Tokyo Disneyland

DisneyLand is an experience, but it is not a vacation. Whew! We had a fun and memorable day riding rides, eating more popcorn, fighting crowds and finishing with an incredible Christmas parade of lights. Jana and her family are Disney experts compared to us, and they did a great job leading. Now it’s time for a good nights sleep!

Tokyo Disney Sea

The day before we left for Japan we completely surprised the kids with their big Christmas present - Disney and Universal in Japan! They were thrilled and beyond surprised because we’ve never indicated we’d ever do Disney as a family because there are so many amazing places in the world to see. But the idea of doing Disney in a foreign country sounded pretty appealing, and we were already coming. So, here’s our first day at Disney Sea, which is water-themed. Think, The Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and traditional Disney stuff like Toy Story, Indiana Jones and The Tower of Terror. Thirteen hours of sights, fun, rides and food, including Tokyo Disney’s famous popcorn bucket (flavor options we tried include caramel, milk chocolate, soy sauce and butter, honey, salt). Yummy!

Tokyo Thanksgiving

Geoff began the day taking a CrossFit class in a Tokyo, which he thoroughly enjoyed. After breakfast, we took the metro to an incredible Digital Art Museum. For lunch, we went to our first Sushi Go Round restaurant where you ordered on an iPad and waited a few minutes for it to arrive via the conveyor belt or “bullet train” track. I have officially realized I’m not as adventurous in eating as I once thought. After a visit to Tokyo Tower, we headed back to our lovely hotel for Thanksgiving dinner. It was a delicious dinner buffet, and we all ate until we were stuffed. 

Daily thankfulness has helped me find joy in the mundane and the hard times. We are incredibly thankful to have been able to travel to Japan and enjoy this incredible culture and some of our wonderful family. We miss our sweet Benaiah and are so grateful he could be with family on Thanksgiving.

From our family to yours, happy Thanksgiving!