Japan!!!!!

Japan!!!! So, anyone that reads this blog will know that recently Ystyn and I had a 2 week stay in Japan. Ystyn's a high school teacher and every two years the Japanese Language students and add on's go on a Japan trip, and since Ystyn can speak Japanese pretty damn well, he was asked to go along. (When Ystyn was 19 he served as a missionary for our church in Japan where he spent 2 years trying to share our beliefs with the Japanese people). Ystyn went on the trip 2 years ago and had a really hard time being away from us all for so long, so it was suggested next time I accompany him. Its been something to look forward to and has always seemed in the FAR distant future, but all of a sudden it was here and we were packed and all ready to go! We must have been really keen because we arrived at the pick up point a whole 45 minutes before anyone else did!!! hehehehe This is a photo of us at 5am in the morning - it was still dark and very cool - and we look hammered which we were - I don't think I got to bed till after midnight and then got up again at 3? I think I may have spent a couple of hours (not really, but I could have) just looking at our kids - I couldn't believe I had ever agreed to leave them for a whole 2 weeks...

Anyway - we were on our way and missing our kids so much already. We met at Ystyn's school and took a bus to Coolangatta Airport where we caught our plane to Osaka. I slept so much on the way over - I was done, so so tired! Good way to start a trip hey! :)

We stayed in Osaka at a Youth Hostel - we didn't get in till really late that night after catching the train from the airport and walking through the rain (!!!!) to the hostel. We were so grateful to be able to have a hot meal waiting (3 course I might add - sashimi, beans and spring rolls, rice, salad and chicken and dessert) and then fall into bed. I was ecstatic that we had our own bathroom - I'd heard horror stories of the shared facilities in youth hostels running along the same lines as the Tree of Life showers in the MTC, so to see that I had my very own bathroom, was exciting!!!! Look how tiny it was though - all the bathrooms we had in Japan were this compact - so cute!

This was the view from our window - or one of them. It was just a cement jungle - buildings for as far as the eye could see - no end in site. I think we took this photo because there was actually some green, but there wasn't much of it from our view.

Then the next day was a full day at Universal Studios which is brand new theme park. I can still hear the music they had on loop the WHOLE day!!! hehehehe. This is a photo of the train that they have running to get to the Studio's which we thought the boys would love. I can't remember how many trains we had to catch to get here - it could have been as few as 2, maybe 3, but trains became our best friends during our stay! :)

This is the first ride of the day for me. With Cheryl - the Japanese teacher who had organised the trip. Cheryl is the loveliest lady ever, a mother with grown children - her youngest is in year 10 or 11 I think, and she was EXCITED to go on this mega big roller coaster!!!!!! I wouldn't have gone on it, and nothing was going to get Ystyn on it, but Cheryl needed a partner right??? hehehhe. It was scary scary scary - your arms and legs were left totally free and it really felt like you were being held by nothing. It was awesome getting off though - Cheryl and I looked at each other and laughed because our HAIR was sticking up in all directions like crazy professors or something! :)

Just some random photos from the day - we took a stack on this day but they're not very exciting. Ystyn and I walked around a lot (A LOT) - Ystyn's totally not a ride's person so he would stand outside while Cheryl and I went on a few, but by lunch time I was feeling really ill from lack of food and over tiredness. We looked for a place to eat for ages and settled on a burgers place. Ystyn was really disappointed - they had this burger on their menu called the Tower Burger and seriously, it had 15 meat patties on it - it was HUGE!!! It cost almost $30 and that was almost our whole days budget so he restrained himself but it was his one regret! :)

This was the Waterworld Show that Ystyn wanted to see. He at least got to have a laugh because he could mostly understand what was being said, whereas I just got to watch people get wet and pretend to shoot each other and ride jetskis - it was pretty cool though when this plane came crashing through the walls of the set...lots of fire and noise and water!!! Very testosterone fueled...

This photo was mainly for Kinley - there was Hello Kitty stuff everywhere!!!! We spent most of the afternoon trying to find stuff to buy for the kids - it took us FOREVER to decide and we walked almost over the WHOLE park trying to find something that would work. Ystyn bought West this short sleeved Spiderman hoodie - West LOVES hoodies and even in hot weather will be wearing his hoodie jumpers with the hood up??? (As opposed to last spring/summer when we couldn't get hime to wear clothes at all!?!?!?!). Anyway, we'd bought West this shirt and decided Madson and McKinley needed something similar so off we went in wearch of shirts. We were gobbsmacked when paying for the stuff tho - they didn't check our signatures AT ALL which we found a little odd - we're new to the whole credit card thing and a little cautious about stuff like that (I make sales people here CHECK my damn signature) but we dealt with it....

My big regret of the day was also food associated!!! They were selling these massive drumsticks of some animal that I saw people munching on all afternoon. At first I thought it looked really wierd and I didn't think it was cool to be seen gorging on this massive piece of meat, but by the afternoon I'd seen enough people eating them to realise it wasn't just for bogun me (hehehe) and really really wanted one. It turns out they were turkey legs and were sold in stalls outside the Jurassic Park ride (figures right?) but by the time I decided I wanted one we were all the way over on the other side of the park and my feet were killing so I didn't get my turkey leg! :)

A loooong day, which the (high school) kids LOVED but was rather tiring for boring old me! On the trip there were also 3 other teachers from Ystyn's school apart from himself and Cheryl - Liz, Kristy and Deb, who are seriously the funnest, sweetest ladies ever!!! I stuck with Ystyn the whole day and we really ARE a boring old married couple (seriously, theme parks aren't really our thing????) and felt really old while we watched Liz, Deb and Kristy running around with limitless energy getting on every ride and being into everything. Late in the afternoon when my stomach was churning from all the to-ing and fro-ing I'd already subjected it to, and after I'd decided I was totally done with rides for the day because I was going to puke, these lovely 3 ladies came and GRABBED me and HUSSLED me and GUILTED me into going on this 'beautiful, gorgeous ride that you just have to have to have to go on'!!!!! They're pulling me along and Ystyn's trailing along behind us trying to tell me that I didn't HAVE to go on it if I didn't want to and I shouldn't let anyone guilt me into getting on, which was falling on deaf ears (and I don't mean MY deaf ears!!!)...I couldn't have NOT gone with them even if I wanted to - I had one on each arm pulling me along!!! heheheh It was so so funny - and I did feel really really sick but I didn't want to be a bad sport and yank my arms away (it would have taken much yanking!!!) so I let myself be taken along making no apologies if I hurled on any of them. From what they were telling me I thought this was just a nice, pretty, slow ride in carriages through a space themed room or something - something nice and gentle that I'd really enjoy. It wasn't until we were actually in the line that I finally got them to admit that it was actually a rollercoaster!!!!!!! You should have seen their faces when they'd realised that I was serious about being sick and being scared - it was sooo funny!!! hehehehehe. Anyway - needless to say I survived the rollercoaster (even tho I think I may have deafened Debbie with my gut-wrenching shrieking!!!!) and it WAS beautiful and I'm really really glad I let myself be 'pursuaded'!!! hehehehe. I have a feeling my day may have been a little (lot) different if I'd stuck with them? :)

So that was Day 2 down!!!! Back to the hotel for the deepest bath I have ever had and a well earned sleep, ready to tackle day 3!!! But I might 'tackle' writing about Day 3 tomorrow....:)