Japan Trip Summer Part II

How I missed you Ko-chan Ramen!  As always, Gyoza and Red Spicy Miso Ramen set at the counter :-)

My cute friend and her son.  He is so handsome!

Look, he is taller than me!!  Saya looks mad but she was happy.

A little window shopping became real shopping because of these people.

Aly rode my Mom's bike.  My mother has the ugliest bike in Osaka!

Alyson is brushing her teeth.  Boy, her hair is getting long!

Train ride becomes a playtime - playtime anywhere, anytime.

If you can zoom in, look at Saya's expression!  Poor baby.

They enjoyed the roller-coaster.  It was a kiddy one, but still Mom and I didn't want to ride with them!

Oh my, they were immersed in their play.  I want to collect all of Sylvania Family toys. 

It's hard not to love vacation in Japan where your only concern is to have the best time.  As you can see in the photos, the first week or I should say, the first few days were so much fun for us girls.  I got to see my friend and her son whom I met in Australia while I lived in Sydney.  The last time I saw them was in 2006, so I was surprised how big her son got and how little my friend changed!  I've known him since he was a newborn, so it really is amazing how the children change into a different human in such a short time.  He was all teen and wanted to chill and be cool, but I saw the little boy in him here and there when he was talking to his Mom.  My kids are going to change so much in the next 10 years.  It was a sweet reminder to hug the kids as much as I can now.  Sigh...

I could see how excited my Mom was to see us.  She gave a present for the girls with a note "Welcome to Japan".    She gave me lots of money to spend in Japan, too, and I was grateful because I didn't have much to spend.  She also bought a reference book for leisure activities in Japan so we can look for the places we want to visit.  We found a place called "Toy Land" and well, the girls were sold.  It was very far, took us about 2 hours to get there, but we had lots of fun.  The best part was that since the school summer break had not started yet, the place was empty.  The girls challenged themselves to ride some thrill rides and hopped on Pirate Ship and mini roller coaster.  I could not see very well then but I can see now on photos that Saya was tense on Pirate Ship.  She said she liked it though :-)    The main attraction, at least for the girls, was Sylvanian Family play area.  The Sylvanian Family is called Carico Critters in the U.S. and they are popular amongst little girls all over the world.  I didn't know that it is actually from Japan.  They are tiny cute animal figures with play houses and loads of furniture etc...  My girls are a big fan of the series and they were so happy to be able to play with everything they make.  It was a Heaven for them.  They could have stayed there all day long and never get bored!

We had a good start and I am so grateful for my family to welcome us with open arms.  We felt loved and pampered. 

Japan Trip Part I

Hello Kitty Ramen at Puroland

The view from our hotel room.

Train system in Tokyo.  It looks like some kind of electric circuit board. 

Aly enjoying Hello Kitty Ramen.

Puroland entrance

Sleeping on Shinkansen

Saya fell asleep right away at my parents' house.

We are finally back from the trip to Japan.  We spent three eventful weeks in a busy yet orderly country and my mind and soul were stimulated and rested at the same time.  The memories we made are priceless.  I hope the girls engraved them in their hearts and remember them for a long time. 

The previous post was written on the airplane over the pacific on the way to Haneda Airport in Tokyo.  The girls did well on the plane, watching TV shows on the personal entertainment system.  I took a portable DVD player and two iPads with loads of new games, but they didn't even use them on the plane.  I felt pretty tired and dozed on and off since the girls were maintenance free.  They slept finally about the last two hours or so, but the short sleep was what they needed since we were arriving in Haneda at 10:30 pm and they needed to sleep in the hotel.

The hotel was right on the airport, so it was convenient.  We still had to take a shuttle bus to get there, but that wasn't too bad.  I arranged the suitcase to be delivered directly to my house in Osaka, so I didn't have a large suitcase to haul around.  Haneda is a 24-hour airport and we could see the planes taking off from our room.  It was taking off right next to our hotel, but we didn't hear the noise at all.  Amazing!  The girls slept very well overnight and didn't get up until 6 am.  That was very good because we usually get up super early in the morning due to jetlag on the first few days after arrival.  The breakfast buffet at the hotel was awesome!  They had all kinds of dishes including Udon and Soba, which the girls enjoyed the most.  I think Saya ate five bowls of soba that morning.  The girls were extremely hungry it seemed (they didn't eat the airplane food).  I was endlessly getting food for them from the buffet and I couldn't eat much myself (I got too tired to get my own food).

We had a plan to visit Puroland where the beloved Hello Kitty lives.  They were very excited to meet Hello Kitty and other cute Sanrio characters.  We took a bus to a city of Tama which was quite far from Haneda airport.  We walked from the bus stop to Puroland and felt the heat of Japan beating me up mercilessly.  I was prepared for the notorious humid summer of Japan but I suddenly felt like I may not survive it :-).  It takes a bit of getting used to I guess.  The girls were both red cheeked and walking like they have been walking in the desert for days.  Oh boy, I thought.  They have got to toughen up!

The Puroland was just as I imagined.  Hello Kitty was there and she was huge.  The girls hugged her and said she was soft.  They also saw My Melody, characters from Jewel Pet (Japanese girlie cartoon), and many more.  There were tons of Chinese tourists as those characters are popular in other Asian countries, too.  It didn't feel like Japan since many of the people there were foreigners.  We ate Hello Kitty ramen and it was so cute.  I was ready to get out of there though since we were to travel to Osaka on Shinkansen (bullet train) and see my parents.  We had a long way to go, find our way back to the main Tokyo area on a local train, buy Shinkansen ticket and ride it for two and half hours.  The train system in Tokyo looked like a maize.  It is far worse than the ones in Osaka!  We found our way to Tokyo station and the girls followed me like little ducklings through waves of people.  The girls lost to the fatigues and fell asleep on Shinkansen.  I became their pillow and was stuck in uncomfortable and unsexy leg spread position for two hours!  The things we do for children...

When we finally arrived to my parents' condo, I was so relieved!  The long never-ending journey to my parents' home was finally over and there were no surprises or accidents!  When you conquer a challenging situation, you feel empowered and that is what I felt and I always do.  It was not bad at all and I can do this again, I thought, just like when I drove to California and back by myself with three kids.  Let the fun begin, I sang inside, and was determined to not waste any minute and eat lots of yummy food :-)