Japan Adventure - Sapporo

I'm off to Sapporo, the last stop on my trip, but the main reason I came! I'm here visiting Amy, one of my oldest friends. We met in gifted in Gr 4 (... 29 years ago!!) and have stayed good friends throughout the years. Amy married a Japanese man, Kentaro a few years ago and moved to Sapporo and had her first child, a daughter, Ritsuko (nick name = Richan) 2 years ago. We were a little nervous about the timing because Amy is pregnant again! But at 37 weeks, little baby stayed where he was supposed to and my visit went off so smoothly. 

Amy, Kentaro and Ritsuko welcomed me into their home, a cute apartment building in Sapporo. Kentaro has a car, so it was my first time driving around in Japan. But thanks and love to him for being our chauffeur on this visit!

I flew over from Osaka on Peach Airlines, a very no frills quick 2 hr flight. Luckily none of the typhoon brouhaha from yesterday affected me. Amy and Ritusko met me at Sapporo Station at the classic gaijin (foreigner) spot... Starbucks! Haha, Amy had a good chuckle at my choice of meet up location. Kentaro picked us up and after we dropped off my luggage went to a delicious sushi restaurant nearby. 

I haven't been used to eating with other people so that alone was a pleasant treat. We demolished many plates and I was quite impressed with Ritsuko's chopstick skills. I'm 100% sure she's more adept at it than I am. And she's 2. 

I was kindly offered the spare room/Ritsuko's play room to sleep on, but this poor Canadian is definitely not used to floor futon sleeping! Too hard for my delicate back. Haha. Luckily, the couch was right next door and I'm small enough to fit comfortably on it! I am so grateful they had space for me!

Sapporo Beer Museum 

The only way I used to remember where Amy lived was because of Sapporo Beer. So, it was obviously the only thing I knew I wanted to do. Amy and Kentaro had actually never been before so it was new for all of us! They had a free tour with informative signs about the history of Sapporo and of brewing beer in Japan.

It was the first brewery built in Hokkaido because of the easy availability of snow/ice and a colder climate to preserve and make German style beer. In 1875, Seibei Nakagawa, the first brew master, went to Germany to learn how to brew beer and brought the idea (as well as a certificate of German beer brewery accreditation) back with him! 

Since beer was such a new concept in Japan, the first advertisements were a bunch of barrels outside the brewery that stated: "The production of barley and hops leads to an alcoholic drink called beer". 

In 1878, Sapporo began selling and producing its beer. The company was originally called "Kaitakushi Beer Brewery", but the labels still said "Sapporo Lager Beer". As beer became more and more popular in the early 20th century, they opened up a brewery in Tokyo, "ushering in a reorganization of the Beer industry".

After the tour, a flight was in order. The 3 flights of beer cost 1000¥ and each were 240 ml! The three were Black Label - the kind we have in North America, Classic - Only available in Hokkaido, and Kaitakushi - a hoppier, closer to the original one. I think my preference order went: Classic, Black Label and Kaitakushi. I'm not a big hops girl.

Unfortunately, as Kentaro was driving, Amy was pregnant, and Ritsuko is a toddler, I was the only one to enjoy the beverages. But, Amy did try a non-alcoholic version (0 stars, doesn't reccomend lol).

Odori Park & Sapporo TV Tower

For lunch, Amy really wanted me to try a Hokkaido specialty, Soup Curry. Kentaro found a place with vegetarian broth and it was delicious! You added some rice to the soup and I could see it being very popular in colder times of the year as it was very warm and satisfying. 

Oh, and in general, Sapporo has had a MUCH nicer summer climate. A lovely 29/30 degrees most days. :)

After lunch, we did some souviener shopping at Don Quiotje and I stocked up on all the unique kit-kats to bring back!

Odori Park is Sapporo's central park, right infront of the TV tower. As I had been kinda "tower"ed out, we didn't end up going up, but collected an eki stamp and then chilled by a beautiful fountain which Ritsuko enjoyed running around in. Japan doesn't really have a patio culture so Amy said she loves coming here to enjoy some fresh air in a social setting.

Our evening was wrapped up with some convenience store snacks for a light dinner and my inaugural viewing of "Fatal Attraction" (Amy was surprised by this fact and excitedly watched me watching it). 

Visiting Shiraoi & The National Ainu Museum

We took a roadtrip to visit and stay at Kentaro's parents place in Shiraoi where Kentaro grew up. It was about 1.5 hours from Sapporo by car and we loaded up on car snacks like melon pan and iced coffees. We drove through green forests and beautiful massive lakes, such as Shikotsuko Lake. Thanks for letting me be a passenger princess!

Kentaro's parents are so kind and lovely. They had a massive snack spread waiting for us upon our arrival (inari, red bean rice balls, pickles, potato salad). While they didn't speak much English, Amy was a great communicator for me and I hope I conveyed my gratitude effectively! They did a great job providing me with pescatarian options. 

Amy and I then ventured to the Upopoy Musuem - The National Ainu Musuem. The Ainu are an Indigenous people that live in the Hokkaido region. They share similariteis with Indigenous communities around the world in that they have faced colonization, assimilation, and persecution. This museum honours their traditions and histories. We saw gorgeous ritual clothing, traditional religious totems/ symbols made of sticks and wood shavings, tools and weapons from the Ainu people. 

The bear is a huge religious symbol for the Ainu people. There are wooden bear carvings everywhere and they even capture and sacrifice bears as a way of appreciating and communicating with thier religious deities. 

They hunt salmon, deer and seals (utilizing their furs and skins for clothing and tools). I saw a pair of skis that used seal skin with "the hairs pointing backwards to allow the skis to slide forward, thereby offering a smooth glide downslope and a firm grip upslope". 

We also got to view traditional dances and singing during a performance. It was beautiful. It reminded me of the Western Indigenous peoples of Canada's culture in a way.

We also had some hands on interaction, like me attempting to shoot an arrow (I did so poorly) and playing with a stick toy where you had to get the circle on a string onto the stick (I'm a pro). 

The museum mascot (because everywhere in Japan has a mascot) is a giant cartoon "turep" ( edible lily bulb) named TureppoN. According to the website: "Japanese, cuteness is often indicated by adding an “n” to the end of a word. TureppoN’s name has a capital N because she’s VERY cute!". 

After the museum, Kentaro and Ritsuko met us for ice cream. Hokkaido soft ice cream is famous and Amy wanted me to try some, but we found a delicious gelato place instead. It old there that it's just a throwback to our high school years at Holywood Gelato in Leaside!

We came back to another feast laid out for us by Kentaro's parents. This time it also included tempura vegetables and scallops! It also had natto, a "fermented soybean superfood", which Amy has been dying to have me try. She absolutely hates it and it almost made her barf the first time she tried it. Her husband and daughter love it though. So with that glowing review for me to go upon, she fervently videotaped my reaction (which while wasn't great, it wasn't THAT bad). Haha. 

The next day, I had to say goodbye to Amy and her family as Kentaro dropped me off at the airport. It was short and sweet and an absolutely lovely way to end my time here in Japan.

Japan Adventure - Osaka

My time in Osaka was short and sweet. I didn't get to see much but I did see a baseball game, explore Dontonburi and experienced a Typhoon Day!

Baseball - Hanshin Tigers vs. Tokyo Yakult Swallows

One of the big things I wanted to do here was go to a baseball game. I may not know much Japanese but I'm pretty sure I won't be tooooo much out of my element even if I didn't understand what was going on.

Much thanks to Amy's husband Kentaro who got me my ticket which Amy mailed to me at my hostel in Kyoto! It was a match between the Hanshin Tigers and the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.

Normally the Hanshin Tigers do not play at the Kyocera Dome (their home team is the Orix Buffaloes), but in August they share it with the tigers? Either way, it was an impressive stadium that holds about 36,500 for baseball games and I didn't see one empty seat.

The seats were slightly terrifying as they did not have any rails or backs to them. I feel like if you got drunk, you'd easily fall. I was situated in center-left Outfield, smack between the Tigers and Swallows cheering sections. (I wasn't sure where I was sitting and if you sit in a cheering section you CANNOT wear clothing or support the other team). Great view of the game and alot of fun fans around me.

Some things I noticed about watching a baseball game in Japan:
- They seem to review calls more than Jay's games. Reviewed at least 2 before the 4th inning was done.
- The Swallows had this fun umbrella cheer/choreographed routine they did whenever they got a runner home. Like legit popped open these tiny umbrellas. Rihanna would be so proud.
- there were at least 2 wild pitches that hit players! And you could hear a PIN drop in the stadium while the fans waited to see if the player was ok
- Theey let each time have thier own 7th inning stretch song which they call the Lucky 7
- They have cheers for individual players like "katobasay oh yo hama" 
- There were LOTS of mound huddles. I feel like they really support their teammates
- Trumpets and drums help to lead the cheers!
- Snacks included a mix of Japanese food (I.e yakatori, tayoyaki) and western food (I.e. French fries). I had draft beer, French fries and a chocolate churrito.

The Tigers ended up winning the game (5-3), so that was icing on the cake.

A night in Dontonburi
After two cancelled food/drink tours (one out of fear of the typhoon and one from a sick tour leader), Daisy (my American travel friend who I met in Tokyo) and I decided to still meet up and do our own thing in the Dontonburi area of Japan.
Dontonburi is the bright lights, bar and good area of Osaka. It gives off a mix of consumerism and Blade runner... and the misty rain only added more to its vibe.

We met up at the Glico Running Man, a very specific and busy landmark of the area. Dodging selfies, we went to a restaurant to try Osaka's version of Okonomiyaki. This time we didn't get seated at the teppanyaki grill but rather they brought it over to us and served it to us on our own hot grill after it was made. It was delicious but didn't have the noodles that the Hiroshima version did, so I think in the end I preferred Hiroshima style.

We walked around and tried some more street food. We ate candied strawberries and grapes (muscat). They were like tiny candy apples and if I find out I got a cavity in a few weeks, this would be it's culprit.

Next snack was the Cheese Coin. It's basically a hot pancake that is filled with hot and stringy white cheese. Basically, my vibe. The sly joke of it being in the shape of a 10 ¥ coin but actually costing 500, is not lost on me either.

Then it started to rain a little harder so we popped into a random alley that turned out to showcase different murals and paintings of Dontonburi! Such luck!

We decided to go get a drink and when pondering where to go, we looked up and saw a neon sign for "bar". Why don't we go there? I suggested.  So we headed it up and it was this ADORABLE kawaii bar with cute neon lights and a partnership with New Zealand Manuka honey? They gave us a phrase book written in English so we could communicate with the adorable servers even better.  The owner was there too to give us tips and his business card for us to check out his other karaoke snake bar ? (We declined). Daisy had some whisky drinks and I had a lychee cocktail and a plum wine with soda and rocks. We never really did find out its name. But wander down the right back alley in Dontonburi, look up and you may find it like we did.

Daisy had to catch the last train back to Kyoto and it was SO much fun to spend a night with a new friend. We were a little worried about the weather because tomorrow was...

Typhoon Day - Tuesday Aug 15th
Typhoon Lan had been in the news all weekend with lots of a fanfare and hype. It was to hit Osaka in the early morning of the 15th and last for the day. I had heard of the devastation it left in the southern tip of Japan at the beginning of my trip so I was a little nervous going to bed.

Trains were cancelled, flights grounded in advance, stores were shut, people were buying everything off the shelves in Family Mart...  but turns out, it was nothing! I heard rain and wind outside in the wee hours of like 5-6 am and it rained consistently until about 4pm, but it wasn't flooding or trees down or power outages. It apparently got downgraded to a tropical stoem. We have had WAY scarier thunderstorms in Canada.

My hostel, Fon Su, was a quirky little place with a comfy bed and a nice little Cafe for breakfast. The biggest quirk I saw was that the entrance to the shower was like half a door that you had to scoot under to get inside and then slide the door for privacy. When I returned home from my Dontonburi night, I saw this posted on the wall.

How fun! I had tried tayoyaki at my bar tour in Tokyo, but to make it here with a local would be next level. So after I woke up, had breakfast, chatted with a dude named Omar from Israel, and sorted through some photos and napped, I went to the common room to try my hand at making takoyaki.

Takoyaki is this famous Osaka street food. It's basically small balls of dough with octopus inside and a delicious sauce & mayo poured on top. Some of the other ingredients inside were tuna flakes, shrimp crunchies (mini tempura crunches?), green onions and ginger. The batter is similar to a pancake kind of batter.

You grill it on a special tayoyaki grill, making sure to rotate them to cook each side a golden brown. I was told that it is likely for most homes to have one of these grills and most people enjoyed them as snacks. At the stalls in Dontonburi, they sell them in groups of 8 which seemed like a lot to me, but I ended up eating 10 of my 16 I made. They were so good and the octopus doesn't really add too much taste, just a bit of chewy texture for that part. They are also piping hot.

After the takoyaki expeience,  I asked the staff where I could go since most everything was closed (🙄). Apparently the mall near the Kyocera Dome was open so I headed back there to Aeon Mall. I wandered through each floor, taking time to notice things I probably wouldn't have if I had been rushing. Almost bought 1000 cute clothes for Hannah but couldn't figure out sizing. I DID buy some of my Korean face moisturizer (Nature Republic) which I got for half the price I would pay for it in Canada!!!

In the mall, I got suckered into a kids Gachapon and claw game amusement area. I tried some vending machine popcorn (meh), won 2 hair scrunchies from a claw game and spent about $25 on a scooping/pushing game to win a Keychain that I have no idea what it's from. But the dopamine rush of finally getting it was worth it! 😅😅😅

I was on the hunt for a Hanshin Tigers shirt but didn't find one there, so figuring that maybe Dontonburi would be open for tourists, I headed back there with my umbrella in hand. No luck. Found the shop, but it was shuttered for the Typhoon. I hit up a Don Quijote, a cheap souviner/catch all store and then headed home to enjoy my soba noodles dish and ice cream from Family Mart. Typhoon Day complete.

Japan Adventure - Universal Studios Japan

Clearly this is a trip designed by my own making as one of the highlights I was looking forward to was a day at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka.

Sure, Tokyo Disney would be cool. But, do THEY have a video game theme park that you grew up with and am totally excited to interact with? Bring it on, Super Nintendo World!

Before we get to that epic experience, let's go through some of the highlights of the day!

I got an express pass (for WAY too much $), but it covered 4 rides where I could skip ahead of the giant lines. Sometimes it worked out in my favour, other times not so much (or a single rider was just as quick).

First up was the Spiderman Ride, where I zipped past everyone with the express pass. It was a fun immersive 4D ride where you go around NY battling Spidey villains. Once I got on, I remembered that I had been on it before the last time I went to Universal Studios Florida in 2010. Still, great fun! 4/5

The next one I went on was the Flying Dinosaur. I braved my fear of the drop down stomach feeling on roller coasters to tackle this LYING DOWN ride. It looped, it plummeted, at one point I closed my eyes (or passed out?) But it was reaaaaly good. 5/5

Some of you know how much I love Jurassic Park. I watched all of them (and Jurassic Worlds) during my first bout of covid! So I thoroughly enjoyed all the thematic elements of the Jurassic Park area. Including when a "raptor" and "triceratops" (and her baby in a stroller) came out for a little parade.

I also rode Jurrassic Park: The Ride (also in US Florida). It's a log flume ride where you get WET. In 39° heat, the soaking was quite welcome. But foolish me did not bring an extra pair of socks so I was uncomfortably close to trenchfoot by the end of the day. 4/5

Next up, the classic JAWS boat ride. I survived. I also used single riders to the best advantage, literally walking onto the ride. 3.5/5

I had lunch at an anime themed restaurant. It was called One Piece and is about pirates? I grabbed a fish n'chips kind of meal. But forgoing the curry on my rice after basic communication with the servers indicated it may have had chicken in it. 

Honestly, I'm surprised at the lack of allergen awareness there was at USJ. Even on 711 wrappers it says what each item contains. The ekiban I got for my Shinkansen also had symbols on it indicating what was inside. It was a little frustrating that I couldn't find it anywhere (even in japanese!).

After lunch, I was pretty hot so I went to watch a show. To my utter astonishment, they had a show themed around Waterworld. You know, the 90s flop with Kevin Costner sailing around and the kid from Andre/Napoleon Dynamite has a map tattooed on her back? Yeah that one. 

And you know what. It freaking KILLED. It was SO good. There were water-skiing tricks, flips from diving boards, machine gun effects, smoke, lighting, fire, plane crashes, a MAN ON FIRE. Honestly 6/5. 

After that mind blowing expeience I thought, hey, maybe every show is amazing! Let's check out "Monsters Live Rock and Roll Show", featuring classic monsters like Frankenstein and Beetlejuice (?). Oh God. It was awful. I def didn't expect to hear the Wolfman sing Bon Jovi today, but at least it was air conditioned. 2/5.

I checked out a bit of the kiddie "Wonderland" which was Snoopy, Hello Kitty and Sesame Street themed. The teacups are my fav ride at Disney, so I thought the Hello Kitty spinning cupcakes would be great. Nah, this is the one ride a single rider does not enjoy. 1/5

I made my way over to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which I thoroughly enjoyed the last time I went to Universal. It was pretty similar ans the rides had not changed, so while I did enjoy a Butterbeer and loved the ollivander want expeience, it wasn't too overwhelming. The hogwarts forbidden journey ride is still 5/5 though!

I killed a bit more time before being allowed into Super Nintendo World by going on the Hollywood Dream Roller coaster. It's not a loopy one, just a big hills and corkscrews. But the cool thing is you can choose your own track to listen to. In honour of NOT getting Taylor Swift tickets, I chose "Shake it off" 4/5. I also went to the Minion World of Despicable Me where I rode a really fun 4D ride where you were being turned into a Minion. 4/5

And finally, the piece de resistance... Super Nintendo World. The main reason I got the express pass mentioned earlier was so I could gain access to Super Nintendo World since all the advance timed entry tickets were gone.

You enter a huge queue and I noticed numbers printed on the ground. I then googled the numbers as dates and realized they were connected to important Mario releases. Like in Oct 1988, when Super Mario 3 was released in Japan.

Upon entry to mushroom kingdom, it was sensory overload. Mario music, rotating creatures, and the incessant sound of kids gaining coins. You can buy a special watch which lets you hit coin blocks and collect coins as well as compete in mini games. I joined Team Toad (Kinopio in Japanese) with my bracelet and earned coins for my team on a leaderboard. It was really fun and interactive. Apparently it also ties to the Switch somehow (I don't have one) and can also be used in US California. 

There are 2 rides in Nintendo World. The first (with my express pass) was Mario Kart. You walk through Bowser's Castle to compete in a virtual reality/track ride Mario Kart game. Also earning coins on your watch if you had it. I was God awful at it, but it was really cool. 5/5

Yoshi's Adventure did not allow for single riders so like a schmuck I stood in like for 50 minutes to go on the 3 minute kiddie ride that slowly goes through Nintendo World with some Yoshi characters surrounding you (hello Baby Mario!). It was cute, but less impressive. 3/5.

The whole area was very cleverly designed. From the knickknacks on the desk in Bowser's Library to the murals of underwater enemies in the bathroom. There was definitely more to discover here but I didn't have too much time left.

I finally ended my long day by a quick visit back to Harry Potter to use my express pass and then did a last minute decision to go a 4D anime movie called "Jujutsu Kaisen". Now unlike the other shows where I got by not knowing Japanese, this one... not so much. It was confusing and I was quite out of my element as a non-anime fan. It was also 945pm and I was exhausted.

Overall, epic day and I loved it so much!

Japan Adventure - Hakone

Aug 6 - Welcome to Hakone
I originally decided to do a sidetrip to Hakone before heading to Osaka/Kyoto because I wanted to see Mt. Fuji. There's no way I was gonna climb it (that was even before I learned about Japan's summer heat), and this town had great reviews of Mt. Fuji views and nature escapes.

But.

The skies in the summer are notoriously hazy and it was drizzly and foggy so alas, no mountain views were had.

But that's ok, because Hakone was beautiful regardless.

I arrived feeling a bit hungover from my previous night's adventures in Shibuya, but after a short Shinkansen (bullet train), a local train, and a REAL local clickity-clackity train (complete with switchback changes), I got to my hostel.

This is the only time on the trip where I couldn't justify splurging on a private room. Hakone is a resort town and as thus, has resort prices. I grabbed an 8 bed bunk in Emblem Flow Hostel and was pleasantly surprised.

Not only was my bottom bunk large enough to change sitting up, it had a privacy curtain and a oulet/lamp so it felt like a teeny tiny room.

But the biggest draw? Not just the fancy looking restaurant or big bunks? Definietly not the basic vibe of the common room. But... The onsen.

Onsens are public baths - but more like giant spa hot tubs. You need to get over that western shame about being naked because bathing suits are not allowed. Towels are not allowed. Flip flops not allowed. Just you and the warm healing waters.

Hakone is all about the onsens. It's located in a volcanic mountainous area where the hotels use the natural hot springs to heat their onsens.

After an expensive, small but satisfying dinner (mixed salad & seared salmon) - I tried the onsen. I had it all to myself and after googling "how to onsen", I enjoyed it!.

("How to onsen": shower before you enter using the handheld one or a western style stand up one, don't get your hair wet, leave your towel in the changing area, soak, then shower/wash hair and body after).

I went up to the common room hoping to meet people and I did! I met a traveller named Amy from England who was traveling around Asia before heading off to work in Australia. We hit it off and made plans to hang out the next day.

Aug 7 - Smelly mountains, swans and onsens
Amy and I started off our Hakone adventure by taking the inclined cable car outside our hostel in Gora Stn up the mountain to catch the Hakone Ropeway - a gondola that goes up and over the mountains. We were told we would get a great view of Mt. Fuji from here, but that was more of our view.

* side note - Buy the Hakone Free Pass, it gives you unlimited transit around Hakone (trains, ropeways and ships!)

When we got to the top of the mountain called Owakudani and all you could smell was sulfur. There were some slightly worrisome signs about what to do if a volcano erupted. But we were there for the snacks.

We tried some charcoal ice cream and it was delicious. Who cares if it's 10 am - you're on vacation! It tasted like vanilla, but man did it give me some terrifying looking 💩s the next day...

The main draw of the area were these black eggs. They are cooked in sulfur water which causes them to blacken. Our excitement quickly withered once we realized they weren't black inside and we just bought 4 hardboiled eggs for 500¥.

After the eggs and smelly mountain, we took the ropeway down to Lake Ashi where we boarded the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise on a pirate ship. The lake cruise took about 40 mins and while we were going on it, we kept seeing people on swan paddleboats going to see the famous Heiwa no Torii shrine.

So obviously, guess what we got.

It was a blast! Something I won't easily forget because it's not like I could have paddled solo! We saw a unique view of the shrine and equally lamented how tired our legs were.

Not to fear! Onsen is here! We bought tickets to an "onsen themed water park" called Yunnesun.  Not really know what to expect, we ended up in a whirlwind of tourist families and their very loud and excited children. I love kids, but not on my vacation. We navigated the minefield of floaty rings and small bodies through a "wine" onsen (red coloured dye), "coffee" onsen and "sake" onsen. We did indulge in a quick water slide before deciding to head to the more tranquil "traditional spa" of Mori no yu.

Talk about having to be ok with nakedness. I was suddenly surrounded by women of all shapes and sizes. Interesting fact, you aren't allowed to show tattoos in onsen (people think you're tied to the Yakusa if you have tattoos?). So Amy had to wear these flesh coloured bandages over her small tattoos.

After our Yunnesun adventure, Amy left for Tokyo and I went to find some dinner. I settled for a Cesar salad and cheese plate from a hostel next door (Hakone Tent Bar). And while this cheese platter was basically cut for the size of a mouse and not my north American cheese loving stomach, it surprised me by actually being just the right amount to satisfy me.

One more onsen when I got back to my hostel and then a quick Google of "how much onsen is too much onsen" (I had too much onsen), I had possibly the most complete and thorough sleep of the trip - no jet lag wakeup this time!

Aug 8 - Hakone Open Air Museum

For my last morning in Hakone, I headed to the Hakone Open Air Museum. I wish I had more time to explore it, but I was pressed for time and today was the day Hakone decided to follow the Japan trend of being hot AF. Yesterday was so lovely at like 29 degrees, I was spoiled. I felt like this dude:

This Open Air Museum was SO up my alley. You walked around various statues and installations (some statues moved), with small QR codes with audio guides at certain landmark pieces. I love Henry Moore and there were a lot of his collection there (rotating exhibit of 26 of his pieces). According to the gallery, "Moore believed sculpture should be displayed out of doors, 'Sculpture is an art of the open air,' he said".

One of the coolest pieces was a tower made out of stained glass by Gabriel Loire. You climbed its winding circular staircase to get to the top and see a great view of Hakone.

Even though I had planned Hakone to view Mt. Fuji, it's onsen and nature were more than enough to make up for it. Plus! A travel friend for the day!

Next stop, a completely different vibe: Universal Studios Japan.