Welcome to the 41st edition of
Tales of the Traveling Tote,
where a group of us share our
travels with our MacKenzie-Childs
tote travels.
This is edition is taking me and
Miss Petit Four all the way to
JAPAN!!!
A little over a year ago two brothers
and their families invited us over
for a Japanese dish - okonomyaki
and then told us they were going
on a 12 day cruise to Japan and
asked us if we would like to
join them. We jumped at the
chance to go with people who
spoke Japanese. One of the
brothers had served a two year
mission for our church in Japan
when he was 18 so he speaks Japanese.
Our first night we spent in Japan
so we didn't have to worry about
missing flights and missing the
cruise. We explored the area at
night and then went shopping the
next morning and enjoyed the
wonders of 7-Eleven stores.
Everyone says you must try the
convenience food at 7-Eleven in
Japan. One day the kids counted
that we stopped at convenience
stores 6 times; that included
Family Mart which is also fun.
We boarded the Celebrity Millenium
in early afternoon, so we had lots
of time to shop and explore Tokyo
before we boarded.
We were blown away by how elegant
the ship decor and furniture were.
The ship departed from Yokohama
and this was a view before we left port.
We noticed each port had a ferris
wheel and a tower - so beautiful.
Our first day was at sea and
they had formal night that night.
The food for formal night was
delicious.
The 16 of us were off and running the next morning.
Japan is so amazing -
most ports had transportation
provided for us as
we got off the ship. The
transportation would take
us to the main area of
the city and drop us off.
When we weren't doing
their transportation we
took taxis and Ubers.
In Japan when you call an
Uber, it is just a taxi car,
BUT -
the rate is set and the car
finds you! The taxis and
Ubers were so reasonable.
With this group we had to
order 4 cars but they cost
about $11-$13 for most rides.
Our first stop was in Kobe. We went to the Zoo there and
then made sure we experienced
Kobe beef.
It was a bit of a trick finding
a Kobe beef restaurant that
could fit all 16 of us, but we
saw a chef out on the street
and he brought us to his place.
It was absolutely delicious!
the city and had fun with the kids.
The next day we were in
Osaka. We had two days here.
While the young people headed
to Kyoto, we empty nesters
took a short 10 minute
taxi to Universal Studios.
It is their 10 year anniversary.
With as much as our family
loves Harry Potter, we had to
go here. They had gold metal
anniversary mugs for their
butterbeer, which I had to have.
The next morning we took
the bullet train to Kyoto. They
have tourist help in the train
stations, and although we had
a girl from the US sell us our
tickets, she didn't tell us which
platform to go to. We ran to four
different platforms and had
missed our train, but grabbed
another and made it.
We learned our lesson. ASK!!!
The Kinkakuji Golden Shrine
was so spectacular. It was
built as a retirement villa for a
retired shogun. In 1952 a young
monk who was schizophrenic
burned it down and it was
rebuilt in 1955! It was one of
the most beautiful sights and
fabulous gardens we visited.
We also visited the bamboo forest
while in Osaka. Japan is so
welcoming to the cruise ships.
Almost every port had some
production for us coming or
going. In Osaka they had an
amazing drum group of 18
youth playing for us as we left.
The next day we cruised slowly
through the southern islands of
Japan, which was so beautiful,
to reach Hiroshima.
You need to get advance tickets
to the Peace Garden museum.
It was quite sobering. Oh the
brutality of all wars!!!
We found a place that could
take all of us for Okonomyaki,
probably my favorite Japanese
dish - pictured on the big grill.
These young families can
eat a lot more than us older
people, so we were always
on a food crawl. Our friend
wanted us to try all of his
favorites from his mission!
We finally had to take our
shoes off at a restaurant and
wear their slippers. I was waiting
for that experience. The table
next to us was loud and our friends
apologized, and we said we loved it -
that's how it is pictured in the
Asian Dramas!!
The waygu beef was amazing.
We went back to the ship
after that and the young
people went and found more
Okonomyaki!!!
Sunday was at sea and we had
a nice chance to rest.
Celebrity Millenium had 3
nights that were dressy on this
12 day cruise. Hubby and I
love to dress up, so we took
advantage of it.
The next day was in Hiroshima,
where we went to gardens
and saw their famous bridges
that survived WWII. Rachel
and I had to buy Kimonos there.
Our next port was Jeju Island
in Korea. Cruises to Japan have
to visit another country. Rachel
and I were so excited to get to
go to Jeju Island because we
love watching K Dramas -
Korean Dramas - so we had
an authentic meal there with
the grills. We also hiked to a
beautiful falls and later
swam in the ocean. They
didn't give us enough time
in Korea, but it was fun
using some of our words we
have learned from watching
K Dramas. It was a dream
for Rachel and I.
Our Captain had been advising
us about an approaching
typhoon. They were watching it
as we were approaching
Hiroshima and Jeju Island,
and he finally announced that
we were abandoning our
itinerary and heading up the
west coast of Japan to outrun
the storm. He said over the
PA system, "I am faster than
the typhoon!" And was he
right, we went faster than
I have ever seen a cruise ship
travel and were in Hagudate
by the next day. We laughed and
said this place was like the
town in
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,
although it was all built around
squid and not sardines!!!
We landed back in Yokohama
and James and Rachel and
Kirk and I were staying for
4 more days in Tokyo. I had
booked the Yokohama Bay
hotel, which was fabulous and
right there by the port. It was
also attached to the Queen mall.
The rest of the group dropped
their bags at our hotel and
we had a great time with
more food crawls, finally trying
the Takoyaki and a Hedgehog
Cafe. They have lots of pet
cafes in Japan where you can
pay to go and play with animals.
We also visited the Cup Noodle
museum which was fun.
Since we were already
across the world, we had to see
Disneyland Tokyo
while we were there. The families
with kids missed out, but school
had already started and they didn't
want them to miss more.
Tickets are only $58, but they
don't have a park hopper pass,
so we just bought tickets for
both parks each day.
We had booked the Disneyland
Hotel. I got tears in my eyes
when we walked in, it was so
beautiful. We had booked the
Tinkerbell rooms and they were
just magical. We paid around $400,
so we thought that was a bargain
too, compared to the Disneyland
hotel in CA!
They have unique rides,
which makes the parks fun.
You do have the option to
pay for fast passes, but they
were only $11 to $13 each,
so by the end we still spent
less than park hopper passes
in California.
The big deal here is getting
into Fantasy Springs, which
just opened in June. You can
enter this park if you are
staying in their new hotel,
but that is completely booked.
But they do offer fast passes
for their three big rides there
and we were able to get all
three once we entered Disney
Sea. Disney Sea is also
more popular than Disneyland,
so crowds at Disneyland were
low.
We told our friends they truly
missed out, so they want to
take their kids back next year.
We also visited our church's
Tokyo Temple during our
extra days and went to the
famous Shibuya crossing.
Take aways:
A cruise is a great way
to see so much of Japan easily.
Call an Uber - they are cheap
and come and find you. Yes,
they are just the taxis, but you
know the price and don't
have to speak Japanese to
communicate with the drivers.
Very easy if you need multiple
cars.
You have never seen such big
smiles and welcoming people
as in Japan.
Try the local foods, and
check out the egg salad
sandwiches and chocolate
and cream crepes in 7-Eleven
and Family Mart.
Shopping is fun in the big
cities, so leave some room
in your suitcases.
Don't miss Disneyland!
Thanks for letting me share
this amazing trip to Japan!
I was always nervous about
going to Asia, but we loved it.
Now, on to the giveaway -
isn't this tote so cute?!!
Visit Linda and leave a comment to enter to win this. Also hop
on over to our lovely ladies and
see where their totes were off to
this quarter.
