Japan - Disney

On day 3 of our Japanese adventure, Ken had to go to work, so I took the boys to Tokyo Disney!  It was their first time to go to a Disney theme park and we had a blast!!!  Of course I was expecting it to be half empty on a random Monday in May, but that was NOT the case!!!  Why weren't those kids at school??  Even with the lines and crowds we had a great time!  And we made use of the fastpass as much as possible!


A picture of Yokohama from the bus taking us to Disney.  If you look closely to the left of the tallest tower you can see Mt Fuji.  Unfortunately due to overcast weather the rest of our trip, this was our only Mt Fuji sighting--taken from the bus on the Yokohama bridge!  :-)

Welcome to Tokyo Disney

After checking out the castle, the boys wanted to go straight to Space Mountain.  We got our fast pass time and went to ride something else while we waited.  I'm so glad I didn't know what to expect or how to prep them for the ride.  I had no clue it was an indoor rollercoaster in complete darkness except for the stars.  They would have worked themselves up to being afraid if we knew what we were getting into!  But this way was a complete surprise and an absolute blast!  They still talk about how much fun it was!!! 

After space mountain, we rode some smaller rides ... including It's a Small World.  Nicholas remembered singing that song for his year end concert in nursery school and had no idea it was a Disney song!  Then we hit the water area ... they couldn't wait to paddle the canoes and take the raft to Tom Sawyer Island to explore.  They had a blast!!!

Excited to get their paddles for the canoe

Jaden thought canoeing was AWESOME!!

Tree house on Tom Sawyer island (can you see their little faces in the window?)

They loved the floating barrel bridge!!

And the suspension bridge

 Do all kids like maps as much as ours??  They were so excited to have a map of the island play area and another map of the entire theme park.  They check them constantly too!!

Of course I was LOVING all the Easter and springtime decorations still everywhere in the park.  You miss out on all the Christian holiday festivities when you live in a Muslim desert.  The Easter decorations were all so cute!!!  We especially loved the daytime parade -- bunnies, eggs, flowers, color, all things Easter/spring!  It was fantastic!!

Ice cream break.  Everything is shaped like Mickey Mouse!  They had Mickey Mouse shaped pizza for lunch too!

 We continued riding lots of rides until they got tired and wanted to head home.  We didn't make it to Thunder Mountain, but by the time they were tired it was almost time for the night time parade of lights.  So we grabbed a bite to eat and found a spot to enjoy the parade before taking the bus back to Yokohama.

 

Disney Castle at dusk

Love the flowers in the background.

Proof that I was there!

I took lots of pictures of the parades, but spared you from all but one each.  The genie was our favorite in the parade of lights. 

 

 All in all, it was a long but fun filled day at Disney.  I'm glad the boys were able to take it all in and enjoy Disney at just the right age! 

 

Japan - Kamakura

On day 2 of our trip to Japan, we took the boys to Kamakura.  It's a short train ride from where we were staying in Yokohama, and one of my favorite places from our last visit (3 years ago).

 

Hand washing station before we enter Kotokuin Temple

First siting of the giant Buddha in Kamakura. 

Silly poses in front of the giant Buddha

We couldn't have asked for better weather!

waiting to enter and go inside (not much to see, but cool to be inside the Buddha)

I asked Jaden to take a picture of me and Nicholas in front of the statue.  He forgot to get the statue.

Jaden's second attempt!  He got it this time!

Favorite picture of the day ... photo bomb by Buddha!

Ken and the boys

Grrr!!!  Silly boys!

After seeing the giant Buddha, we had a delicious meal at a traditional Japanese restaurant ... table on the floor.  The kids loved it and the food was delicious!!!

Lunch in Kamakura ... Nicholas was meditating before the meal

Cold udon noodle soup with rice and tempura on the side.  Delicious!!

Mastering chop sticks

Leaving the restaurant

 After lunch we visited the Hasedera Temple in Kamakura.

Red lantern at entrance of Hasedera Temple

 

Fukuju Jizo or "Happy" Jizo



Boys smiling happily, but the site is rather sad.  The temples of Japan are lined with thousands of these little statues.  Some are decorated with red bibs, bonnets, and pinwheels, but these were plain.  They are statues of  Jizo, the Japanese guardian of children.  The Japanese believe Jizo helps children who die before their parents find their way to the afterlife.  So each statue represents a child who has died before their parents.  This particular temple said the statues were to comfort the souls of unborn children.

Main building of the Hasedera Temple

Hasedera Temple

 You can't take pictures in the main buildings of the temple, but the main building houses a giant gold statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy.  The statue has 11 heads, representing different characteristics of the goddess. 


 Rubbing Buddha's belly for good luck

strolling around the grounds.  loved these little statues!

 

Inside this building were rotating bookracks, called rinzo, with important Buddhist sutras written on them.  By turning the rinzo, it is believed that you can earn the same merit as from reading all the sutras at once.   

 

 



How many arms do you count?



 

Stopped to enjoy the flowers along a pathway with a beautiful look out

From temple grounds, you could see the beach in Kamakura.  The pictures didn't do it justice.  The colorful buildings and the beautiful weather and sea were just breath taking!!

  

We loved these cute little statues

Loved all the areas to explore in the temple grounds ... little ponds and waterfalls.  Just beautiful!

 

Wooden plaques are at all the temples too ... you write your prayers on them and leave them at the temple for the gods to read and hopefully answer.  Love this shot with the cave in the background.  Well done Ken!

Inside the cave

 

Benzaiten is a sea goddess and the only female among the seven lucky gods of Japan.  She is the patron of music, fine arts, and good fortune.

Boys in front of Daiko- one of the seven Japanese gods of fortune.

Daiko is considered the god of wealth or harvest

Brotherly love

Beautiful temple grounds

Our train back to Yokohama

back on the train headed for Yokohama