Tokyo // Asakusa + the Sanja Matsuri festival

when we booked our stay in the Asakusa neighborhood of Tokyo, we had no idea we would be arriving in the middle of a festival. but when we emerged from the subway system, we were greeted by packed streets and the banging of drums.

since we only spent one night in actual Tokyo [the rest we were at Tokyo Disneyland] we decided to splurge stayed at The Gate Hotel. it wasn't cheap. but the views were stunning, the food was to die for, and it was right in the middle of everything. the Sensoji temple [which is the center of the Sanja Matsuri festival] was only a few short blocks away. we dropped our bags and went out to explore the nearby temple and market. and of course, gawk at the festival activities.

the Sensoji temple and surrounding buildings were gorgeous - I loved the sweeping roofs and the bold red. I did not take near as many photos as I normally would, because the area was extremely crowded. the Sanja festival is one of the largest religious celebrations in Japan, and draws up to 2 million people each year. and we unknowingly walked into the middle of it.

throughout the course of the weekend-long celebration, the streets are crowded with people both participating in and viewing the carrying of various mikoshi [or small shrines] to and from the main temple for blessings. it seemed that every street we turned down had a procession going through. even though it was unplanned [on our part] it was incredible to see this kind of cultural event in action.

the market area surrounding the temple was - if possible - even more crowded. but I'm glad we took the time to explore. one of my favorite things about traveling in Asia is going through the markets and seeing what is different or the same as other countries and cultures.

after a while, the noise and crowds started making me a bit claustrophobic. so we went a few blocks away and discovered a lovely riverside park with a great view of the Skytree and Asahi Beer buildings. [note: the Skytree is actually much taller than it looks here.] we crossed over and found a bar to have a drink in, then headed back to the hotel for dinner with a view.

though I'd love to spend more time exploring Tokyo, our experience walking into the festival unaware will be tough to beat. it really was amazing to see, planned or unplanned. if you'd like to experience the Sanja Matsuri on purpose, it is held the third weekend in May every year.

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tips for visiting Tokyo Disneyland

one of my best friends is currently exploring Walt Disney World in Florida, and it's making me jealous reminisce about our visit to Tokyo Disneyland last May. lucky for me [and you!] I realized that there was still a handful of photos and a TON of tips and tricks that I had neglected to share in my previous Disney posts. so, here you go:

getting there + getting around

if you are arriving in Tokyo by plane, you can get to Disneyland from Narita or Haneda airports by either bus or train. [we opted for the bus since it's a direct shot, about 1 hour drive from Narita.] once you arrive at the resort area, the best way to get around is by the monorail [which is called the Disney Resort line here.] we opted to stay in one of the partner hotels, the Hilton Tokyo Bay, which had a free shuttle bus that ran to the monorail station... though it was close enough to walk to the station. we bought a multi-day pass and really got our money's worth. one ride is 260 yen [about $2.60 USD] and if you plan to ride more than once between the park + hotel [we came back for lunch each day] it is worth getting the daily pass. I would also recommend staying out by the parks so that you can leave the park for more variety and less expensive meal options. the Ikspiari shopping complex contains restaurants of varying price levels, along with a grocery store. our hotel also had a small take-out deli and a decently stocked convenience store.

be prepared

when I checked the weather forecast for our trip to Tokyo Disneyland, it was supposed to be 80F and sunny. our second day was definitely bright and we were glad to have packed sunscreen. but our first day we had 70F and rain. this worked in our favor to keeps the crowds down, but it did mean investing in some snazzy $20 souvenir umbrellas. many of the shops sell umbrellas [ranging in price from $12 to $40 USD, and we spotted some $5 ponchos at the Pooh store. especially in the spring, you should come prepared with rain gear [or be prepared to purchase in the park.]

popcorn wagons

one thing that you MUST eat while at the park is the popcorn. Tokyo Disney is unique in that it offers a variety of popcorn flavors that can be found at different locations in the park. when we visited, the flavors were: caramel, salt, soy sauce + butter, curry, honey, strawberry, and soda. initially we had planned to try them all, but we fell in love with the curry popcorn [seriously, it was amazing] and ended up eating mostly that. each wagon offers a different souvenir bucket which costs $18.50 initially, and $5.20 per refill. we went with a classic Mickey bucket [at the soy sauce + butter wagon] and went through 3 or 4 curry refills. you can also buy a smaller carton at any stand for $3.10, but having the bucket was perfect for snacking while walking around or waiting in line. plus... it's adorable.

buying souvenirs

the selection of souvenirs was definitely not what I expected. the most popular characters seemed to be Mike and Sully from Monster's Inc, Chip and Dale, Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, Winnie the Pooh, Toy Story, Marie from Aristocats, and obviously Mickey and Minnie. many of the stores in the park carry similar merchandise, but a few unique items are only found in stores near that character/theme ride. the princess options seemed to be limited to Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel, Sleeping Beauty, and a little Rapunzel. we did most of our shopping on our second day, after we had scoped out all the options for what to buy and where. we also found that the "Bon Voyage" shop and the Disney Store in Ikspiari carried additional items that couldn't be found in the park.

using fastpass

I've never used fastpass at a Disney park before, but if you visit Tokyo it will be your new best friend. the way they operate fastpass at these parks is a little different from anywhere else [or so I hear] and it makes it even faster for you if you hold a pass. the downside? standby wait times can get long and you will be frustrated watching everyone zoom by while you stand still for 20 minutes. depending on the time slot and how many passes each ride has, the fastpass to standby admittance ratio can go up to 10 to 1. [no really, we counted. 8 standby went in for every 75-80 fastpass at Pooh's Hunny Hunt] the two rides you absolutely want fast pass for are Hunny Hunt and Monster's Inc, though they come in handy for any of the coaster rides [Space Mountain, Big Thunder Railroad] or Splash Mountain.

have you ever been to Tokyo Disneyland - or another Disney park? do you have any tips to add to this list?

linking up with Bonnie, Camila, Jessi, and Amy for Travel Tuesday.

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Tokyo Disneyland // Adventureland and beyond

for my last installment in Tokyo Disneyland week, I'm just going to mash everything else together from Adventureland, Westernland [known in the US as Frontierland] Critter Country and Toontown. I don't have photos from all the rides, but I'll try to give you the lowdown on what we did and didn't do.

Pirates of the Caribbean

this ride was always one of my favorites growing up. in Tokyo it seemed to be less popular, even with the injection of Jack Sparrow into the attraction. since we could pretty much walk right on whenever we wanted, we rode this one 3 times [to escape the rain and just because we could.]

our first day at the park we had dinner at the Blue Bayou, which overlooks the loading area for the Pirates ride. it's indoors, but reminds me of a place I've been near Savannah, Georgia with the giant tree and lanterns. you don't encounter any Priates [or singing of yo-ho, thankfully] but the ambiance has lightning bugs and chirping crickets like you're right in the Bayou.

Jungle Cruise

this ride is another childhood favorite of mine. sadly it was closed for renovations during our visit. we opted for a spin on the Western River Railroad instead, and got our fill of animatronic animals that way...

Swiss Family Treehouse

in California and Hong Kong this attraction has been redone as Tarzan's Treehouse, but in Tokyo it remains as the original. it's not the most exciting thing in the park... but good to walk through for a change of scenery. from the top you can spot the castle and the Tiki Room [which is Stitch themed in Tokyo and all in Japanese, so we skipped it]

Big Thunder Mountain

this roller coaster railroad turned out to be one of my favorites. while indoor coasters make me nauseous, outdoor ones are just plain fun. we rode this twice, both times with fastpass. we ended up with later times, but being able to walk right in was awesome.

they still light the mountain at night, so you can see just fine as you roll past "mineral hot springs" and through a dinosaur skeleton, and watch some adorable possums spin on their branch as you blow by. I never rode Big Thunder as a kid but I really enjoyed it as an adult, and gladly would have gone a third and fourth time.

Splash Mountain

Splash Mountain in Tokyo is identical to the other parks, aside from the story being told in Japanese. the most entertaining part, however, was the pair of tourists in front of us trying to NOT get wet. one of them brought a small towel to cover her face, and they both crouched down low in the seats when we went over the drop.

maybe I'm crazy, but when I go on a ride called Splash Mountain I expect to come away soggy...

Toontown

we didn't go in to see any characters, but we did wander through and look at their houses. I was kind of shocked to hear that they no longer have Mickey's House, etc, at the Magic Kingdom in Florida... but in Tokyo you can still explore where your favorite classic characters live.

parts of the area were under construction, but in the way back we discovered Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin. it was loud and bright... and fun because you could control [to some extent] the spinning of your taxi cab. the theming was really great in the waiting area, and we had to watch the movie when we got home to refresh our memories.

overall, we really enjoyed our trip to Tokyo Disney! we got to ride everything we wanted at least once [of what was open] and discovered some new favorites along the way.

if you missed it: Monday's post on Tomorrowland and Wednesday's post on Fantasyland

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Tokyo Disneyland // Fantasyland Favorites

Tokyo Disneyland week continues today with a visit to Fantasyland. this land contains some of the most iconic attractions [at least in my opinion] and the ride which has been my favorite since the very first time I visited a Disney park, 25 years ago.

Haunted Mansion

our first day at the park we snagged a fastpass for Monsters Inc first thing, then headed back to ride my favorite ride first: the Haunted Mansion. I will say that it lost some of the magic by being 98% in Japanese [and therefore not understandable to me] but for the nostalgia factor it's still a winner. I have heard that the Mansions in other parks have been updated and altered, but Tokyo has kept the original setup as far as I can tell.

we rode this one three times, stopping in during the parade one night while there was no wait, and our second afternoon to escape a rainstorm. it might sound repetitive, but you'd be amazed the little details you notice those second or third times through. during one of these times the ride was stopped for reasons unknown [there was a loud announcement in Japanese] and so thats where the interior photos come from.

and I have to give you a little now and then... the bottom photo was taken on my first trip to Walt Disney World in 1989. I was 4. and maybe a little terrified to go in.

Peter Pan's Flight

this is one of those classic rides, very similar to Pinnochio and Snow White's Adventures, where you just ride through the story. it was entirely in Japanese but it's a little more interesting than the other rides in this area because you fly through it on your own pirate ship. the most fun part of this ride was actually waiting in line and seeing all the little kids decked out and so excited.

It's a Small World

yes, the song gets annoying and will be stuck in your head for days. but when it's just a 10 minute wait it's hard to resist. it also becomes infinitely more entertaining when your World History and Geography teaching husband decided to take a series of disapproving selfies in front of the not-so-politically-correct portions of the ride.

Alice's Tea Party

we did not ride the tea cups this time around [remember how I said I easily get nauseous?] but the Wonderland theming has expanded to include the nearby Queen of Hearts banquet hall. given the popularity of the Cheshire Cat [or at least from what we saw] it's not surprising that Tokyo decided to add the "buffeteria" restaurant to their Fantasyland.

Pooh's Hunny Hunt

and now we come to the most magical moment of my Tokyo Disneyland experience. I grew up watching Winnie the Pooh on Saturday mornings, but what I remember and love best is the original movie from 1977: The Many Adventure of Winnie the Pooh. and in this unique-to-Tokyo ride, you are transported - literally - into the story.

you enter the ride through Christopher Robin's storybook and are seated in an enormous honeypot. and as you turn around the corner and into the hundred acre wood, you realize that your honeypot is not moving on a track or attached to your fellow pots. this ride uses a trackless technology that allows each pot of riders to spin off and explore their own corners of the scene!

the scenes are incredibly well done... you find yourself floating through a blustery day, bouncing with Tigger, and trapped inside the honeytree. but my most favorite part of this ride is when Pooh drifts off to sleep and you are transported into a [slightly neon and disco] version of the heffalumps and woozles song. your honeypots spin around in an intricately planned dance, and for a moment you are interacting with the groups of pots ahead and behind you. the details that they took from the film were spot on, and by the time we wheeled past "The End" I was in tears.

magical. there is no other word.

we rode this one twice, though I gladly would have gone again if time allowed. being a newer [and incredible] attraction, you will want to snag a fastpass. we waited over an hour on standby at 8pm our second day because the passes were out before noon.

if you missed it: Monday's post on Tomorrowland 
next up we'll be mashing all the other lands together, from Adventureland to Toontown...

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