Adventures at Tokyo DisneySea

Japan's second Disney park is Tokyo DisneySea. Just like Tokyo Disneyland, this Disney park can also be fully explored in a day. I personally did one day in each park and felt fulfilled. Tokyo DisneySea is known for being the more mature of the parks as it has more thrilling rides and the park has a worldly theme that adults can appreciate. This Disney park is highly praised and is a crowd favorite, especially for couples. Let's get deeper into what makes this park so pleasing.

Stories From Japan: Where's the Ramen?

Here's another story from Japan, back when I studied abroad in Kyoto for the summer in 2010.

This story takes place in the first week of my study abroad program. One of my goals going to Japan for the first time was to have a true "ramen experience." The only ramen I knew of at the time was the cup ramen and the packet ramen everybody in high school ate dry (still never understood that phase). I've seen ramen in Japanese dramas and anime, so I wanted to get a bowl of real ramen in Japan. This was before pocket wifi and sim cards were popular for your phone usage while traveling. I had to look for ramen the old fashion way.

My Adventures at Tokyo Disneyland

The most famous Disney park of course, is Disney World in Orlando, Florida, where they have the most parks and many visitors from around the world. The second most known Disney park is Disneyland in California. Not everyone may know this, but there are many Disney parks outside of the United States. Some of the different countries are home to a Disney park or two, with its own unique twist due to its location. Today, I'd like to introduce you to Tokyo Disneyland!

Most Frequently Asked Japan Travel Questions

Everything you want to know about traveling in Japan is right here. I'm going to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about traveling in Japan. They are in no specific order, but I'll have a short answer and a long answer for each question so that you can read as little or as much as you'd like on each question. I hope I cover any topics you may be interested in. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving in Japan

My husband and I planned a trip to Japan during Thanksgiving week. We did this because it is also an wedding anniversary week. Spending our anniversary in Japan was a great experience, just as it was to have our honeymoon in Japan. Going during this time meant that we would be away from our families for Thanksgiving for the first time. If you are big on Thanksgiving like my husband proclaims he is, then don't travel during this time. You will feel homesick in Japan.

How to Fully Enjoy Japan

This may not seem like a big topic to go over. Just going to Japan is all the enjoyment you need, but when you get there you may forget that fact. This is going to be a short blog but still very important.

You may have all of your Japan trip planned out, like where you're going and all the places you'll see. You may think your schedule is jammed with a lot going on but once you are there you will notice that there are free spaces in your schedule. And not only that but say you have been very active all day (you'll be doing a lot of walking for sure), you'll start to get tired and want to rest. You'll be going back to either your small hotel room or your small airbnb. Now if you're going back to go to sleep then that's fine, but if you're going back to your place of stay just to relax you will be making a grave mistake. If you do that for one day, you'll continue making the same decision of retiring for the night the next day and the day. Soon you'll start to get bored and want your trip to end sooner. That may seem very hard to believe but you will start to feel that way whether you know it or not.

It May Seem Rude to You, But Not in Japan

You know how there are certain things you do in your country that can be considered rude? Well, in other parts of the world it may be the opposite. I say this a lot, but Japan is a unique country with it's own culture and lifestyle. What you may think is rude, may not be in Japan. I live in America, so I will be talking about concepts I'm accustomed to.

Stories From Japan: Is that a Tengu?

I've encountered a lot of animals in Japan, from deer to monkeys and your common house-pets. I never thought I would have such an abnormal encounter to a common outdoor animal such as a crow. Crows are kind of those universal birds that every sees around outside. From my past experiences with crows, they are loud and seem like they always have a watchful eye on you but nothing more. In Japan, I experienced something completely different.

Experience Autumn Season in Japan

Japan is a place that's a great example of having all four seasons. It's mostly known for it's spring time cherry blossoms, as it is a sight to see. But another season that should not be ignored is autumn. For someone like myself who comes from a place that just has summer and winter, the autumn foliage an amazing experience. There are so many colors during the fall season in Japan that it gets to be mesmerizing. I'm just used to colors green and brown, or no leaves at all. So I'm going to give you my opinion and experience of autumn in Japan!

Queue Culture in Japan

Japan is already different from a lot of other countries, but their culture is stands out the most. If you have ever been to Japan you probably experienced the differences in Japanese culture and the culture you come from. For those of you who have not been to Japan it will either be a fun experience or a difficult one. One of the things about the Japanese culture that amazes me id the "queue culture," or the standing in line culture.

Learn the Culture Before Going to Japan

Many blogs, sites and videos will always recommend you learn the Japanese language before traveling to Japan. While that is important it is not as important as learning about the culture. You can get by without the language as I have mentioned in a previous blog, but you won't be able to get by without knowing the culture. If you don't know the Japanese culture you may do something to give a bad representation to foreigners which can lead to other people having a bad experience of Japan.

Japanese Work Ethic

The Japanese work ethic is very different from the work ethic I'm used to in America. There are several good and bad things about the work ethic in Japan. I think the Japanese work ethic is great overall, but I feel it is one of the aspects of Japanese culture that could possibly make or break a foreigner's decision in moving to Japan.

Things You'll Need to Prepare for in Japan

Japan is a very different country, from all other countries in the world. It's a country that has modernized but still held onto its traditions and unique culture. The things you're used to in your own country may not apply in Japan, and I'm not talking about major things such as the language. I'm going to discuss the smaller things that you won't catch unless you actually experience Japan because not a lot of people talk about the smaller things. You could call these things mini culture shocks.

McDonald's in Japan

I used to eat McDonald's a lot as a child but as I got older I try to stop eating it for various reasons. Who knew something like a big American fast food chain would be so popular in Japan? There are other American chains in Japan, but nothing like the big changes McDonald's in Japan has compared to the American ones.

Not so Secret Secrets of Japanese Language

Learning Japanese is already hard enough with all the vocabulary memorization, the grammar rules and the thousands of kanji characters you'll need to study. But all those things are just what's on the surface of learning Japanese. There's more to the Japanese language that some people may not realize. I'll be talking about those not-so-secret secrets you may hear about that can help you understand Japanese a little better. Many of these are well known but I'm going to talk about them for the people who are studying the language and may not know, and for those who may need a refresher, or for those of you who may know nothing about the Japanese language but are interested in learning.

Go Eat Coco Ichibanya

I've talked about fast food chains in Japan that people should go try. Well, Coco Ichibanya deserves its own spotlight because it's that good! It's considered fast food in Japan even though it tastes like real food (America, you know what I'm talking about) and you sit down to eat it. It's a fast, cheap option for a meal that tastes delicious.

Why You Should Plan Your Japan Trip

There are quite a few articles out there on the internet about being spontaneous and just "going where the wind takes you" kind of attitude with traveling abroad. And while that's a great, exciting idea it may not be the best option for a trip to Japan. If you are not familiar with Japan's holidays whether they are well known or not, it may put a bump in your travels. And what about unexpected happenings? Planning is beneficial, no matter how detailed it is.

Top 5 Favorite Drinks in Japan

Something Japan is well known for are their drinks. Everyone knows about their famous vending machines that you can find on almost every corner.This makes grabbing a drink very quick and simple. Most vending machines will have about the same kind of drinks but you'll find a few that have drinks in them that are not as common. Not only in vending machines, but drinks can be purchased at stores and non-traditional Japanese restaurants. So it's pretty easy to get a drink in Japan, hot or cold, but they also have a great selection of various flavors. I'm always surprised by all the flavors they come up with and what you can find. Today, I'm going to share 5 of my favorite drinks in Japan.

Stories From Japan: Lost Gaijin

I had two public talks a few weeks ago. One talk was about manners in Japan and another was on travel in Japan. Both brought up really interesting questions from the attendees. But one question really stuck out to me. "What do you do when your lost?" Now the logical and predictable thing to do is to ask for help, but most people either don't know Japanese to that extent or have no confidence in their Japanese to ask for help. Instead of answering with these replies I simply said "do the lost gaijin look."

Arcades in Japan

There was a time when arcades were popular in America, but they have slowly died out. To me, arcades were rare to find. Then, I went to Japan and my childhood revived and doubled! Japan has many arcades to be enjoyed by people of all ages. They have some arcades that are small and only house one type of machine/game and then there are huge arcades that go above and beyond. I'm going to talk about all the cool games you'll find in a Japanese arcade.