Weekend 22 of 52: Japan.

Tokyo, Gundam Cafe, Yodobashi-Akiba, Harajuku, Yoyogi Park, Meiji Shrine, Tokyo DisneySea, Kyoto, Fushimi Inari Shrine, Osaka, Osaka Castle, Universal Citywalk

We spent the bulk of our time in Japan in Tokyo, which is probably true of most tourists to Japan. We did some heavy video game browsing/shopping at Yodobashi-Akiba. We got to walk around Harajuku, keeping our eyes peeled for Harajuku girls. We had an evening stroll through nearby Yoyogi Park, culminating in a trip to the Meiji Shrine therein.

And the next day we went to Tokyo DisneySea. And it was the happiest place on earth, for sure. I think Dan read that it is considered maybe the best of the Disney parks, and I think I agree. The atmosphere was unreal. When we lived in central Florida, we were able to sort of frequent Disney World, which made it so strange for us to be at Disney in Tokyo. Everything felt familiar but new. Do you know what I mean?

The park is arranged around seven ports and is itself built on the coast. It was rainy and windy all day, and it was perfect. It broke the intense summer heat, and we got to see everybody's Mickey ponchos. We ducked into the shows to escape from the rain. They were total quality, you guys. Two had Cirque du Soleil style gymnastics and puppetry. We saw the "Under the Sea" show in which a harnessed Ariel swims and flips her way up to the ceiling. It was like seeing the Little Mermaid in real life. But for real. We loved it all. We were sad we hadn't opted to spend the next day at Tokyo Disneyland.

Then on to Kyoto where we saw the very famous Fushimi Inari Shrine. Osaka was our final destination. We checked out the Osaka Castle and meandered around Universal Japan's Citywalk.

Japan was hot and it was awesome. I will give this one piece of advice to America's newer generations, though, Japan does not yet favor the credit card. Do not plan on using it most places. It was a stress for us, and it should not be one for you. We brought cash, but we weren't able to bring enough (because things happen as they do), so we thought we could survive on Western restaurants or larger Japanese restaurants, saving cash for transportation. We never found a McDonald's that took credit cards. I must admit that we developed an appreciation for Starbucks with their proclivity for plastic payments, their soy milk, and their sweet, sweet air conditioning.