Furthermore, Hubby and I knew that we simply had to travel light as we would be travelling to 3 cities, using only public transport and lugging 2 very active kids. Thus, we adamantly (and successfully!) squeezed all our travel stuff into one luggage bag with one pram. And we were all set for the voluminous train rides across central Japan from Tokyo to Osaka to Kyoto and then back to Tokyo again!
It was really fun planning the trip, although I must say too much planning (I am a typical overplanner) did make me a wee bit jaded by the time the holiday started!
Here are some highlights of our 11-day trip. Unfortunately, I am too lazy to download photos taken from our SLR camera, so I am putting photos (mainly of the Bees) taken from my trusty Canon IXUS. Hence, there are not many picturesque postcard-types of shots.
Day 1, 5 June (Saturday)
1) I love taking early morning flights with the family, so we could wake up before the first light of dawn kissed the earth, and revelled in the majestic sunrays slowly warming up the roads as we travelled to the airport. For this trip, we were out of the house by 7.30am, in preparation for a 9.40am flight! The Bees were almost bursting with excitement and pure happiness, chatting away in the airport lounge animatedly. I love seeing them like this!
2) Both the Bees were rather restless and impatient on the 6-hour flight. Although Big Bee had her movies and entertainment system to play with, 6 hours was a relatively long time for her to be strapped to her seat all the time. Little Bee was incessantly asking me whether we were reaching. It was frazzling to answer their impatient questions every 15 minutes, but really amusing to see them so eager to touch down!
3) We finally arrived in Tokyo at 5.30pm and waited for the airport bus to take us to our hotel - which was another long arduous journey! Eventually, we reached the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel, which is a Tokyo Disney Resort official hotel, by 8pm! Hubby and I were fatigued by a whole day's journey, yet the Bees were so energetic, running all around the beautiful hotel lobby.
4) I loved the hotel room for its sheer size, with 2 double beds that we pushed together so the whole family could snuggle together like sleeping hamsters! I also really appreciated the capacious balcony overseeing the azure bay. The Bees were so taken in by a window that opened up from the bathroom to the bedroom, and were clambering in and out of the window continuously. Tomboys indeed!
5) We ordered room service for our dinner only at 9.30pm. But the Bees were delighted and ravenous, so they devoured much the food in record time.
6) We finally sank into bed at 11pm, snuggling and burrowing alongside each other, giggling and chattering away in the dark, until eventually heavenly slumber beckoned us into her Eden.
Day 2, 6 June (Sunday)
We began our holiday with much fanfare and anticipation - to Tokyo DisneySea! The Bees particularly loved the Tokyo Disney shuttle bus (more like a Disney-themed bus with Mickey introducing himself blithely in Japanese!) and the Resort Liner (their version of an exclusive Disney MRT). It provided the right ingredients for a perfect setting before the real thing!
It was a day of immersing the Bees in breathtaking architecture and sonorous Disney music that filled our souls with happiness - with lots of theme park rides thrown in! Initially, we were somewhat seared by the desert-dry blistering heat of a Tokyo summer, and it took us a while to get adjusted to the dry hot weather.
The Bees loved all the rides we took - from a leisurely romantic cruise on a steam liner along the "Massachussetts river" to a brilliant Little Mermaid musical resplendent with a kaleidoscope of colourful dancers and a beautiful mermaid singing haunting tunes from the movie. The Bees' favourite "land" was the Mermaid Lagoon, with its magical twinkling lights and dark twilight ambience simulating the mysterious underwater world.
Big Bee took a junior roller coaster with me, while Hubby spent some quality time with Little Bee. Big Bee and me had such a fun time giggling and chatting in the 30-minute queue, as well as jumping in pure anticipation of the ride, behaving like little girls! It was such an exhilarating ride, with the wind blowing against our faces and the stupendously steep dips and sharp turns. I screamed way louder than brave Big Bee, as my poor old heart could not tolerate such excitement! After the ride, Hubby commented that both Big Bee and me looked exceedingly "high" on adrenaline!
Mealtimes in DisneySea were always memorable because of the stunning architecture cloaked in a magical ambience. We enjoyed an alfresco dinner in the cool evening, right in front of the arid landscape and pompous volcano of the land of Vulcania. We were treated to a few loud volcanic eruptions, replete with ominous rumblings and dense grey smoke. The Bees were screaming away in exaggerated terror, but I could see they were enjoying the spectacle, especially Little Bee.
We roamed around DisneySea in the imminent gloaming, enchanted by the ubiquitous twinkling fairy lights against a beautiful lavender twilight.
We then witnessed the grandiose and awe-inspiring Braviseamo show that was a magnificent extravaganza of light, pyrotechnics, fire and water, complete with loud haunting musical effects. Shortly after, we were spectators to a brilliant display of fireworks right overhead! What a dazzling end to a spellbinding day!
Day 3, 7 June (Monday)
The day dawned bright and early for another trip to the famed Disney Resort - this time to Disney Land! The Bees were fluttering around with pure excitement, but for Hubby and me, having accompanied them to a Disneyland almost yearly since 2007, we felt rather jaded. However, if the Bees are happy, we would be too!
The summer weather was scorching hot in Disneyland, so much so that it bordered on unpleasantness. We were all squinting our eyes silly in the hot noon sun. And to add to our discomfort, today happened to be a public holiday in Japan! So the crowds were thick and dense, much to my chagrin. Thankfully, by mid afternoon, the weather was considerably cooler, hence we were able to enjoy Disneyland more.
Big Bee went on a thrill rides spree, and emerged from all these rides glowing and grinning. Little Bee enjoyed "It's A Small World Ride" and loved chasing Disney mascots around the park, but she did not relish other thrill rides, preferring to wave at her jie-jie from the parameters.
The finale would definitely be Little Bee and me caught right beneath the blossoming and majestic fireworks, just when Hubby and Big Bee were happily sailing in the skies within Peter Pan's ride.
It was magical, just Little Bee and me, caught in a flurry of excitement with the Japanese, far away in a foreign land, with dazzling fireworks exploding right above us, enveloping us in an ambience of enchantment.
Day 4, 8 June (Tuesday)
'Tis a day for journeys - long train journeys! We were departing for Osaka via the bullet train (shinkansen), but decided we should take it slow and easy in the morning. Hence, we indulged in a luxuriant 2-hour brunch at the hotel's restaurant, where the Bees were serenaded by cooing musicians, much to their awkward embarrassment!
We then launched into a journey of 5 arduous train changes - from Disneyland to the main Tokyo station, where we boarded the shinkansen, and then from the Shin-Osaka station to the Osaka station, and then to the Universal Studios station where we were staying at the excellent Universal Port Hotel with a wonderful large room that can take in 3 big beds!
It was certainly laborious lugging that big 50 kg luggage with 2 deadbeat kids. But I think the journey itself was an experience that remains indelible in our holiday memories, and we want our children to understand the joys of the odyssey rather than remembering a country for its tourist attractions.
We had great fun in the 3.5 hours shinkansen ride - the Bees were chomping on their favourite onigiri with tuna, which was a perfectly nutritious and fast meal! The girls fooled around with each other, yakking about all things under the sun. Big Bee was burrowing her nose into her favourite Faraway Tree books most of the time, whereas talkative Little Bee would be chattering non-stop with Hubby and me. Plenty of bonding time!
Finally, we stepped into Universal Port Hotel - fatigued, dog-wearied and exhausted in a journey that lasted from 3pm to 9pm. Thankfully, we were rejuvenated by a hotel with excellent service, fantastic rooms and lovely ambience (our room was huge and faced the stunning Osaka Bay) - and deep, sweet slumber encompassed us as we sank into the large, soft heavenly beds...bliss!
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