Japan — All Fun & Games
Happiest Place on Earth!
When the option presented itself to go to Tokyo Disney; I could not say no! I had not been to Disneyland since I was a young child and really don’t remember much. All the girls got matching t-shirts and fun mouse ears, Brain wore his Oklahoma Sooners gear. 😆 Not sure why he didn’t want a matching shirt.
There isn’t much difference between Disneyland US and Tokyo. They have the same rides, gift shops, and mostly the same food options. Food options can vary due to what is available, but it all seemed pretty much the same.
We rode practically every ride and watched the parade. We toured the castle, met some celebrities. Mary Poppins winked at the girls and they almost lost their minds!
It was such a fun day full of laughs and finding my inner child.
All the other things…
We went to Shinjuku to eat some of the best chicken I have ever had in my LIFE! Yamachan’s is a place to find and get your grub on! We dug in so quickly none of us got a photo of the food.
After dinner, we went to the Robot Restaraunt to watch a Robot show. No idea what that meant and I’m not sure how well I could explain it now, but it was such a fun experience. They use large robotic “floats” to tell a story with music, dance, and a narrator. They also have some videos going on the digital walls around the room that share parts of the story as well. It was like seeing a ballet but with robots and EDM Rave level music and lights.
After the show, we went to a local arcade which was 5 stories high and had something new for practically every floor. From claw machines to dance games they had everything! I loved watching a couple of guys kill it on a dance game and then noticed they even had a spin table and piano games on that floor. I had never seen anything like it and my inner gamer was going nuts!
Wrap Up
This trip was healing in so many ways. I had not spent so much time with Brian since before he went into the Air Force back in ’03. We didn’t talk much outside of updates I would send him about Steven’s recovery. Early on before Steven could speak into decisions I would often call Brian. In my last week in Japan, I spent my days with Brian and Brianna. Olivia had started school and Meredith went back to work. Brian took off and we went on some fun adventures.
We took the train to the end of the track to visit the Takao Trick Art Museum. It felt like a small town in the mountains with so much personality and character! We ate at a local restaurant and had some amazing noodles with local veggies. Based on the view out the windows and the veggies I wondered if they didn’t just reach out a window to pick them fresh.
Another day we spent going up to the Ghibli Museum, but I didn’t do my research and they sell out months in advance. We had a good laugh about that for a while and ventured down a ways to a local zoo which also housed some pretty amazing sculptures.
Later in the week, we went to DiverCity Tokyo Plaza complete with the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam robot! With 7 floors each feeling as if it had its own theme we spent the entire day shopping and eating. Aside from its size and the restaurants being spread all around various floors, it was a pretty standard mall. I could go back several days in a row just to explore every store.
My last night in Japan we went to a baseball game. My first ever major league game! Of course, I’m a Cubs fan, but for that night I was a Lions fan. I was amazed when I realized that each team had a band that traveled with them; we stop having that in America when we hit pro-sports. The coolest thing I witnessed, however, were the fans. Japanese culture holds the respect of others very high, even at a baseball game. When someone on the opposing team was up to bat there was no jeering, no bad-mouthing, the only sound you heard was that team’s fans cheering him on. I had never been to a sports game where I wasn’t surrounded by toxic behavior, high school games included. I had a blast!
The most healing thing that happened during my week with Brian was a conversation. I won’t share all the details, because those details belong to us, but it was a conversation I didn’t know I needed. As we talked about Steven, his stroke and recovery, Brian made a statement about those years that allowed me to stop believing lies I had been holding over my head. I saw what was true and began to reconcile the pain I had been holding on to for so long.
I felt safe in Japan. I had a mental and physical mountain in front of me and God moved them both. I found healing on my adventures in Japan and look forward to the day I return.
