Tokyo, Japan - Part 7 (Thai Massage)

Our last full day in Tokyo was on Wednesday and I made zero plans. I knew we would be tired from Disney & would probably sleep in. Also, I always like to keep a day open in case there is something else we decide to do once we get there. All my family wanted to do was shop! We actually got a few things for back to school since it was cheaper & we didn't have to pay sales tax:

We had leftover Japanese Yen coins that I had told the girls they could use on the vending machines around town. They had wanted to do this all week, so they got drinks with dad:

They also really wanted to do a capsule machine because they are everywhere. They were very careful in choosing a machine because most have trinkets & toys, but they found one at a department store that had perfume samples inside:

They also wanted to go back to the fish market. Sophie wanted shaved ice:

While Sadie & I got tanghulu again:

Bryan got some dumplings:

before getting fresh sushi one last time:

It really was the perfect way to end our trip! That night I had reservations for an omakase meal at a certified gluten free skewer restaurant. I had read about this ahead of time & knew I had to make reservations 30 days in advance because it only holds 6 people and he only has one sitting at 7:00 per night:

I believe we had 11 courses, so I won't show pictures of all of them, but it was a lot:

I was pretty proud of us for trying most of it. Well, all of us except for Sophie! When we got back to the hotel, we checked out the rooftop bar for our last night in the city:

Thursday morning, we slept in, had breakfast and then packed but I had one last surprise before we headed to the airport - we got thai massages. Actually, I had promised the girls they could get their nails done over there because the nail scene is amazing and every woman walking around Japan has fabulous, crazy nails but I had no idea how expensive they were. Way more than home! Instead, I had heard their spas were more affordable & thought it would be fun to try something new so our concierge booked us a reservation at a local Japanese spa within walking distance from our hotel:

They had us change when we got there & they cleaned our feet first:

They had separate rooms - Bryan & I were together and the girls were together:

I want to say it was a relaxing way to end the trip before we flew home, but it was NOT! Ha! They started out by walking on our backs, and it hurt. Before I knew it, they were bending, stretching and hitting me all sorts of ways. I guess it would be good work for my muscles and to relieve some tension, but it was definitely not relaxing. I had my eyes open most of the time & had to tap out a few times when it was too much. Oh my. At least I can say I have had a real Thai massage, but I don't know if I would do it again:

Afterwards, we walked home & all showered so we would be clean & rested for the flight home. It was a 13-hour direct flight from Tokyo to Dallas, so we left on Thursday evening. Sadie & I had another gluten free meal waiting for us:

and Sophie will hate that I am including this, but this is one of the first time she actually slept on a flight! She never sleeps, not even on the red eye to Paris last year! Apparently, Tokyo wore her out:

Last thoughts on Tokyo - we LOVED it! It was kind of an unexpected trip so maybe that's why I liked it so much because I didn't have any expectations? The city is so clean. They don't have trash cans anywhere and no one walks around eating so if you have trash, you take it home with you:

The streets are also so quiet. They hardly have cars driving around except for taxis and they all look the same and are electric, but you hardly hear honking or sirens. 

We didn't see any graffiti or homeless people. 

The toilets are the best in the world. Ha! They all have sound machines, bidets & seat warmers - I even took a picture at Disney to send to my brother-in-law because he specifically asked about them:

They even had a place for your children to sit while you go to the restroom:

They do not tip over there, at all, but everyone works so hard. I was blown away at their work ethic, especially considering that they weren't working to earn a tip. That's just their culture! and everything is much cheaper. I could not believe how cheap our meals were. We would order drinks, appetizers, entrees & dessert and with no sales tax and no tip, our meal would be $50-$60. It's crazy! And don't get me started on Disney - we are being taken advantage of in America because it is so affordable over there. 

And that's Tokyo! We would have loved to have ventured off more & left the city, but honestly there was so much to do & see there. We had an amazing trip, and I have no doubt that we will be back to visit Japan again sometime. 

Tokyo, Japan - Part 6 (Disney Sea)

On Tuesday, we woke up early and instead of taking the subway to Disney, we took an Uber thinking we would get there faster. Apparently, that didn't matter because Disney Sea is crazy crowded. It took us 45 minutes to get inside the park:

I had heard this was one of the best Disney parks out there & clearly everyone else did too. Ha! It was another cloudy day, but honestly, kind of perfect weather wise since it never rained & it never got too hot. But my pictures don't look as nice since it was so overcast. This park is HUGE and so spread out but the buildout is amazing. And it's all set around water, thus the name Disney Sea:

You could go inside Ariel's Grotto for a whole inside area with several rides & it was one of my favorite parts about the park:

Sophie got brave & tried a few more roller coasters:

We visited the Arabian Coast:

Saw Nemo:

and we absolutely loved Fantasy land with Elsa, Anna & Rapunzel

Rapunzel is a one of a kind, only in Japan, so we were really disappointed it was closed:

I loved the Tinkerbell ride. It was short but so cute:

The very first pass of the day we bought was a ticket to Arendelle to ride Frozen:

We have done this in America before, but we still love it! It had a 3 hour wait so I am glad we were able to get a pass:

We actually bought about 6 passes that day and we had to be very strategic how we bought & planned them. It helped time wise to be able to do it all, but it was exhausting because the park is so big and spread out, that it wasn't very efficient. Of course, we couldn't leave without doing The Tower of Terror because that is Sadie's favorite:

Our last ride of the day was Toy Story! We had a pass for this ride also and thank goodness because it was extra busy since the movie just came out:

At this point, it was 8:30, we were exhausted and we had ridden every single ride in the park except for 1. It was another rollercoaster that we had never done with a loop, but it was on the other side of the park and had a 60-minute wait. The park closed at 9:00 so we could have made the walk & gotten in line before the park closed, but honestly, I didn't have the energy. And that's saying a lot because I don't say no very often. I don't know if I could have dragged myself over there and then stood for another 60 minutes and then had to walk all the way back to the subway. Ugh. Sophie was quite fine leaving, but I know Bryan & Sadie were disappointed. 

Overall, we had an awesome day! The park is huge, had a few new rides & totally worth the trip. Thank goodness for premiere passes or we wouldn't have made it. It was definitely a 12-hour day and we shut the park down, but it was fun to see it at night:

Thank you Disney for such an awesome experience. No matter your age, it never gets old!