Disney Sea

It was Olivia's birthday recently, and this post is dedicated to her awesomeness. She was a great roomie and a great person and I'm sure she is going to end up doing some amazing things with her life. I'm so glad to have me you, Olive!

Before she left, we had the opportunity to visit Disney Sea. Disney Sea is the sister park and neighbor to Disneyland. We didn't have the opportunity to visit Disneyland, but Liz and I are hoping to get there before we go back home. Disneyland is more the typical Disney adventure, but Disney Sea is Japan's own take on some less familiar Disney classics. It's a crazy mish mash of random cultures and architecture from around the world, and definitely one of my favorite places in Japan. And it involves Disney! What more could you possibly want. Of course, we didn't get to spend nearly enough time there to enjoy all of the rides. We did have a splendid time wandering around though, and we managed to ride a few of the best attractions at the park. We even ate aliens!

The Japanese are insanely enthusiastic about everything Disney. Each person in the park had some sort of character hat on or was wearing a Disney outfit. Many of the women and girls had bows and were carrying that new Disney bear. I blocked out the name because I hate that Disney is trying to replace Mickey Mouse. Mickey is NOT to be replaced by some stupid bear! Olive and I were very adamant  about avoiding the sections of the souvenir shops full of those teddy bears. All day I tried to find a hat I would love and wear back in the states, but I eventually came to the conclusion that I shouldn't spend money on a kitschy souvenir that I will never wear again. I did have some fun trying on different options, but somehow managed not to take any pics of the hilarity. I know I haven't been able to fully explain the extent to which people are obsessed with Disney, so you'll just have to take a trip to Tokyo to see it for yourself.

Here are a bunch of amazing photos to show off the glorious-ness that is Disney Sea.

This volcano actually shot flames out the top throughout the day and night.

This is the Mediterranean section of the park. We had some pretty great pizza here for dinner. I honestly felt like I was walking through the streets of Italy. They even had gondola rides available though they were temporarily shut down due to wind. 

Tower of Terror! This was the last ride and most thrilling ride of the day. It was perfectly gloomy over the tower. 

This is inside the Toy Story Mania ride! It's supposed to be Andy's room, and we're viewing it from the perspective of the toys. We waited in line for an hour and a half and it was definitely worth it. Actually, we lucked out because most of the day the line was at least a three hour wait. We ate lunch in line and the other people waiting were clearly jealous of our foresight. 

 'Merica

This is the door to Andy's room! Notice the 3D glasses. The ride was all about target practice with little toy lasers.

We had to get a picture with Woody after the ride.

Earlier in the day, we had seen little kids eating these aliens. Apparently this dessert is called 'mochi'. I don't really know how to describe it, but it was like sweet flavored custard surrounded by sticky dough. Pretty delicious, though it was a bit too sweet.

Woody, are you hungry?

Some New England Action 

Indiana Jones territory...

Arabian marketplace

Mermaid Lagoon 

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MAGIC 

Hello New York :) 

At the end of the day, Mickey came out to perform a fantasma show in the Mediterranean Harbor. I couldn't get any clear pics of it, but it was very phenomenal. I was excessively creeped out that Mickey had an insanely high voice and was speaking Japanese though. Besides that, it was a great show. Good bye Disney Sea!! Thanks for the memories :) 

After we left the station,  we had to stop for Cinnabon. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.

Though I didn't find a hat, I did find these awesome Mickey Mouse-like gloves. Perfectly understated Disney. I wear them around Japan and I will have no problem wearing them around the United States. 

Happy birthday, Olive! Wish you were still here to share more adventures with, but I'm glad I got to explore with you when we had the chance! Good luck on that driving test :)

Nagoya (Part 4-Monkey Park)

I had planned to visit a tie-dying museum in Nagoya after Meiji-Mura, but I got sidetracked by a monkey park! A whole park devoted to monkeys, can you believe my luck? Ha in case we haven't yet established my love of all things primate, let me spell it out. I love monkeys. It was a SERIOUS hassle to get to the park from the subway station. I was in a tiny little town with barely any sidewalks and no signs in English. It was a miracle I found that park. Once inside, I again was sidetracked by the petting zoo for kids. How can you not get distracted by ginea pigs and bunnies? I paid two dollars to pet them and it was worth it. The adorable little Japanese children made the experience even better.

Once I finally tore myself from the cuteness, I wandered through the park enjoying all different species of primates. Look at this cutie!

I made a few friends inside the park.

 A path off of the main walkway took me right into the center of this enclosure. The monkeys were so close! I felt like I could touch them at some points.

Next was Monkey Valley. Many Macaques lived together there. I was able to purchase some food for a dollar to feed to the monkeys. It was very interesting to see the group dynamics when they realized I could give them a snack. The young ones moved away from the older ones in order to avoid a fight when I threw down the little pellets of deliciousness. I purposely tried to toss a couple to the babies. My aim was spot on and I'm pretty sure I made their day.

After the feeding frenzy, I wandered over to a couple of metal doors surrounding another monkey enclosure. Again, no signs in English, but I had seen a family go through so I figured I was safe. Once inside, I caught the attention of a staff person who promptly used food to encourage the monkeys into view. I was about one foot away and the experience was amazing!

After a good fifteen minutes, I thanked the man for his kindness and moved on to the baboons. This is where things got a bit depressing. All the different clans of baboons were squished together in this giant concrete bowl of an enclosure. A couple metal pieces of playground equipment stood in the middle, but it still looked pretty bleak. A lot of them were fighting and it was stinky. After a few minutes of watching the little skirmishes, I noticed another snack booth to offer the baboons. Some people had the attention of most of the group, so I headed over to the other side to reward the ones left out of the action. They noticed I had a little white snack container and a handful perked up immediately. At first, I tossed a couple on the ground near the group. It seemed the little ones were interested, but once I threw a treat they immediately ran out of the way to let the adults eat the morsel. I even hit an adolescent with a treat, but even he ran away from it like his life depended on it. Maybe it did! To my surprise and excessive amusement, the older adolescents and  adults had learned to catch the treats with their hands in mid-air. It was so exciting and fantastic! I bought more treats just so I could play one-sided catch with them. A couple even caught the treats with their mouths. Honestly, I was more impressed with the hands. I ran out of treats, and I was running out of time to see the gorilla, so I moved on. Thinking back, the intelligence of those animals was very apparent. I feel so badly that they are stuck in a cold concrete enclosure. I know they know they deserve better, and it breaks my heart a little bit.

Next, I explored the part of the park with the smaller monkeys. I found a new favorite called the Pygmy Marmoset. It looks a little alien-like, but it's so darn cute! I've got to find out more about them.

As soon as I neared this cage, this little guy was all over me! It was adorable.

This is the Pygmy! Creepy yet adorable.

Next, I saw the chimps and a gorilla. The next guy was a total diva. I'm pretty sure he just wanted some camera action. He was nowhere to be found in the enclosure, so I happened to check the time on my phone. Immediately he came flying out of this hole in the wall and sat right in front of me. It was awesome! I took this picture and he promptly disappeared again. I wish he would have stuck around a bit, but I'm glad I got to see him. I also wish it was a better picture!

I felt bad for this silverback. He didn't seem to have any friends and he was in a very small enclosure. It was interesting to watch him watch me and others in the area. These giants are so smart, I wanted to let him know how much I appreciated the opportunity to see him. He came close to me a couple times and looked me in the eyes. It was scary! He regarded me with a cool gaze and promptly smacked the glass to put me in my place. Maybe I should give up grad school and start a wildlife sanctuary. My brother already calls me the dog whisperer, why not become the gorilla whisperer? Anyway, I bowed my head and averted my gaze to show respect and let him know he was still the boss. 

I don't think a baby could get any cuter than this!

Another diva, he loved to strike a pose.

Overall, the monkey park was a good experience. I constantly reevaluate if I should even pay to see animals displayed like this. It really isn't nice in any way. However, the zoos will be there whether or not I visit them. I guess I just can't resist. Most of the time I tend to avoid this philosophical debate with myself. Eventually, I will probably become some sort of anti-zoo activist, but I'm not at that point yet. We'll see what happens.

I took a few random pics in Nagoya, and as a good-bye, I'll share them with you now! I enjoyed this trip outside of Tokyo and I'm really happy to have had the chance to experience the bullet train. Unfortunately I couldn't see Mt. Fuji from the window, but I haven't yet given up hope. One of these days I'll be able to see the historic mountain. Anyway, thanks for the memories Nagoya!