Hi from Kinosaki Onsen…or not.
We had the earliest morning start in a while to get to the station in time to catch our train to Kinosaki. It was raining, but we, fortunately, had only our small backpacks with us. As we were approaching the platform our train was suddenly canceled in front of our eyes. :O It’s not like we haven’t thought about that option, we just kind of hoped it would not happen, even though there were obvious signs.
Žiga was not feeling up for driving, due to the condition of the roads. It was a long shot anyway. We gave up on being sad about it and finally decided to cancel our ryokan in Kinosaki. You win some you lose some, I guess. We still had our valid JR passes and no hostel booked for the night. So what now?
We went back to the station and decided to board the first train we could find going from Kyoto to somewhere, anywhere with nicer weather. Trains going south were canceled, so Hiroshima was not an option, and it was raining there anyway. The only really reliable line was the one between Kyoto and Tokyo. So we shinkansen-ed ourselves back to Tokyo for a day. 🙂 I wonder when, if ever I will be able to say that I am going for a day trip to Milan from Ljubljana. We decided to worry about the sleeping arrangements a bit later and enjoy the ride into the sun. It’s funny how quickly you forget about rain, as soon as you see a little bit of sunshine.
We didn’t have a set plan for another day in Tokyo, obviously, so I started making my very strong case for Disneyland. 😀 And since happy wife = happy life, I actually succeeded. The other option was going to Odaiba, (which will have to wait for next time) or the Digital museum which is already sold out until August, otherwise, we’d definitely go for that. Somewhere in the middle of decision making, we booked a hostel in Kyoto for the night. You gotta love the internet.
After a quick lunch at Tokyo Station, which of course has its own Ramen street, we were on a happy train to Disneyland. When I find a kid more enthusiastic than I was about Disneyland, I am buying him/ her a big bag of crazy expensive designer Disneyland popcorn. Even Žiga after initially being a bit meh about it couldn’t resist the atmosphere. Tokyo Disneyland is A.W.E.S.O.M.E. – cannot argue with that – especially if you haven’t been to Disneyland before.
Lines for attractions are of course huge, but you can get around it by being a “single rider” or by getting a fast pass for some of the attractions. You can only get a limited amount of those in a day, so be careful how you use them. The admission- also huge, you can get around by going after 3 pm or even 6 pm when prices are a bit lower. But honestly, I’d gladly be there one whole day or even two.
The closest Disneyland to Slovenia is the one in Paris, but I sincerely think that there is no way that they can do Disneyland Tokyo style. Japanese groups coordinate clothes, they buy accessories, whole families are dressed in Disney characters. It’s an event.
Also, the place is beautifully designed. There really is no comparison to Gardaland (even though we love it). About a third of the things are “adult” attractions, the rest is kiddy stuff – which I also enjoyed, and shops & restaurants. Aside from being totally awesome, Disneyland had sun, which was much needed. 😀
Žiga got me some lovely Minnie ears – I couldn’t resist them. 😀 We tried the Indiana Jones ride, which has some cool tricks and unexpected accelerations. Gotta say that there are probably more adrenaline rides in Gardaland tbh, but Gardaland cannot beat the beautiful designs of Disneyland. What is also impossible to beat is the next level fashion you can see here. The trip was an inside into Japanese culture on a whole new level.
We caught the last train back to Kyoto and sadly had to skip the fireworks. Meanwhile, the rain in Kyoto stopped. After our long and exciting day, we crashed on our futon bed (Japanese style bedroom ftw) and fell into deep and dreamless slumber. 😉
PS: I walked my 300th kilometer of the trip. Seems like a high enough number to mention.
Verdict: Go to Disneyland, it is totally worth it.