As The Parks for the Thirty-Fourth – Tokyo Drift draws towards an end, I spend the first of two days enjoying the sights and sounds of Tokyo. First I headed back up the Diamond & Flowers Ferris Wheel for daytime views of Tokyo Disney Resort. Then after grabbing some ramen from Ichiran, I went up Tokyo Skytree for even broader views and to check out the Toy Story collab. Then it was back down to earth to visit Chris “Abroad in Japan” Broad & Sharla “Sharmeleon” Hinskens’s LOST Bar for an hour in the VIP room with a Too Much Volcano cocktail and spend the rest of the day exploring Tokyo’s vibrant shopping from KitKats at Don Quijote to the iconic Tower Records to take a look at some domestic Taylor Swift releases, with a stop along the way for dinner at Kura Sushi.Continue reading →
The Parks for the Thirty-Fourth – Tokyo Drift makes it to the fifth and final theme park of the trip as I drift over from Tokyo to Mount Fuji for a visit to Fuji-Q Highland, home to Eejanaika, the most extreme fourth dimension roller coaster in the world, alongside the iconic Fujiyama Hypercoaster and a whole host of other extreme roller coasters and a great collection of rides themed to iconic Japanese franchises. All that, plus an extensive themed land dedicated to the really useful engine we adore, Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, where I was able to grab some fun themed treats to enjoy yet another round of kawaii Japanese theme park food!Continue reading →
The Parks for the Thirty-Fourth – Tokyo Drift hits the rails one more time as I make my way back to Tokyo from Osaka on the Shinkansen, with another obligatory Ekiben on the way! Once back in Tokyo, I checked in to my third hotel of the trip and by far the fanciest – much fancier than I had realised it was when I booked it: The Tokyo East Side Hotel Kaie. For not much more per night than I had spent on the other hotels, this one really blew me away with the size and quality of the rooms and how plush and well appointed eve the common areas such as the lobby are. I managed to drag myself away for a brief trip to Kasai Rinkai Park and up yet another observation Ferris Wheel, the Diamond and Flower Ferris Wheel, before retiring to my spacious and stylish hotel room for a dinner of Konbini snacks and treats from Family Mart – including my first ever Curry Pan!Continue reading →
The Parks for the Thirty-Fourth – Tokyo Drift is still in Osaka Drift mode for one more day, and we’re Keeping it 100 on the Land, the Sea, the Sky with some walking around for shopping and eating in Universal CityWalk, Tempozan & central Osaka; trips on the sea at the port of Osaka with the Tempozan Ferry and the Captain Line Universal City Port Shuttle Boat and views of Osaka from the sky onboard the Tempozan Giant Ferris Wheel and atop the iconic observation tower of Tsūtenkaku.Continue reading →
The final day of Planes, Trains & Millennium Falcons – my October 2024 trip to California for Disneyland, Disney California Adventure & Universal Studios Hollywood – fell on my birthday, because I can’t think of a better place to celebrate my birthday than the Happiest Place on Earth!Continue reading →
