The Need For Speed

Our plans for transportation, while in Japan, were going to be minimal. Our main destinations were Disneyland and Disney Sea. In order to get to those places, we just had to catch a Disney Crusier from our hotel to the monorail.

Aside from those two parks, we planned a day of sight seeing. We planned to rent a car for a day and just drive and get lost in Tokyo. We pretty much stuck to the Disney Cruiser and monorail plan but we never rented a car. Agustine's co-worker was also in Japan during the weekend and she suggested that we use public transportation. I immediately thought about what a hassle it would be to drag three kids around on the bus. However, she meant the train and not the bus. We decided to try out the trains one evening, after coming back from the park. Agustine was a little hesitant because he thought for sure we would get lost and not be able to find our way back. Usually Im the one who doesn't like to get lost but I was actually excited about riding the trains. Maysa was nervous about riding the train but Eva was excited like me.

We boarded the train at the JR Maihama station and rode over to Shin-Urayasu, which is the very next stop. The trip takes about 10 minutes. While we were on the train, another train passed going the opposite direction. When Eva saw the train zip by, she said "Wow, look at how fast that train is going. Is that how fast we are going?" I casually said "yeah." The look in her eyes was sheer amazement. She said excitedly "I like fast and I like this train." I should have known she would like speed. We got off the train and walked around the plaza and even found a McDonalds. We didn't eat there once, while we were in Japan. The kids didn't even ask to go inside. The best thing about this stop was that there is a 100 yen store inside the shopping plaza. We let the girls shop at the 100 yen store, which Maysa loved because she had been wanting to shop since we arrived in Japan. She had a great time pushing her cart up and down the narrow aisles and filling it with makeup, nail polish and hair accessories. It was also fun to watch bicycles being picked up and "towed" away. That first train ride hooked us and we never thought about renting a car during our stay. We rode the train to Tokyo and several times to our favorite stop Shin-Urayasu. Each time Eva was excited about how fast were traveling and watching trains zip by each other.

Summer Vacation

We planned to go home to Cali this summer but too many things were going on with Agustine's job that we decided to make a smaller trip. Going to Cali is actually a big trip for us. It would be a month or two stay and we just couldn't do that this time around. Agustine's work load just doubled and there was just no way we could make the trip worth it for him.

So we decided to take the kids to Japan to Disneyland and Disney Sea. The trip is about 3 1/2 hours direct flight from Guam. It would be like driving from Fontana to Las Vegas. A trip that we made frequently, when we lived in Cali. The kids were usually good on those drives so a plane trip in the same amount of time should be no problem for them.

The trip turned out better than we expected. Disneyland and Disney Sea were great. Our day trip to Tokyo Ueno district was just as good. We visited the zoo there and got to see some great temples/shrines. Agustine and I really wanted to make a trip to the Tokyo LDS temple but it was closed for maintenance. We had planned to take the train down with the kids but it didn't work out because we just had too much to do. That will be at the very top of our agenda on the next trip to Japan.

The girls had so much fun but they kept saying "this trip would be more fun if all our family could come." My girls don't know where the line is between immediate and extended family. Thats exactly how I want it. That is a part of their Tongan culture that I want them to accept and embrace. I will blog more on our trip later but I just wanted to catch everyone up on what we have been up to lately.