Momiji - A journey to the Land Of The Rising Sun

ありがとう日本 (Arigatō Nihon)

October 24, 2025 / Thomas De Lora / En Route, Honshu, Japan, Tokyo / Leave a Comment

Time to go home and we were ready to go this time. It’s not that we did not enjoy ourselves, on this trip we were able to get a good introduction to Japan and see quite a bit. But after a while one gets tired of being on the road. We will return for more.

After Disney we spent a little time with Syd and Leo in Tokyo before they moved on to Kyoto then Osaka. They have returned to Tokyo before returning home this weekend.

Mt. Fuji came out for Syd and Leo on their return to Tokyo.

We spent our last few days in Tokyo near the Tokyo Tower, a symbol of post war Japan and for several decades the tallest tower in Japan until the construction of the Tokyo Skytree in 2012.

Of course the fish eye came out for this session.

I liked this reflection of the tower in this building.

Our hotel had an interesting view from the elevator.

It was nice to have a few last days in Tokyo with no agenda which gave us a chance to relax and wander a bit. I made it to the Kokyo Gaien National Garden (The Imperial Palace Outer Garden) and the Tokyo National Museum.

Nijubashi Bridge or kōkyo seimon tekkyō (Imperial palace main gate iron bridge) in Kokyo Gaien National Garden

The main entrance of the Imperial Palace (with guards)

Looking across Kokyo Gaien National Garden

The Wisdom King Aizen and their miniature shrine

The museum has a great collection of wood block prints. This is one of Kintarō with his (rumored) mountain witch mother.

We also wandered around Tokyo taking in the active city. We really enjoyed this visit.

Calico cat on the Cross Shinjuku Vision billboard

Oh no, there goes Tokyo!
Go go Godzilla!

When the pedestrian lights go green people run to the middle for that perfect photo.

An izakya in Omoide Yokocho Memory Lane in Shinjuku

An interesting bookend to this trip was the same taxi service that drove us from Narita to Tokyo when we arrived drove us back for our return flight. This was all arranged by Inside Japan and he informed us when we arrived that he would be our return ride as well. He did not speak english but had a great smile and a can do attitude which we liked. I have found that a positive experience upon arriving in a country helps set the tone for a visit and he certainly helped do this for our visit.

Time to wrap the blog. Many, many thanks to Deb Siegle of Come Travel Today who really knocked it out of the park with this one. I like the idea of having someone to plan with who helps keeps our dreams realistic. A very smooth trip with some great guides! Thanks Deb! Oh, we are already planning next year.

A special thanks to Chris and Mei, our neighbors who always watch our house and tended to our felines while we travel. They have given us great peace of mind for many years now and we are greatful. Thanks Mei and Chris!

And thats it for this one.

I think I am starting to spoil my camera.I think I am starting to spo — I think I am starting to spoil my camera.

Luggage Services in Japan

October 21, 2025 / Thomas De Lora / En Route, Japan, Takuhaibin, Trip Prep / Leave a Comment

This was an interesting trip to pack for, not only is it long (almost 5 weeks), we also had to be ready for a variety of weather; Hokkaido was much more autumn like than our stops on Honshu. Traveling around the country with three large bags via train is not appealing so we brought along two packable travel bags and utilized the luggage forwarding services available in Japan. Known as Takuhaibin, you can move your luggage from hotel to hotel for a moderate cost. We took advantage of this service, as an example when we first left Tokyo we packed our travel bags for a few days in Hakone and forwarded our luggage to Kyoto. We continued this the entire trip and it worked out quite well. All our luggage have Apple Airtags in them so we could monitor their progress and this made our travels in Japan much easier. In a sense our main luggage had their own vacation.

Our three main bags packed for their own vacation.

The Oriental Land Co., Ltd.

October 20, 2025 / Thomas De Lora / Honshu, Japan, Tokyo, Tokyo Disney Resort, Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo DisneySea / Leave a Comment

Founded in the 1960s, Oriental Land Co., Ltd. (OLC) was created to reclaim land in Tokyo Bay with the express purpose of developing leisure facilities for the citizens of Japan. Deciding to build on the popularity of Disney television shows and products in the country, OLC approached The Walt Disney Company and entered into a licensing agreement to build a Disneyland in Tokyo. OLC would own and operate the park, Disney would provide intellectual property, design, and technical expertise and receive approximately 7% of total revenue from the theme park operations. Opening in 1983, Tokyo Disneyland was a hit, and to build on this OLC decided to open a second gate by adding Tokyo DisneySea, a theme park Disney proposed building in Long Beach, California. DisneySea opened in 2001 was also a hit and is considered by some the best theme park in the world. I read that the Tokyo Disney Resort is the complex Disney would build if Disney had the money, and from what we saw OLC is a great steward of the Disney legacy.

This is where we caught up with Sydney and Leo who are in Japan on their own trip as part of Sydney’s college graduation gift (She is now a full R.N.) They have been in Japan for a week visiting Tokyo and Leo’s family in Gunma. After Disney they are off to Kyoto and Osaka. Being born in Japan, Leo knows his way around and it was nice to have a translator again. Locals take Disney visiting Disney seriously and some dress for the visit. In the Disneyland park Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast, was the favorite of all and I got a chance to ride my odd target, Pooh’s Hunny Hunt. Both are trackless rides which gives one a more expanded experience. Low picture taking day at this park.

Mt. Fuji peeked out again from a distance. Those are birds in the bottom of the picture.

Tokyo Disneyland's World Bazaar which serves as Main Street here. Like many shopping areas inJapan it has a cover for rain. — Tokyo Disneyland’s World Bazaar which serves as Main Street here. Like many shopping areas inJapan it has a cover for rain.

The last remaining Splash Mountain in any Disney Park.

The Mark Twain and Big Thundar Mountsin from Splash Mountain — The Mark Twain and Big Thunder Mountain from Splash Mountain

Tokyo Disneyland has the last remaining Slash Mountain. — Inside Splash Mountain.

The Mark Twain Riverboat and Splash Mountain from Big Thunder Mountain

Some of the dressed up types in the park

In DisneySea, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was the clear winner with its unique ride system. We also liked Sindbad’s Storybook Voyage. Leo whooped everyone’s butt in Toy Story Mania. Twice. A rather unique thing to do in the Mediterranean Harbor section is Fortress Explorations“The Leonardo Challenge” where you are given a map and have to look for clues in a fortress to Society of Explorers and Adventurers membership. You can wander the fortress without doing the challenge and with its sailing galleon ship. towers, Foucault pendulum and astral observatory it is the closest thing to being in the game Myst I have ever seen.

DisneySea is also noted for flavored popcorn and being a bit of a popcorn fiend I had to try as many as possible. The group thought the Szechuan pepper popcorn (says Chinese Chili Flavor on the website) was the winner. I had more hopes for the Roast Beef Flavor and the Soy Sauce & Butter Flavor but we felt they did not match up to the name. But I consumed it all anyway…