Hello, remember me?

Yes, I know...it's been way too long.  To make a very long story short, G and I had an amazing summer back in the United States.  He got a taste of Americana at its best and I got to spend a ton of time with friends, family and of course shopping.  After the husband dragged me kicking and screaming back to Japan, we are full speed ahead in Tokyo again.  G is attending the American School in Japan's Early Learning Center and (again) after a brief adjustment period, is loving it.  Roy is immersed in work and I'm trying once again to establish a life here.  I'm back to my Japanese lessons twice a week, taking a core conditioning class at the Tokyo American club, joining in a book club and a cooking club and becoming very active in G's school.  I've taken on the role of Social Coordinator for his class and have also volunteered for the spring gala (Havana Nights) committee as I cannot lie, I love me a black tie event.  Oh and I get to buy a new dress. 

Last weekend the forecast called for lovely weather on Saturday, so being true to our "explore more of this city" mantra, we decided to....go to Tokyo Disneyland of course.  We checked the website (in English - woo too!), verified the address, packed snacks and at 6:45 am on Saturday we were out the door en route to "Mickey Mouse's house" which conveniently is just 1/2 hour drive away.  The park opens at 8 am, however by the time we arrived at 7:15, there were already quite impressive lines at the entrance.  Families had obviously been camping out for some time already.  We purchased our tickets and then waited with the masses for the gates to open.  And open they did, at which time people were running full speed ahead towards the attractions.  While we stood gaping,  still trying to open our map of the park -not good planning by the Wilmoths. 

Finally we just decided to conquer the attractions in a clockwise fashion - Adventureland, Westernland, Critter Country, Fantasyland, Toontown and Tomorrowland.  Making a point to watch the main street parade - Halloween themed at 11:00 am.  Early in the morning we were able to visit most attractions with very little wait, but by noon, there were 2 hour lines at most of the popular rides.  Seeing the Husband and G on the Flying Dumbo pretty much made my life.  My fave ride?  The spinning teacups - hysterical!  Had a brief moment of "OMG, is this ride age appropriate?" on a roller coaster (c'mon, he made the height restriction) but it turned out to be the highlight of G's visit.  Mother of the Year award still in tact. 

The park itself was immaculate , no trash to be seen anywhere on the grounds.  The only drawback?  Food and snacks were few and far between and/or had huge lines.  I should clarify - you could purchase Mickey Mouse shaped popsicles and caramel/curry/chocolate/green tea flavoured popcorn in the park quite readily and it appears this is what most people ate throughout the day.    Although the crowds were huge due to it being a holiday weekend, the Husband and G were quite easy to spot as I think we were 3 of perhaps 6 gaijin (foreigners) at the park that day.  G is starting to think that his name is "Kawaii" pronounced like Hawaii - it means "cute" in Japanese and is generally uttered while simultaneously touching his hair.  A definite no-go in the U.S, but here quite acceptable.  

We called it a day around 3:30 -tired, crispy from the sun but all happy that we had finally experienced Disneyland.  We plan to return this fall - I am dying to try Space Mountain Tokyo style.  

Until next time...

Michele