Showing posts with label Japan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Japan. Show all posts

Saturday, June 22, 2019

Summer 2019 Osaka/Tokyo Family Trip: Day 7- Tokyo Odaiba

Well, we are now back in Hawaii after a long vacation!  I'm still catching up on posts, so please bear with me.  Judging from all the photos we took in Odaiba, this will be a long post (but it will be worth it!)!

So Day 7 takes us to Odaiba.  The first time we went to Odaiba, we thought it was just a lot of malls, and never really went back until our last trip.  Team Lab keeps bringing us back to this area now they have a permanent home for their Borderless exhibit.  We almost booked the Team Lab Planets, but decided to go with the original for the fam.  If you are headed to Tokyo, this is a must see.

My mom actually told me that morning that she wasn't going to go with us and that she would just go explore the area herself.  She also commented that it was a "kiddie" area, so she wasn't interested.  I told her she should go cause it wasn't just for kids and that we had already bought her a ticket.  She was so happy she went!

So if you read my last post about Team Lab, you'll know that we went to Team Planets by mistake... Team Lab Borderless is by the ferris wheel (in case you get them confused like we did last time).



The line was super duper long even though we came just after it opened.  It went down the stairs for the length of the building, and onto the sidewalk... We debated on if we should come back later or brave the line.  So glad we decided to stay cause the line moved very quickly.  Paul said that there was a couple near us that gave up... too bad they were impatient!



I guess I had a bad angle... missing the "b" in Team Lab.



I love their slogan... You don't get a map of each room, and no guided tour, so it truly is to wander, explore and discover!



Since it was pretty crowded, we decided to head to the top floor and work our way down.  They kids wanted to color up their images right off the bat, so we stopped at the athletic forest to do so.  Here's Akemi's one.  She's definitely missing our dog.


After we found each kid's image, we explored more areas.  This is the big balloon room.  It changes colors periodically.




One of our favorite areas was the sea creatures room where you could color up the images and they come to life.


My sister's is the cutest jelly!!



Even Grandma made one!

After all that fun, we decided we needed a break and headed to the tea room.  This continues to be a favorite of ours!  You really need to experience this in person cause photos don't do it justice.  I am pretty sure the flowers were different this time and we also ordered green tea ice cream that generated ivy wherever you placed it.  My mind is still boggled as to how all of this works.



We finally made it downstairs and happened upon the waterfall room.  The projections were different this time, so I think even if you've gone before you'll have a different experience if you go again.


This is where Paul slid (fell) down the waterfall and got scoldings. LOL!


This time they featured wisteria!!


Aaaaah, the lantern room.  We never made it last time since we ran out of time, so this time it was on the top of our to do list.  Note, there is ALWAYS a line for this area because they limit the number of people at a time and you have only so much time to explore.  Its worth it..


The colors keep changing.



My favorite photo...



Then we headed to the crystal jewel room, which is also fascinating!



Some of the exhibits were interactive... when you touch them, they react!




After getting lost a few times, we made it to the main room, where Paul started working on his "social media influencer" career.  LOL!


After a 4 hours, we finally decided to leave and looked for some lunch in the mall.  After we refueled, we did a bit more sight seeing in the area...


We decided to walk to the next area... and found a lot of hydrangeas!


Its Unicorn Gundam!!




We hurried through the mall to get to the next area...  I saw the Trick Art Museum on YouTube, so we thought it would be fun for the kids to check it out...  But we needed some instruction so we had to get oriented before exploring.  We started to get the hang of it...



It was super fun!
















It was about $10 to get in, but I think it was worth it!  We sure had fun in Odaiba!  So much more to share, so stay tuned!

Thursday, June 20, 2019

Summer 2019 Osaka/Tokyo Family Trip: Day 4- Kyoto Arashiyama and Osaka Matsusaka Beef

As you are reading this, I'm on my way back to Osaka from Tokyo. Its been a very busy trip, so I'll try to remember all that happened.

This post has us still in Kansai area, but the group decided to split up for the day.  Paul, Akemi, and Darren went to Arashiyama in Kyoto while the rest of us stayed in Osaka.  There's really not a whole lot to report from the Osaka group since we mainly stayed at the Abeno Q Mall for the most part.

I took mom to go eat fluffy pancakes at the mall.  It was pretty good with the fresh fruit!




Meanwhile... back in Arashiyama...  


Going to see the monkeys!


The first part is definitely the toughest part.  I remember well.


But well worth the hike!  Baby monkeys!


Grooming... I swear this is what Kiko does to Paul's facial hair.


They made it!




People in the cage, animals outside!


Baby monkey!!




Bye bye monkeys... till next time.



My one request from Kyoto was the Zarame cotton candy!  The last time we went, I got the bag of sakura milk flavored cotton candy and kept thinking about it ever since!  Paul and Akemi got the fresh one, while they brought home 2 bags for me.



Next up was Fire Ramen!  I think its safe to say they had fun...




After they Kyoto crew came back, we headed to Shimojima... my favorite stationary store!  We got a little lost and it started to rain, but we made it!


After a productive shopping trip to Shijojima, we got ready for a late dinner at Matsusaka Beef!!


We got there early and entertained ourselves by drawing on their map.  There's Italy!


And Los Angeles- Isn't H's drawing so cute!


And Hawaii of course...



Ready Freddy!


Oh yeah!!



Biru is the perfect partner.





Paul says "its lick the bowl good!"


After dinner, we stopped for the photo op with the Glico man.





Believe it or not, Paul wanted 2nd dinner and headed to Taco Bell for an okonomiyaki burrito, only found in Osaka Taco Bell.  Too bad they were closed.  We still have one more chance to get one next week.


Back to the room to start packing for our trip to Tokyo!