2013 Trip Days 16 and 17....Surprise we are going back to Tokyo Disney Sea!

Tuesday, September 3rd

Well, I was super sad today because it was my last full day in Japan :( We were up very early (again) and found our way to the conbini in the hotel lobby to pick up some breakfast.  I think we ended up with yogurt and banana bread and of course teas tea - all yummy!  We took the complimentary shuttle to Narita airport (about a 15 minute ride)  and then caught the train to Tokyo station. Looking back, we should have taken the NEX which is the Narita Express train to Tokyo (we ended up doing this on the way back) because it would have saved us about 45 minutes of travel time.  But, we didn't know about it and the person who helped us purchase the ticket to Tokyo didn't mention the faster option.  So it took us about an hour and a half to get to Tokyo.  While we were on the train it started pouring out.  We were nearing Tokyo Station and it was really coming down.  Not prepared for rain (it was supposed to be sunny so we didn't have umbrellas) we decided to head to Mahaima because Ikspiari was mostly indoors.  We figured we could spend time there and figure out what to do after that.....I must admit I did have an ulterior motive ;)

We ended up having lunch at Kua Aina.  The food here was SO good.  I love pineapple and avocado, so anything they can put that on top of is yummy!  I had a turkey sandwich with cheddar, pineapple and avocado - it was so tasty!  Thomas stuck with the Hawaiian burger (which is their specialty) and he loved it.  After we enjoyed our lunch I wanted to go into the Disney Store because the Halloween merchandise was now out.  I picked up the cutest Halloween tree!

 After shopping we noticed that the rain had stopped and it was sunny out.....I had a great idea....let's go to Disney Sea!  I couldn't believe that Thomas agreed!  We headed to the monorail purchased monorail tickets and  then we took the monorail to Disney Sea and purchase park tickets for one last day!  I was soo happy!  My favorite place! I wish I would have predicted this before hand because we would have saved on the tickets and I would have gone earlier in the day.  The 1 day would cost us about $125 USD.  Not bad but still, pretty pricey for a few hours of Disney fun.
 

On our way in we had our first character meeting with Dale :) and we had a waive from Mickey but his line was too long to wait on and I wanted to get in and enjoy our last day at TD Sea. 

This park is so beautiful. It was all decorated for Halloween!  We took our time and walked around Mediterranean Harbor and I picked up some Halloween merchandise  - some cute note pads and sticker notes.  We found ourselves in the American Waterfront -NY.  We picked up Mickey frozen fruit bars and sat on a  bench by the S.S. Columbia and people watched for a little while. 

Then we decided to see how long the line was for Journey.  It was an hour and 15 minute wait.  Which we decided to get on the line because it was nice and cool in there and at least 100 degrees outside.  It was worth the wait as I love this ride so much!  On the way out we talked to a cast member who wanted to know if we liked it, and the he said he heard that it was comparable to Test Track - which I thought was crazy because it is NOTHING like Test Track.  He had never been to WDW so he hasn't tried test track.  I'd say it's more comparable to Animal Kingdom's Dinosaur meets expedition Everest. 

After Journey we walked around Port Discovery and then took the electric railway over to American waterfront - NY.  I picked up another popcorn bucket (#3) which was the Halloween pumpkin one - and it was caramel flavored - my favorite!  We enjoyed our popcorn snack and just took in this amazing place.  I love to just watch the world go by. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 This is the face you make when you ask your husband to watch your stuff while you use the ladies room....only to come back and realize he had moved and left your $16 popcorn bucket sitting there by itself for 10 minutes!  I'm so glad it was still there!

 

 

 

 

It was getting close to 6:00 and we knew we had a long trip back to Narita.  But I just had to shop a little bit more :) and before we knew it we were ready for dinner at NY Deli and then time to leave :( I was so sad. 

 

 

This is the face you make when you REALLY have to leave your favorite Disney park of all time :(

Another Cast Member photo -- yes, I took a lot of photos with CM's.  I'm a former WDW CM, so I was very interested in talking to the CM's at the Tokyo parks.  They were all so very nice and it was one of the highlights of my trip to talk with them for a little while and take photos with them.  I will remember it forever.

We made our way back to JR Mahaima and then to Tokyo station. 

We decided to take the high speed NEX train back to Narita.  It was pricey but 1/2 the travel time! We ended up catching the 9:00 pm shuttle back to the Hilton.  Time to REALLY pack! I couldn't fit a lot of my souvenirs in my own luggage (even though I now had an extra bag that Thomas brought for me).  So, Thomas ended up with a lot stuff that I just couldn't fit...and he wasn't all that thrilled about it (especially when his luggage was overweight when he checked in for his return flight home...oops!)   I ended up going to bed around midnight.  So sad that I had to leave Japan the next day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, September 4th 

Even though my flight wasn't until the evening, we decided that we were going to take it easy today and to sleep in....until we were woken up by an earthquake!  There was an earthquake on one of the outer islands a 6.5! We were feeling the effects of that and let me tell you - we felt it! It was a little scary because I never experienced an earthquake before and I didn't know if it was going to intensify - which it didn't. And it lasted longer than I thought it would.  After this excitement Thomas went down took the conbini to get us some breakfast.  We stayed at the hotel until getting picked up by the shuttle at 2:00.  Thomas came with me to the airport.

We had lunch at the airport and before I knew it we said goodbye.  I went through security and immigration/passport services and made my way to the gate.  I had purchased extra legroom and had an aisle bulk head seat.  No one in front of me....the flight home was a pleasure.  I watched 4 movies and then before I knew it we were landing! My mom was waiting for me :) I boarded my flight 5:00 pm in Tokyo and arrived at the exact same time at home! It was cool to get an entire day back.   I was pretty hungry so we went out for dinner.  My mom stayed over with me for a few nights. Thomas had checked out of the Hilton 2 days after I left and into the Keio Plaza hotel Hatchioji for his work program.  I had horrible jet lag for the next 5 nights.  And then it was time for my mom and I to head to Florida!  We had 1 night at Disney and then 7 nights on the Disney Fantasy - Western Caribbean cruise and then 3 more days at Disney.  By the time I got home. Thomas was back from Japan.   I hadn't seen Thomas in 3 weeks! I had a great trip with my mom but I was very happy to finally come home!  When we got home Thomas surprised me with some presents from Japan - a case of Teas Tea, pocky, and some Kawaii things from The Disney Store Tokyo!

Japan was the most amazing trip I'd ever been on.  We both loved it so much that we have decided to plan another trip and will be going in October 2014 or May 2015 depending on Thomas' work schedule!  I hope you enjoyed reading about my journey.  It was truly the most amazing place I've ever been.  We have both fallen in love with Japan and can't wait to return! 
 

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