We’re baaack. We went back to Japan for the first time in 4 years. And thus, we are now back to posting and updating our Axelrod Adventures blog. It’s hard to believe that it has been four years since we were last here. The kids were different people then. As Jem says, I have learned and forgotten Japanese in that time.
In 2023, Japan has still been in full pandemic control mode, circa 2021 in the US and Europe. Masks everywhere, chapped hands from hand sanitizer, and proof of vaccine or negative test required to enter the country. But so far, the trains are on time, everyone still nice and friendly (maybe a little wary of all the tourists), and the Family Mart still sells all our favorite convenience foods. And, of course, there is still nothing caffeine-free, diet to drink. The choice of drinks (besides water) is caffeine or sugar.
This trip we split up and three of us came with grandma early; the other one came with grandpa a couple of days later.
There is much to tell about our first few days in country. We went to the ocean near Kamakura and were dive bombed by killer hawks! Who then stole Sophie’s ice cream from her hands, literally. The bird swooped down grabbed the ice cream cone from her hands and flew off. They must have marked us as patsies because not 10 minutes later one swooped down and grabbed the last bite of Jem’s sandwich…from his hands. I screamed louder than I have in 20 years. This bird was huge.
On our first morning Sophie and I were up way too early but headed down for breakfast in our hotel. We knew it was a buffet, but did not realize it was only Japanese options, with no western choices. Sophie gamely ate her first Japanese breakfast.
We also traveled into Buddhist heights — climbing some tiny stairs into the inside of The Giant Buddha in Kamakura.
We had a lovely time in Japan, and the obligatory Tokyo DisneySea and Chandu fest because it would not be an Axelrod Del Campo trip without a disney stop. We successfully replaced our lost at sea Chandu’s (which will be the subject of a future post).
It was nice to be back on the road again! And we are now on the road for the next two years!
Representing BayMax (very popular in Japan) with a Baymax Head (left) and Sporting a New Monsters U Sweatshirt (right)
I don’t really drink caffeine. Unless I have a super early morning meeting, I don’t need it — and I spend a lot of my life making sure meetings start later than early morning. I am very sensitive to it and one serving of caffeine, even before noon, has the potential to keep me up all night. I love diet soda, so I drink a lot of “diet caffeine-free anything.” In the U.S. that is easy. In Japan, this is very, very hard. Besides plain water or alcohol, there are mostly two options for beverages — sugar or caffeine. They have lots of variations of sugar milk tea, sugar coffee milk, sugar soda, and an obligatory Coke Zero (which is “diet” but has caffeine). But not much in the sugar free, caffeine free group.
With one notable exception — Asahi Zero.
It is beer, without calories and without alcohol. It tastes just like beer. And fits into my “diet caffeine-free anything” category. It is also fairly ubiquitous. Every time I order it in Japan, someone always wants to make sure I know it has no alcohol. I tell them I do. They look at my oddly. Like why would anyone order this. They don’t realize I am desperate for bubbles that has no caffeine, no sugar and tastes like something besides water. But I wonder, given their reaction, who does order this in Japan? Me and Japanese recovering alcoholics?
Our family loves (or, is fascinated by [-Jem]) Disney. I have been a Mickey fan on and off for decades. Jem wrote his second-year graduate research paper about Disneyland and the history of Southern California, and gave a memorable presentation on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. He was the first person I ever met with an Annual Pass, back when the AP got you front row parking at Disneyland and cost $99 a year. When the girls were little, of course we gave them and bought them all things Mickey.
Kids circa 2013
As Aunt Sue once said of this picture, the Mickey Apple doesn’t fall far from the Mickey tree.
So, any trip to Japan includes a stop at Disney, which is what we did for our first week in Japan. Tokyo Disney Resort, made up of two parks, Disneyland and DisneySea, has many advantages over the U.S. parks. It is cheap compared to U.S. prices. About $700 for four people for four days, which is basically the price for one day in the U.S. The difference for four days compared to U.S. prices at the park is almost the airfare. The Tokyo parks are indeed crowded (which is what happens when there is a Disney park in a metro area with 35 million people) but some days are better than others and we think the last week in May is among the least crowded, which is why we aimed for Tokyo Disney that week.
We stayed at the Sheraton Grande Hotel, literally across the street from the monorail and about as easy of a commute other than staying inside the DisneySea park at the MiraCosta Hotel (which Jem and I did at great expense for our honeymoon in 2010 and discovered that it was not worth the money, so we aren’t doing that again). The girls were super-excited to go to Disney, and skipped and held hands on our way to the monorail and the park.
We bought a 4-day multi day ticket, which is the max. You have to pick either Disneyland or DisneySea for each of the first two days and then you can park hop days 3 and 4. So even though Disneyland in Tokyo is not that different from Disneylands everywhere else, we still hit it at least once. It has a ride that is only available here, Pooh’s Hunny Hunt, which is a truly world-class (and unique) ride. You travel in a four-person honey pot through Pooh’s honey-induced coma/nightmare/dream, and because the ride vehicle is not constrained to a track (it roves around semi-autonomously), you get a different ride every time.
The other TDL rides are comparable to the U.S. parks so we don’t really spend much time on them. With one exception: Country Bear Jamboree! That was an animatronic show that used to be in Disneyland but they took it out years ago. So, we definitely hit that show. (Lil also feels a certain nostalgic patriotism toward the ride, having grown up in rural Tennessee. [-Jem].)
We learned later that photography was supposedly prohibited. They made no such announcement in English, which is very unusual (if there is something they want non-Japanese speakers to know, they generally announce it very clearly in English), and since there is no way we would have caught the restriction in Japanese, we snapped a few pictures before someone came to tell us we were breaking the rules. So, we have these quasi-illicit pictures now. The advantages of being “gaijin.”
This time we also did the Tiki Room, which is like the Florida version — a Hawaiian themed animal audio animatronic show featuring Stitch. Of course, the version here is in Japanese. I learned that I speak more Hawaiian than I do Japanese in so far as I recognized and understood “aloha,” “ohana,” “e komo mai,” but nothing of the Japanese.
The rest of our three park days we spent at Tokyo DisneySea. This time we finally made it to the high end restaurant there called Magellan’s. Of the 10 times or so we have come, we have never been able to get in. Until this trip. What an amazing restaurant. I guess a random Wednesday in May at 4 pm is they way to do it. The girls had their first fine dining experience and they did great!
Girls celebrating a great meal at fine dining Magellan’s
Our favorite part of DisneySea is the Sindbad ride, which only exists at Tokyo DisneySea. It is a slow boat ride that features Sindbad the Sailor, going on adventures with pirates and whales, bringing home exotic treasures, such as bananas, with his trusty sidekick tiger, Chandu.
Chandu in Sinbad ride emerging from basket of bananas
We had purchased a stuffed Chandu last November when we were here last, and Sophie instantly became so attached that he traveled and slept with her every day for the past six months. As her constant companion, he was looking a little worn, so we were looking to pick up an extra one this trip. Luckily, there were plenty in the store!
And of course everyone wanted one now, so we are inundated with Chandus. (The original is now “Grandpa Chandu,” according to Sophie.) We will need to buy a new suitcase.
This is our third time to Japan as a family. (Jem and I have been here six times, including our Honeymoon, Babymoon, and a random Lil’s 43rd Birthday Trip in 2013.) We were most recently here 6 months ago in November 2018, with Grandma Rise and Papa. Of course we had a stop at Disney then as well.
We do not speak Japanese beyond a few essential words and phrases (we are trying to improve on that!), but we just enjoy the country so much. Friendly. Organized. Clean. Everything works the way it is supposed to. That just makes the country instantly relaxing. The trains will run on time, the bus will be where you need it to be. And most basic things are in English and most people speak basic English, or are graciously willing to work with our gesturing and pointing and abundant thank you’s, so we get by.
Last year when we were here in November 2018 neither Jem nor I wanted to go back home. We said to each other “if we were different people we just wouldn’t get on that plane home.” Of course we did get on the plane (no doubt to the great pleasure of Japan’s immigration authorities! [-Jem]) but a couple of months later when the opportunity to come to Japan for the summer came up we jumped at the chance. That said, there are of course sacrifices that come along with such a choice, like leaving my job of 10 years and moving back into private practice.
Still, this seemed like a perfect way to mark a major life change. After all, we love Japan! And, as anyone who knows us will quickly guess, our first stop in Japan would inevitably be Disney amazing park(s) there!
But there is a lot more to Japan than just Disney. Here is an example of what I love about Japan. Even the dogs are clean, organized and treated with respect.
