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 →
It’s time for The Parks for the Thirty-Fourth – Tokyo Drift to jump onboard another Shinkansen, taking me to Nagoya to visit a home grown Japanese theme park for the first time – Nagashima Spa Land! It’s home to a roller coaster that became a bucket list item for the trip as soon as I started looking into what roller coasters Japan had to offer: Hakugei, a woodie-steel hybrid coaster from Rocky Mountain Construction. And since I was there, I got to experience other incredible coasters such as Steel Dragon 2000, flying roller coaster Acrobat & Schwarzkopf classic Looping Star and more!Continue reading →
The Parks for the Thirty-Fourth – Tokyo Drift racks up its third theme park with my first ever trip to Universal Studios Japan! As a big time Mario Kart fan, I of course had to get on Mario Kart Koopa’s Challenge again to win the Universal Cup, but there was so much more in this action packed and extra long park day – including my first ride on the brand new Donkey Kong Mine Cart Madness, another first with the sole remaining Jaws: The Ride in the world, Jurassic Park the Ride (also in the dark!), The Flying Dinosaur, Hollywood Dream The Ride, SPY x FAMILY XR Ride, Yoshi’s Adventure and Villain-Con Minion Blast.Continue reading →
The Parks for the Thirty-Fourth – Tokyo Drift hits the rails as I make my way from Tokyo to Osaka onboard the world famous Shinkansen bullet train! Join me for the high speed journey, complete with an Ekiben for lunch, then check out my hotel for my time in Osaka, the Hotel She, Osaka – each room has a vinyl record player! To make use of it, I head out to HMV & Books and pick up a little something to listen to on it while indulging in some treats and snacks from Family Mart!Continue reading →
The second proper day of The Parks for the Thirty-Fourth – Tokyo Drift sees my first ever visit to what is widely considered the best – and certainly the most beautiful – theme park in the world, Tokyo DisneySea! This packed day includes the major attractions of the new Fantasy Springs expansion – Anna & Elsa’s Frozen Journey, Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival and Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure. Plus, entertainment like Believe! Sea of Dreams, fireworks & more as well as Tokyo DisneySea mainstay attractions from Aquatopia to Sindbad’s Storybook Voyage, the Venetian Gondolas and much more! And in between all the attractions and shows, I found the time to eat iconic Disney food offerings like Mike’s Melon Pan and the Little Green Dumpling Mochi as well as yet another serving of Japanese curry at the Casbah Food Court (where they pretend it’s Indian Curry)! All this and more on the third episode of The Parks for the Thirty-Fourth – Tokyo Drift!Continue reading →
The big day arrives as The Parks for the Thirty-Fourth – Tokyo Drift gets properly underway with my first visit to Tokyo Disneyland for my birthday! This celebration includes a Mickey Waffle for breakfast, showstopper E-Ticket attraction The Enchanted Tale of Beauty & the Beast, Walt Disney’s classic The Jungle Cruise, Pooh’s Hunny Hunt – Disney’s first trackless dark ride, Country Bear Vacation Jamboree, buffet lunch at the Crystal Palace Restaurant, Star Tours, Mickey’s Magical Music World, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Mickey’s PhilharMagic, my first time seeing a Disney electrical parade in over a decade with Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade Dreamlights and more!Continue reading →
The Parks for the Thirty-Fourth – Tokyo Drift gets underway at last! This trip takes me to Japan to celebrate my 34th birthday by visiting not one, not two, not three but five theme parks – including the bucket list dreams of Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea at the Tokyo Disney Resort! But first, I had to get there! I flew with Turkish Airlines in Economy from London Heathrow to Istanbul Airport aboard an Airbus A321neo and then on to Tokyo Narita on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. You’ll see my lunch at Carl’s Jr in Istanbul, all the food and seat facilities onboard each flight, my lunch the next day at Saizeriya in Ikspiari at Tokyo Disney Resort, a look around my hotel room at the CVS Bay Hotel and all my first day purchases from Bon Voyage, the Disney Store and my first visit to a Japanese konbini (convenience store), Lawson!Continue reading →
A quick taste of what’s to come in my #Japan#Vlog Series, The Parks for the Thirty-Fourth – Tokyo Drift. This trip includes flights between London Heathrow and Tokyo Narita via Istanbul, Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo DisneySea, Universal Studios Japan, Nakashima Spa Land, Fuji-Q Highland, Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, journeys on the Shinkansen, a load of Japanese food and more!Continue reading →
For the 2025 Wimbledon Championships, Marks & Spencer have released a Limited Edition Sandwich – the Red Diamond Strawberry & Creme sandwich – based on the famous dessert sando sold at conbinis in Japan. Ahead of my trip to Japan later this year, I decided this was the perfect time to try one to see what all the fuss is about and so I can compare it to the real thing when I’m visiting Tokyo & Osaka.Continue reading →
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