Pure Impurity

Day 0: Arriving in Japan Day 1: Yomiuriland Day 2.1: Tobu Zoo Day 2.2: Toshimaen Day 2.3: Exploring Tokyo: Ikebukuro, Shinjuku, Harajuku, and Shibuya Day 3.1: Yokohama Cosmoworld Day 3.2: Sea Paradise Day 4: Exploring Tokyo: Akihabara and Tokyo Tower Day 5: Exploring Osaka Day 6: Misaki Park and Adventure World (+ earthquake) Day 7: Universal Studios Japan Day 8.1: Washuzan Highland Day 8.2: New Reoma World Day 9.1: More Universal and Hirakata Park Day 9.2: Exploring Kyoto Day 10: Nagashima Spa Land Day 11: Parque España Day 12: Legoland Japan and Higashiyama Zoo (+ karaoke) Day 13.1: Hamanako Pal Pal Day 13.2: Lagunasia (+ Nagoya stuff) Day 14: Exploring Tokyo: Tokyo Dome City, Skytree, Imperial Palace, Odaiba (incl. Joypolis) Well, it's been over a year since the trip, so I guess now's as good a time as any to post this here. TPR has long been a great way for me to escape Cornland USA and go on trips with like-minded people to more out-of-the-way parks but also experience even the larger parks in a way few get to. These events and tours had taken me from Toronto to Texas, and I'd ridden well over a hundred new rides on them alone. So when the opportunity for a Japan trip arose, the choice was a no-brainer. I consider myself somewhat well-traveled, but that's very strictly in an American sense; before this trip, I had only ever been to Canada once… …in 2012… …for only a few days…. But I am always aching to go to new places, and I've always had my eyes set on Japan in particular. Between my history of playing Taiko drums and my continued exposure to Japanese pop culture through social media (it's no secret that the Internet loves Japan), I decided it was time to embrace my inner weeb and fly on over to the Land of the Rising Sun. So, without further ado… Day 0: Journey to the Center of Japan I hadn't slept, which should come as no surprise. But I was ready, baby! Breakfast of champions Before the big flight, I had a layover in Toronto. This was probably the smallest airplane I had been on (soon followed by the largest!) Toronto. I don't know if it was the sleep deprivation, but it hadn't quite hit me yet that I was going to frickin Japan. It wasn't until I got to my gate that I realized, Oh, that's right—I'm flying thousands of miles away. This was by far the longest flight I had ever taken. I regularly go to Colorado to see family, and that seems like a light jaunt to the corner store compared with the 13 hours it took here. That's a long time to be sitting in a pressurized tin can hurtling through the sky. I also found out the hard way just how bad I am at sleeping on planes, which is to say completely incapable. But, hey, at least I got a window seat…. Lake Athabasca Okay, so I did have a window seat, but unfortunately, it was cloudy most of the flight. I believe this here is the Brooks Range of northern Alaska… maybe. Our flight took us a little north of the Arctic Circle, as you can see by the Alaskan tundra outside. One of the more surreal aspects of the trip was that the sun never set. In the distance you can see what I believe to be the Kuril Islands, which stretch from the Kamchatka Peninsula to Hokkaido. We were getting close now! And there she is! A glimpse of the largest metropolis in the world and where we would be staying our next couple nights. ~14:57 local time: Touchdown at Haneda International Airport! It was a grueling 13 hours, but I couldn't have cared less; I was in Japan!!! Steve O. was on the same flight, so we met up and got our bags and rail passes. After exchanging my currency, we were on our way. This was all done in maybe 20 minutes, so kudos to Japan! It was then time for our fist of many, many train rides on this trip. And thus began a fruitful relationship with the Japanese rail system. Seriously, their public transit is the friggin BEST! This is the face of Death The train from the airport took us straight to Shinagawa Station, which was right in front of our hotel! After settling down for a bit, I decided to walk around the premises a little. Here we see a random Shiba in front of a restaurant. Must be their spokesdog or something. And after a long, long, long, long day of begging for it, it was time to sleep. Even the excitement for the following day wasn't enough to keep my eyes open any longer. But hey, look at that view! I'm glad to finally be getting around to this! Stay tuned for more!

Hey Taylor, it's nice to relive this trip through someone else's lens! And I did actually get a short offride of that crazy thing (maybe I should start posting my stuff…).

Deep frying your nuts. What's worse than third world plight?

Denmark.

...the kumquat turned and looked Nic right in his eyes with a stern visage. It spoke in a small and unassuming, although solemn voice: "Ya gotta steal the Declaration of Independence!" (His voice was actually more intense and desperate than described previously.) Nic was understandably taken aback by this strange situation; he had never been entrusted to loot anything before. Why would someone want me to steal something he thought, especially an old, smelly piece of paper? Doesn't he know that fresh sheets of paper can be found in his local Staples® office supplies store? While Nic was busy enacting a Staples commercial in his head, the kumquat spoke again, sputtering: "Ya gotta steal the Declaration of Independence, dude!" He repeated this a couple of times, each less coherent than the last. Finally, Nicolas, in the middle of listing products, had a sudden realization: He recognized that voice. "I recognize that voice!" he shouted. "You're...

Mean Streak -- Menstruate

Slushie.

Purge

Rush - "Ride Designs" ["Grand Designs"] Rush - "Between the Wheels (Are the Rails)" ["Between the Wheels"] Rush - "Nauseotica" ["Neurotica"] Rush - "The Big Wheel" [same] Rush - "Ride Stand Still" ["Time Stand Still"] Rush - "G-Force: 10" ["Force Ten"] Rush - "Chain-Lift Rhythms" ["Mystic Rhythms"] Rush - "Open Restraints" ["Open Secrets"] Rush - "Ride Mover" ["Prime Mover"] Rush - "Throw-Up" ["Face Up"] Rush - "Ride Again" ["Here Again"] Rush - "What You're Riding" ["What You're Doing"] Rush - "Vital Rides" ["Vital Signs"]

...you've made "layouts" around your neighborhood, and ridden them with your bike

My God! You're becoming British! Was Tom not operating Boulderdash?

^ Is right. < Likes condos and hotels better. V Likes spending the night in cheap motels with a crack ho.

I see an Invertigo.

Maybe you should...

No more betting on no. 69? I bet Bob's disappointed.

Japanese overload!!!

.

One in which the hyper-stressed people had guns. What's a fate worse than death?

Yeah, I saw DDD being constructed back on the park's opening day. ...Unfortunately, the weather that day SUCKED!

Excerpt from Rush -- "Territories" "Better the pride that resides in a citizen of the world / Than the pride that divides when a colorful rag is unfurled."

Before it went mainstream?

Save for Mike Tyson, that actually doesn't sound half bad!

He was an escaped lunatic from the local asylum.