!

Next, I had to collect my JR pass. The collection point was tucked away in a corner and, while the queue looked small, it took about 30 minutes to get to the counter to collect my pass. (I grabbed this picture off TripAdvisor, shhh!) While I was there, I also reserved a bullet train to Kyoto, the 10:10am train from Shinagawa station since I wanted to get there before 1pm. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a window seat, but it didn't matter too much.

Here's what the JR pass looks like. Of course, I censored the box where you put your name, nationality, and passport number. Inside, there's a map showing the routes you can use the pass on, which covers the entire country!

Next to collect was the pocket WiFi. This was more troublesome than I'd hoped since the info I printed off said to get it from departures but I couldn't find the pick-up point. After circling the hall twice, I went to a shop with a similar name and they kindly pointed me towards the actual location which was in a corridor outside of departures... I quickly set up the device and sent a message to my family over WhatsApp to let them know I'd arrived safely, then made my way to where the trains were.

In Japan, there are several companies that run train services around the country. JR, or Japan Rail, is probably the biggest one. With the JR Pass, you can use almost any JR train nationwide, plus a few non-JR trains such as the airport monorail. Here's a good rundown of the pass for anyone interested. To use the pass, you had to go to the manned gate next to the turnstiles but it looks like they updated in June 2020 to include the automatic ticket gates. So I suppose it's like using any other ticket now!

I don't think I waited long for the monorail. It was a pleasant ride and not too busy. I was unfamiliar with the Tokyo skyline so I didn't really recognise anything of note. Here's a video if anyone's interested, since this part is a little light on pictures.

I rode the monorail to its final stop, Hamamatsucho station, and then transferred to the Yamanote line with a bit of a struggle thanks to my luggage. Thankfully, it was a few short stops to Shinagawa station where I could catch my breath before moving onto the shinkansen.

Since I barely ate breakfast, I was hoping to grab something to eat before leaving. But my luggage kind of put me off entering anywhere since it was quite busy and I didn't want to get in the way. I thought I'd find some shops once I entered the shinkansen area of the station but I think there was only a newsagents? To be fair, after a nearly 12 hour flight and about 15 minutes before my train arrived, I didn't exactly search high and low. I figured I'd eat once I got to Kyoto. I did, however, stop at my very first vending machine, getting a bottle of cold green tea. I generally prefer my tea to be hot so I wasn't that impressed, but I needed the caffeine!

The train arrived on time, of course, and I settled in for my nearly 3 hour ride to Kyoto! I found there was just enough space to keep my suitcase in front of me. It was cramped, but I didn't want to risk putting it in the overhead compartment due to its size. Nowadays, you can't bring a full sized suitcase onto the bullet train unless you reserve specific seats at the back of the carriage in advance. You also have to pay a supplement fee, but if you have the rail pass then it's already included.

It was surprisingly hard to find a video showing the journey between Shinagawa and Kyoto. Or even Tokyo and Kyoto! I did find this timelapse, however. I don't remember there being so many tunnels!

The journey itself was a little dull since I didn't have a window seat. I tried to spot Mount Fuji at some point but had no luck. I connected my laptop to the pocket WiFi, and I ate a few treats I packed for the flight to fill that hole. I think it was just Haribo and a KitKat, however... I also had another short nap. About half an hour from Kyoto, the person sat next to me debarked so I took over his seat and looked out of the window for a while.

The train arrived at Kyoto just before 1pm and followed the signs to the nearest exit. I didn't realise until I got my phone out to plan a route to the guesthouse that I had left through a back exit. It should have been an almost straight road up from the station but the route I took was a bit more twisty. I wasn't confident about heading back into the station to find the correct exit so I pressed onwards! So what was supposed to be a 10-15 minute walk was closer to 25-30 minutes...

The River East Nanajo guesthouse itself was a little unassuming, down a small alley off of the main road. (Again, taken from TripAdvisor!) I had chosen it due to its location, being within walking distance of train stations and a few hotspots. Plus, it was just over £30 a night, or about $38 at the time, which was a steal! Thankfully, my room was already available to enter, and the woman at reception was happy to help carry my stuff up to the third floor.

And this was the room! I think I may have taken these pictures the day after I arrived, but it makes more sense to share them here!

A little lacking in design, but I did have a small kitchenette, a proper bathroom, a washing machine and, most importantly, a spacious bed! I still can't believe it was only £30 a night!

By this point, it was maybe 1:15pm. After almost 24 hours of non-stop travelling since I woke up at home in London, I was in my guesthouse in Kyoto on the other side of the world! I deserved to have a rest! But hold that thought. I had made this mad dash across the country, mere hours after arriving, because it was the only time I could fit a certain three temples into my schedule. So I took the opportunity to get showered and changed into fresh clothes, and was out of the door to head back to Kyoto Station!

 

[grayquaza]

I realise that most readers may be unfamiliar with Kyoto and its layout. So to help with things, I mocked up this map to make it easier to follow along. The purple spots are the places I visited this day. At the bottom right is my guesthouse and Kyoto Station. The top three are the temples that I visited.

Before I left the guesthouse, I did eat a small box of multi-grain cereal to fill the gap before a proper meal. I'd brought a cereal variety pack with me on the trip since I'm not much of a breakfast person, and Kyoto was the only time where I didn't get breakfast included at my accommodation. So it already came in handy!

Getting to Kyoto station from the guesthouse was far easier this time around. You head south, take the first right, then follow the road until you reach the station on your left. Simple! This was my first time on the "proper" side of Kyoto station, and it was bigger than I expected. It's a good thing Google lets you know which platform each train leaves from, or I think I would have struggled! London train stations are bad enough for me as it is...

I rode five stops to Hanazono station, following the orange line on my map. After that, I pulled up the route to follow, only to walk the wrong direction almost instantly... Once I actually got my bearings, I had a 20 minute climb up a very steep hill. I was a little surprised at how suburban the route was. I was passing a lot of houses along thin roads with no actual sidewalk, which was a tad harrowing.

So after that 20 minute hike, I finally arrived at my first destination, Ninna-ji Temple. It's the head temple of the Omuro School of the Shingon sect of Buddhism, which was founded in 888! However, most of the buildings date back to the 17th century. Which is still pretty impressive, all things considered! It's one of the seventeen locations in and around Kyoto that comprises the "Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto" UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I thought it was a nice "starter" temple visit. It costs 500 yen to enter the goten palace buildings, which I didn't have time for, but the grounds themselves are free to enter (except in cherry blossom season where it's another 500 yen to enter). This gave me a good sense of what to expect elsewhere.

Upon arriving, however, I headed straight for a group of vending machines I noticed on site. Here, I glimpsed my first mainstay of the trip - hot bottled drinks. Since I was in Japan in the middle of winter, being able to grab a hot drink whenever I could was convenient and something I did very often! On this particular stop, I got a bottle of hot green tea which was more palatable than the cold one I got hours earlier in Tokyo, albeit significantly smaller...

I also took the time to get in touch with my family, to let them know things were going alright. It was a bit difficult getting used to the difference in time zone. Japan is 9 hours ahead of the UK so while it was late afternoon for me, it was early morning for them. They were quite happy to hear from me, and also that the weather was nice albeit cold!

I don't really have much to say about this place other than that it was nice to have a look around. However, I think I only spent 20 minutes there overall. I was a little crunched for time.

I do know that you can actually spend a night at the temple. I considered it at some point, but I think it would've been too much hassle. Changing hotels twice was bad enough, let alone an overnight stay in a temple. But you do get dinner and breakfast, and I think you're allowed to participate in the morning rituals. So if you want a heavy dose of culture, it's something to look into!

There is also a museum on-site, but it's only open April-May and October-November, sadly. I believe it's another 500 yen admission.

Eventually, I called it time and left the grounds. I had to get to my next stop, which was about a 10 minute walk away. It was an interesting walk. Flatter than the one to Ninna-ji. Fewer houses, and a proper sidewalk as well. I also remember passing a lot of stone walls for some reason!

The entrance to Ryoan-ji Temple is rather non-descript. If I wasn't following a map, I think I would have walked straight past it! Luckily I didn't. It was still a few minutes walk to the temple from the entrance, down a lovely path lined with trees.

Ryoan-ji Temple is another UNESCO World Heritage Site which is best known for its rock garden. I believe entrance was 500 yen, and it came with a pamphlet which explained the history along with a map. In fact, every temple or shrine seemed to have some reading material for anyone purchasing a ticket, which was great.

I'll paraphrase the English parts so you don't have to strain your eyes trying to read them!

A good thing to note here if you do plan to visit any temples or shrines, be aware that you will most likely have to take your shoes off to enter. So wear socks! It's a commonality throughout Japan but especially here. I did make a little oopsie since I stepped up to where you store your shoes with them still on. You're supposed to take them off right away. An American couple who were just leaving told me they did the exact same thing, so I imagine it happens a lot. Still, I hastily took my shoes off and left them in little cubby holes. I was wearing thermal socks, and my feet were still cold while walking around...

Ryoan-ji was originally a country house of the Tokudaiji Clan, and acquired in 1450 by Hosokawa Katsumoto for use as a zen training temple. It was destroyed by fire in the Onin War, and rebuilt in 1499.

As I said, its main draw is its rock garden. As you can see, it's a garden with no trees. Only 15 rocks and white gravel. It measures 25m east to west, 10m north to south. The walls are made of clay boiled in oil, which has given it a distinctive pattern as the oil seeped out over time. It is said that it was created at the end of the Muromachi period (around 1500) by a monk called Tokuho Zenketsu.

There's a platform where you can sit and take it in. It's shape also makes it very difficult to get a great picture of the whole thing!

This might be the Tsukubai mentioned in the leaflet but I'm not sure. It's a stone wash basin used for the tea-room with a unique inscription that reads "I learn only to be contented." This concept is important in the Zen spirit, where he who learns only to be contented is spiritually rich, while the one who does not learn to be contented is spiritually poor even if he is materially wealthy.

I walked around the rest of the temple and found a lot of it was inaccessible to guests. This would include the tea-room Zoroku, but I don't think I even saw it from the accessible areas. Zoroku means to contain 'six', meaning the head, tail and four legs. It also means tortoise, which is the symbol of Genbu, the guardian god of the north.

I don't actually remember what the art and calligraphy is about... It also wasn't in my pamphlet! Pretty neat though, huh. After looking around, I finally sat down on the balcony overlooking the rock garden for a few minutes and rested. It had been a long day, so it was much appreciated!

It definitely had a serene atmosphere, even with all the other people around you. I wish I could have stayed longer but I still had one more temple to visit, possibly the most famous temple in Japan. So after 5 minutes contemplating the garden, I eventually got up and said goodbye to Ryoan-ji.

 

[Jabroniville]

Cool stuff! I'm trying to remember if any of this is the stuff I've seen- I visited Kyoto as well and went down the "Temple Row" (which runs parallel to a normal city street only a couple blocks away), but I skipped the Golden Temple and such, as they were too far away.

I saw one that had a big light show at night, and one with a bamboo forest with tons of trees. Many have sprawling grounds and a lot kind of look similar after a point. Though there is a MASSIVE one overlooking a cliff- THAT one stands out.

This might be the same temple you saw, lol:

 

[grayquaza]

Cool stuff! I'm trying to remember if any of this is the stuff I've seen- I visited Kyoto as well and went down the "Temple Row" (which runs parallel to a normal city street only a couple blocks away), but I skipped the Golden Temple and such, as they were too far away.

I saw one that had a big light show at night, and one with a bamboo forest with tons of trees. Many have sprawling grounds and a lot kind of look similar after a point. Though there is a MASSIVE one overlooking a cliff- THAT one stands out.

This might be the same temple you saw, lol:

If you didn't make it to the Golden Pavilion, then you wouldn't have visited these temples since they're in the same area. They definitely do blur into each other after you've seen a few of them! I can think of a few temples I visited which match those descriptions. I didn't see any with light shows, though I think they tend to occur during the spring and autumn when the trees look extra pretty.