805Andrew

I don't know how crazy busy Lagoon is going to be on the 4th of July or how late they are open, but let's say your able to do everything you want and get out of there by 7:30, the furthest west you'd be able to drive in 4 hours with a place to stay the night is Elko, NV. You don't need more than a day at Discovery Kingdom (maybe not even a full day) so I would recommend making a detour to see Lake Tahoe on the way to Vallejo since it is right by the I-80 anyways. I think your kids (and your wife) would enjoy it. Lake Tahoe is beautiful and is completely different from the lakes in the Upper Midwest. Even if its just a detour from Reno to see the north part of the lake and back on the 1-80 in Truckee, with maybe a quick stop at a north Tahoe beach like Kings Beach, it would be a nice change of pace. If you are running good on time, I would recommend going down the west side (CA) of the lake (CA-89) with a quick view at Emerald Bay and stop at a beach like Sugar Pine Point or Baldwin Beach if your kids want to take a dip in the lake. From South Lake Tahoe, you could take US-50 to Sacramento and back to the 1-80 to Vallejo by night. If you leave Elko by 9AM, this can be done. If you drive down the east side (NV) of the lake its quicker and not nearly as scenic, but Sand Harbor is an excellent beach and one of my favorite spots of the lake. For Discovery Kingdom I'm not sure if you'll need the Flash Pass, but I would play it by ear. I have visited on a Friday in June right after The Joker opened, a Friday in August, and a Friday during Fright Fest and the longest line I've seen was 35 minutes for The Joker and 45 minutes for Superman Ultimate Flight. I would go to the corner of the park where The Joker and Superman Ultimate Flight are right at park opening and if you can ride those with minimal wait, you won't need a Flash Pass. Discovery Kingdom doesn't get the crazy crowds that Magic Mountain gets. The Alcatraz tour is basically taking a reserved time ferry to Alcatraz, then walking around Alcatraz at your own pace with an audio guide, and getting on a ferry back to SF whenever your ready to go back with ferries running every 15-20 min I think. Kind of like the Statue of Liberty tour in NYC, except only one island involved. Seeing Alcatraz is really cool, especially for the great views of the city and the bay. If you could squeeze it in, I would recommend spending the whole day in SF (especially if you've never been before) as there is plenty to see and you could just do one full day at Magic Mountain if you get the Flash Pass. Bring a jacket or sweater for SF by the way, its often colder there in the summer then some days in February. If you were going to CGA during a weekday, you probably wouldn't need Fast Lane, but since its a Saturday (July 8th) I would play it by ear. Get there at park opening, hit Gold Striker first, then Psycho Mouse (low capacity) or Flight Deck, and then based on the crowds decide if you need Fast Lane or not. If you spent the previous day in SF, you could leave CGA around 5-6PM and head to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk since they are open until 11PM. The boardwalk atmosphere is awesome at night with all the lights, sounds, and smells. Spend the night in the Santa Cruz area. On the 9th hit Gilroy Gardens if its included with your pass before heading down to Valencia (4.5 hour boring drive on the I-5 or 6 hour partially scenic drive on US-101). If Gilroy Gardens isn't included with your pass or you decide it isn't of much interest to you, may I suggest visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium instead (which is 45 min-1 hour south of Santa Cruz)? Your kids will love it, and it's ranked one of the best aquariums in the world. From Monterey its about a 5 hour drive to Valencia. On the 10th arrive at Magic Mountain before 10:30 park opening. I know you're on a budget, but if there is only one park where you splurge on a Flash Pass, this would be it. Magic Mountain is always crowded in the summer, even during the week. With all the rides (mainly coasters) Magic Mountain has to offer it's a full day park. After Magic Mountain I would drive to Buena Park and spend the night in that area. LA area traffic is a lot better at night then in the morning. I can't help you after the Knott's day, but to drive four hours after Knott's towards Amarillo to a park I've never heard of sounds gruesome to me. If you drive four hours east you'll make it to Needles (just before the AZ border), but I think it would be a lot more enjoyable for you and your family to enjoy the day at Knott's and spend the night nearby in the same hotel/motel you spent the previous night in and to continue on east in the morning. Maybe cut out a couple of parks at the end of your trip that are closer to your home especially if you've been to them before. I would ask your family if they would rather see all these other minor parks or see some other sites like San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, Monterey Bay Aquarium, etc.

Have fun! I love Hersheypark. Skyrush is nuts, but Storm Runner is actually my favorite ride there. It's like a better, longer version of Xcelerator. Fahrenheit, Lightning Racer, and Great Bear are pretty awesome too, and Comet is a really good classic woodie. Don't forget to visit the World of Chocolate just outside the main entrance and ride the dark ride there as well.

Great pictures of Sea World and the lesser-seen sights in Central Florida. I don't know if I'd be able to on my first Orlando visit, but on my second or third Orlando visit I'd try to get a day break from the parks to see some of that wildlife. That Circle B Bar Reserve and its bird and alligator viewing looks really nice. Also downtown Orlando looks nice and like a place to take a quick look at night if I had time or wasn't too tired. Looking forward to seeing more.

I get a new park to visit next time I visit relatives in Barcelona.

Thanks for sharing! I hope to visit Cuba one day as I would find it interesting, but not for the amusement parks. That line for the log flume looks chaotic - I wouldn't have even bothered. Seeing those crowds there at that rundown park though shows there's a demand for a better theme park. Knott's Berry Farm Cuba can't come soon enough. Anyways, looking forward to seeing/reading more.

Knott's has several exciting options that could fit in the spot where Boomerang and Riptide were. I would personally like to see an Intamin Megalite (one can dream), Chance mini-hyper, or a Gerstauer Eurofighter which would all fit nicely in that spot. An Intamin Aquatrax would be awesome but I'm not holding my breath for that one and I don't know if Intamin is going to ever build another one of those anyways. A B&M Dive Machine would be cool too and although a B&M Hyper isn't my first choice, I wouldn't complain if that got built. Anyways, this is an exciting announcement from Knott's removing the Boomerang that I wasn't expecting at this point in time.

Wow! All those places look spectacular and I didn't know Lebanon had all those snow capped mountains. There's little most people here know about Lebanon besides what they hear on the news so its nice great another perspective.

I immediately thought of this too. I always thought that ride looked cool in RTC3 and wished it was built in real life. Looks like my prayer is answered. Glenwood Caverns has always intrigued me and I'll have to eventually visit it when I finally plan to visit Colorado.

I guess I won't be visiting Heide Park when I go to Germany later this year. Hopefully can they fix Colossos so it can run again in the future rather than tearing it down, since it looks like a great ride.

Awesome photos as always, especially the animal ones. I definetely need to plan a trip to Busch Gardens (and Florida in general). When I finally plan a WDW trip I'll definetely have to make a day diversion for Busch Gardens.

I immediately thought the same thing. I'm bummed if they are getting rid of the top hat though. That was amazing and I'm glad I got to experience it twice back in 2015.

I live about halfway between the LA area and the SF Bay Area in the Central Coast region of California. Our nearest theme/amusement parks would be Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk about 150 miles northwest of us, followed by California's Great America 175 miles north of us, and Six Flags Magic Mountain 185 miles southeast of us. If you are doing a trip of California and are hitting both north and south, I recommend taking the U.S. 101 over the ugly I-5 and checking out some of the attractions the Central Coast has to offer. We have Hearst Castle, which is the most visited state park in CA and is the opulent mansion of William Randolph Hearst on a mountain with zebras roaming wild. Ironically growing up here, I haven't been to Hearst Castle since my 6th grade field trip, so I'm due for another visit. Just about 5 miles north of the entrance to Hearst Castle we have the elephant seals along Hwy 1, which are easily viewed from the parking lot on the side of the road and are worth watching for a bit. They are very active in the months of Dec-April, but some of them will stay year round now. Just north of San Simeon and Hearst Castle is the start of the scenic Big Sur coast which is worth a drive (just not right now due to a mudslide from a recent storm closing part of the highway) along Hwy 1 on the way to Monterey, stopping at several locations along the way such as McWay Falls. We are also famous for wineries with over 200 in the Paso Robles region and one of them even does its own ziplining. https://www.margarita-adventures.com We are an up and coming area for breweries as well with the ever expanding Firestone Walker Brewery as well as many new startup Breweries such as Barrelhouse and Central Coast Brewing. We also have several of the California Missions here if you want to see a piece of history. The communities of San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay are worth checking out and Avila Beach is a really nice local beach with warmer temps and less wind then all of the other local beaches.

Yes, usually each machine has about 30 different choices with only a few repeat options. I counted 31 different choices out of the 36 available slots in my last vending machine picture. Notice how only 6 of the choices are carbonated soft drinks though, showing the popularity of tea and iced coffee in Japan. Also only one slot was for bottled water, which means Japanese are getting their water elsewhere and are comfortable drinking their tap water (which is clean). I thought Guitar Hero made Cheap Trick famous in America. That's my goal with this TR, to try to get you in my shoes. Stay tuned, as I'm just getting started on this thread and have plenty more to post. Also, thanks for the kind words.

I had one more day to see Tokyo on my own before I met up with the group of TPR members. While I spent the previous two days exploring modern Tokyo, today was a culture day checking out the Imperial Palace and Gardens, along with temples and shrines. There's no escaping modern Tokyo though, as I ended up in Akihabara. Anyways, on to the pictures. You may even see a coaster in this update. I'm not sure why I took this picture - I probably thought it was funny, so here you go. Okay I lied, this is the closest I got to the Imperial Palace. A nice grassy area on the grounds of the Imperial Palace. Notice that when a sign says to keep off the grass, people listen here. Although the Imperial Palace itself is closed off, the East Gardens of it are open to the public, so we're heading that way. Another look at the Palace area in the distance. Around the corner from here is the entrance to the only part that is open to the public. A moat surrounds all of the Imperial Palace grounds. Time to enter the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace. I was expecting a modest admission for entering the Imperial Gardens, but it was totally free. There were several traditional Japanese buildings like this inside, which some were used as gift shops, vending areas, or restrooms. This was the closest I was able to get to one of the Pagodas of the Imperial Palace by the Eastern Gardens. There's a grove of bamboo trees here. There's a nice grassy area in the center of the Imperial Gardens where you are in a tranquil spot surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the city. A nice view of my surroundings at the top. I went up this structure to the highest accessible point of the Imperial Gardens. Starting the day from the Kurumi Weekly Mansion where I was staying. Here is a gas station where gasoline is ¥141 a liter. The exchange rate was about ¥120 to $1 when I was in Japan, and there are 3.78541 liters to a gallon, so gas here was about $4.45 a gallon in case anyone was wondering. Crossing the Sumida River looking south, I got this great view. I stopped into the first convience store I saw, which was a Natural Lawson (part of the Lawson convenience chain). This was my convenience store breakfast, which would be terribly unhealthy in the US. This is not the case for convenience stores in Japan though, where prepared grab-and-go meals are brought in fresh every day, and looks more like some thing you would get at Trader Joe's. I hopped onto a Metro to get to the Imperial Palace. At the Metro station where I arrived they had this smoothie stand (as did other metro stations in Tokyo). I got a melon juice to go. The grounds of the Imperial Palace are in a large park surrounded by modern buildings in the Chiyoda part of Tokyo. The actual Imperial Palace is closed to the public except for a couple of days a year, so this is the closest I would get to it. A view of the other side beyond the Imperial Palace. Old school lantern at the gardens. Can you tell I'm in the middle of a city with over 13 million people? Here's a Japanese pine tree. Japanese trees look like works of art. No Japanese garden is complete without a koi pond. Walking around the pond at the Imperial Gardens. Lets see if there are actually koi in this pond. Yep, lots of colorful koi. Lots of colorful flowers surrounding the pond too. For some reason this fountain looked like it belonged in one of the Legend of Zelda games. The Imperial Gardens is a nice tranquil space in the middle of Tokyo. Here's an old shrine (I think) within the Imperial Gardens. Time to head out of the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace and check out some other sites. They had these really pretty flowers that looked like they had butterflies on them. There were lots of blue flowers... Time to go down this thing and check out the rest of the gardens. ...and lots of purple flowers. Within the gardens, there was another moat and wall. Great views of Chiyoda looking out from the top of this wall. Just outside the East Gardens is this building that looks like a giant wooden peg you can pull out. Here's the alternate entrance to the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace. The peg really stands out among the other buildings. Walking around the east side of the Imperial Palace grounds now. This giant moat and wall surrounds the whole Imperial Palace grounds. I'm a bit thirsty now, so time for a drink. You can do the Dew in Japan and I just did. Here's the Nippon Budokan, which is a large sumo wrestling and martial arts arena. I'm walking through a nice park just outside the Imperial Palace grounds. I love the mix of modern and historic buildings here. Time to find out what these are. I walked through this building which had an open area. It looks like there was a school field trip going on here. I think this was some type of government building or residential complex, but wasn't sure. This modern building is called Showakan and is a national museum ran by the Ministry of Health. Thanks for the info Google Maps! They had a bottled version of Lemon Coke here in Japan which I tried. It is simple yet refreshing, as it tastes like Coke with a squeeze of lemon. If they had a canned/bottled version of this in the US I would buy it (Lemon Coke only exists in Freestyle machines in the US). I went by this building which looked like a lighthouse. There were several statues on the grounds of the shrine including this one. Time to head up to the Yasukuni Shrine. There were statues of animals and creatures as well. Here is the Yasukuni Shrine. Getting close up to this Imperial shrine. The Yasukine Shine built in the 1800s honors those who have died serving Japan. There was a war museum on the shrine grounds with planes, trains, and cannons from WWII. The rest of the museum was paid, but this lobby area was free. There was this nice little garden on the shrine grounds as well. A Japanese garden means there's a pond full of koi. Time to head to another area of Tokyo. Some stations have these wacky melodies that play right before the train doors close. At the station I was arriving at they were playing an instrumental version of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame". Getting off at the Korakuen station, I didn't realize I was so close to Tokyo Dome City and LaQua. I was going to check out the Koishikawa Korakuen Garden to continue on with my culture tour of the day, but since it had already closed for the day... ...I might as well walk around Tokyo Dome City, which is home of the mighty Thunder Dolphin. Tokyo Dome is home to the Yomiuri Giants, which use the same color scheme as another Giants team back home which I casually root for. Was Thunder Dolphin running? At first I wasn't sure, but about every 15 minutes I heard or saw a train getting dispatched. Finally, as I was leaving Tokyo Dome City I was able to get a shot of Thunder Dolphin with a train running on it. The Tokyo Dome baseball stadium is a major part of the Tokyo Dome City entertainment complex. The Tokyo Dome is also called the Big Egg and opened in 1988. I went across the street to get a better view of Thunder Dolphin. This thing is massive and looks so fun and cool in the middle of the city. Right by the Tokyo Dome is the LaQua shopping mall and spa and the Tokyo Dome City attractions. I resisted going on any rides since I was planning on coming here with TPR members in a few days. Since I'm coming back to Tokyo Dome City later on in the trip, time to head to another part of Tokyo. I'm getting off the train at Ochanomizu Station near Akihabara. Across the river from my train station is another train station and line. Many different train lines intersect along the river here. If you want to go trainspotting in Tokyo (and hopefully don't shoot yourself up) this is a good spot. This is a bus stop for one of the transportation companies of Tokyo which has its own mascot. Walking down towards Akihabara now. I love watching all the elevated train lines that cross over each other here. Akihabara is an electronics district with many arcades, shops, and Pachinko casinos. I went inside this 8 level Sega arcade and played some games including my first experience with Taiko Drum Master. (Sorry, I didn't take any pictures inside.) All these crazy colorful signs and lights were present here. Another elevated train line is running through the heart of Akihabara. Within Akihabara there's this old Shinto shrine. Here's the Kanda Myojin shrine. The small Kanda Myojin grounds are completely surrounded by urban development. There's a Shinto statue (I think) at the Kanda Myojin. There's also this modern neon heart that changes colors. And there's this statue of a massive tsunami wave. After Akihabara, it was time to head back to my hotel for the night, connecting through Tokyo Station. At Tokyo Station I saw the shortest escalator I've ever seen! Before heading back my hotel, I had a ramen meal at Tokyo Station where you place your order using this vending machine. After paying and ordering, you get a printed ticket, take a seat at the restaurant, and give your ticket to your server. Here's a map to give you a general sense of where major sites and attractions are in Tokyo. Notice that most of the major attractions are in the western, central, and northeastern parts of the city. While my previous two days were spent exploring Cool Tokyo and Metropolitan Luxury, today was spent exploring Cultural Fusion. My ramen dish had cold noodles and an egg on the side, which you add little by little to the hot bowl of broth, pork, and veggies as you eat it. It was pretty good. Good night from Tokyo!

No one's complaining so far, so it's all good! One more non park day though and the parks will come. Hotels.com works out really great for me. Plus they have a rewards program where they average the cost of the last 10 nights you stay with them and you get that amount off the next night after that. I feel the experience alone is worth visiting Japan. All the nice parks, coasters, and sites are a nice added bonus. I do too! You're lucky enough that you get to go there almost every year, though I imagine that every time you go there it gets harder to leave. It was great meeting you and becoming friends on this trip. Every time I look at my Japan pictures or post an update here it also brings me back. More of the TR and pictures coming very soon!

For the third day of the trip (my second full day in Japan) I walked around central Tokyo (mainly Ginza). It's so easy to get distracted by cool looking buildings and shops just walking around. It was still a couple of more days before I would meet up with the group and ride my first rollercoaster of the trip, but I got my first taste of Yakitori in Japan on this day. Anyways, on to the pictures. Right outside the extended stay hotel I was staying at was this vending machine. I had a hard time deciding which iced coffee to get. Crossing the Sumida River to get to the Tokyo mainland. Off in this distance was this really cool looking bridge. Behind me on the right was the Kurumi Weekly Mansion where I was staying, which is the blue building. Looking to the north, you can barely see the Tokyo Skytree in the distance. Crossing by another inlet of the Sumida River. A Shinkansen (bullet train) heading to central Tokyo on an elevated train line. My first Starbucks spotting of the day! I got a Matcha Tea Latte. My healthy Japanese breakfast/lunch. There's my future car! Just over two months later I would be getting a blue Toyota Prius. Made it to Ginza! Here's a busy intersection with a huge complex of shopping, restaurants, offices, and cinemas. Time to walk through the Ginza shopping district. There's the Sony building which has a multi-level Sony store. The Sony store showcased all of its products and even had a model of a mountain with a train going around it. Here's a view from the top level of the Sony store. Another Shinkansen slowing down as it heads to central Tokyo. I settled on a Strawberry Waffnut and a Watermelon Pop. I found a Krispy Kreme in this area. They had so many different donuts that I wanted to try. So easy to get lost in these huge buildings. Many elevated train lines separate the buildings of Ginza. Walking through a more posh spot of Ginza, I notice this cool looking building and car. I went up this building, which was a multi-level jewerly store. So many designer brands have their stores all in this neighborhood, including Louis Vuitton... I entered in this shopping mall. ..Tiffany & Co... ...and Cartier. Inside they had this umbrella store, since it rains a lot here. Looking down on this umbrella store from the top level of the mall. They have an Apple store here as well. That counts as a designer brand, right? I was thirsty enough for another vending machine drink, so I tried this apple drink, which is basically like the Japanese version of HiC. This building had shadow animations playing on it, which was really cool! The lights are starting to come on. This blue octopus thing was sticking out the window of this department store. Everyone is so orderly when crossing the street. This is the oldest department store in Tokyo I believe, which has turn of the century European architecture and is completely surrounded by modern buildings. I walked by a shop that had hand made mochis, so I got a couple of different ones. This French-style building really caught my eye among all the modern buildings. Time to check out Bic Camera, which is a huge electronics department store. Not only do they have electronics, but they have a whole level just for toys. Here are some cool Mario ones. You can buy an awesome Japanese toilet here! They also have a huge alcohol section. Yes, alcohol at an electronics store! Walking towards Tokyo Station now. Here is Tokyo Station, which is one of the largest and busiest train stations in the World. Time for my Yakitori dinner. I'm trying out Bird Land, which has a Michelin star. I'm starting off with the Shamo Chicken Liver Pâté, which is one of their signature items, even though it isn't Yakitori. On to the Yakitori. Here's the Negima one, which has leeks in between the chicken. Next, up was the breast meat w/ wasabi. Followed by the chicken neck and skin Yakitori. I also tried duck Yakitori, which was really good! Breaking up the Yakitori with cabbage with truffle salt, which counts as my salad. The next Yakitori was the teriyaki thigh meat w/ Sansho seasoning. I don't remember what the beer was, but it was some local, seasonal Japanese craft beer (not Asahi or Kirin). Chicken Wing Yakitori, which was one of my favorites. I was still a bit hungry, so I also got a Lamb Meatball Yakatori, which was really good. After dinner, it was time to head to Tokyo Station to catch a train back to my hotel. The Metro was packed tonight! How am I gonna fit on that train? Made it back to the Kurumi Weekly Mansion. Good night from Tokyo! More coming soon!

It's like they were in sandbox mode when they built DisneySea and had no limits. I don't know if we'll every see another park built in our lifetimes that has the same level to detail and wow factor as Tokyo DisneySea.

Thanks for all the responses and kind words. I'll post another update soon, but I'm bit tired tonight. It's definitely worth checking out. It was literally the new hotness of Tokyo when I was there, being open for less than two months. They'll be plenty of both of those coming up in this report. Some of us did eat there later on in the trip, and I will report on it...stay tuned. It's like a grapefruit flavored Gatorade and quite refreshing, I liked it a lot. It's yuge! That trip was an amazing life experience and I'm hoping to go back by 2020, but I don't know if I can wait that long.

My first full day in Japan, I just set out to explore Shinjuku with no real plan except to eventually make it to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building for sweeping views of city. I was checked out of the capsule hotel before 10AM, recharged and ready to go. I was able to leave my suitcase with the front desk so I wouldn't have to pick it up until later in the evening when I was ready to go my hostel. The capsule hotel included a breakfast of prepackaged pastries and breakfast sushi (which is mostly rice with a little bit of filling) along with miso soup and vending machine drinks. I'm all set to go! Vending machines everywhere with so many choices that you won't know what to try first. Starting out with the east side of Shinjuku. Time to explore Shinjuku! Not just billboards everywhere, but giant video screens too! I really liked the look of this building, which looked like it was a mosaic or puzzle. It was some type of apartment building I think. Shinjuku is filled with tall and narrow buildings everywhere with a bunch of billboards. As you hopefully know, Japan drives on the left side of the road. There's a few BKs in Tokyo. I wanted to try this melon float but wasn't thirsty when I was walking by so I figured I'd try it when I saw another BK, which I honestly didn't see for the rest of my time in Japan after this day. That elevated railway (along with other train tracks) separates East Shinjuku from West Shinjuku. I was randoming walking around Shinjuku and just came upon Godzilla. I honestly wasn't even looking for it (although I did want to find it on the trip). Here's a closer up view of Godzilla. Right by Godzilla I spot my first Krispy Kreme of the trip. I wasn't that hungry at the moment, but I'd eventually try Japanese Krispy Kreme. Godzilla is located among this building along with all these fine other stores. Time to find Godzilla. Up to the 8th floor we go. Great views of Shinjuku from up here. This view is from the same level where Godzilla is, the 8th floor of Shinjuku Toho Building, which is the first (lobby) level of the Hotel Gracery. In order to see Godzilla up close, you had to order something from the hotel cafe. They could have easily charged an admission to see Godzilla, so having to pay 800¥ for a passionfruit mousse cake instead and still get to see Godzilla seemed like a fair deal. Plus the dessert was really good! I found Godzilla after being in Japan for less than 24 hours. Mission accomplished! Here's one of Godzilla's claws to give you a perspective of how big it is. There's also several different murals of Godzilla. Here's Godzilla going to town, tearin' it up! Don't eat the Cocoon Tower Godzilla! Ah, the views from the top. That's why I'm here. It's totally free to go up both towers to get some of the best views of Tokyo. Soaking in those amazing views! Yoyogi Park, one of Tokyo's huge city parks. There's the Park Hyatt, the famed hotel featured in Lost in Translation. Looking down at Shinjuku Chuo Park, the small city park right across the street from the Metropolitan Government Building. Tokyo will be hosting the 2020 Olympics in case you already didn't know. Hopefully I'll be back to Tokyo by then. Here's a view of the walking street where I first spotted Godzilla. Godzilla's view of Tokyo. I'm finally thirsty enough to try another vending machine drink. Trying to fight jet lag, I need more caffeine, so I try this Pepsi Refresh Shot. It pretty much tastes like regular Pepsi (or maybe more like the Throwback w/ real sugar) with more bubbles and more caffeine. After leaving Godzilla, I walked around the neighborhood for a bit longer. I happened to walk by the Robot Restaurant, which wasn't open yet since it was early in the day and it's a night time place anyways. Some people went to the restaurant later on trip and really raved about it, but I didn't try it as I heard it was really touristy and wasn't sure if I was going to like it. Maybe I'll try it next time I'm in Tokyo. Another building with jumbo video screens as I walk towards West Shinjuku. West Shinjuku has more business type buildings, a.k.a. skyscrapers. Here's a modern skyscraper with a Japanese touch. And here's the Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower. I love this building! I'm on my way to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. Notice the Sizzler photobombing my picture? Yep, they have those in Japan. Nope, I didn't try one. Why am I going to the Metropolitan Government Building? Although it looks pretty cool, that's not the reason why I'm here. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government building has two towers you can go up. I started with the south tower and then went up the north tower. Here is the top of the north tower, time to go to it for more views. I can see Tokyo Skytree, which is the tallest building in Tokyo (and Japan) by far, and one of the tallest buildings in the World. I can also see Tokyo Tower, which is a replica of the Eiffel Tower built just a few meters higher in a red and white color scheme. Bird's eye view of the mess of the city including these elevated highways. Mt. Fuji is somewhere off in the distance this way. Its hard to see it in the summertime because it's Japan's rainy season and it is really overcast in the mountains. While it's not the tallest building in Tokyo, the Metropolitan Government Building is the place to go for sweeping views of the city in a centralized location. And did I mention its free! Looking down on some traditional Japanese architecture buildings. I can even see Tokyo Dome City (a.k.a. La Qua) and Thunder Dolphin! Another look at two of my other favorite buildings in West Shinjuku (the Cocoon and the white one to the left of it). It's been fun up here, but now its time to go down. Inside the north tower of the Metropolitan Government Building. Don't look down if you're afraid of heights! Dusk has hit and its time to turn on the lights on these buildings. They have Denny's in Japan in case your wondering. Looks like they've been here since 1973, and still sport the retro logo. The menu looks very different though. The Cocoon Tower and West Shinjuku look great all lit up. The base of the Metropolitan Government Building all lit up at night. Tokyo 2020 is going to be lit! Time to walk back towards Shinjuku Station. Walking through an electronics district. I was hungry so I went into a McDonalds and tried one of their Vegetable Chicken Burgers which has veggies right in the chicken patty. It was pretty decent. I'm at Shinjuku Station, which is the World's busiest train station. With my suitcase retrieved from the capsule hotel, time to head towards my hostel. The local trains weren't very crowded tonight. My home for the next five nights. The Kurimi Weekly Mansion by the Sumida River in the Minato ward of Tokyo. My room was basic and small, but it was clean, and about $35 a night so it afforded me the opportunity to spend extra nights in Tokyo. The weekly mansion was a cross between a hostel and hotel. I had my own private room which also has its own bathroom and shower, but no daily maid service. Here's a closer up view of the Tokyo Tower so you can see it better. Here's a closer up view of the SkyTree.

I've done three trips with TPR now. One as an official TPR trip (the last year they did official TPR trips) and two Robb & Elissa trips. I've always meant to post these trips here but never got around to it. Call me a procrastinator (I am). I was debating whether to post my 2016 East Coast Trip first or this 2015 Japan one, and I was going to post the most recent one first, but after seeing another 2015 TR on here recently, I figured its not too late to post a 2015 TR. I was lucky enough to be invited to partake in this trip after just being on one official TPR trip, and 1 and 1/2 West Coast Bashes and I am ever grateful for it. When I heard there was going to be a Japan trip I jumped at the chance to get on board, as reading TPR's 2011 Japan TR is what got me to sign up to TPR to be a forum member after being an on and off lurker for awhile. My goal was to eventually go to Japan, and that goal was about to be fulfilled. In June of 2015, I set off to Tokyo several days before the official start of the trip so I could sightsee on my own and absorb Japan and soak in all its awesomeness. I started off by flying out of San Luis Obispo (SBP) at 6AM on June 9th and connecting through SFO and SeaTac (SEA) before arriving at Narita (NRT) after 5PM the next day. I've never flown out of my local county airport before but I got a good enough deal to justify flying out of there and not having to go to LA or the SF Bay Area to fly. The flights was booked through United and the domestic flights were on United, but the trans-Pacific flight was on their Star Alliance partner ANA, so I was happy about that. When I arrived at Tokyo, I went straight to Shinjuku and spent my first night in a capsule hotel (one of the nicer ones though). The next day I spent walking around Shinjuku absorbing everything before finding my hostal for the next five nights along the Sumida River. I spent a couple of more days just exploring and walking around the city seeing some major sites like the gardens of the Imperial Palace before meeting with TPR members for the pre-trip day to Tobu Zoo. Anyways, on to some pictures. Boarding my early morning flight out of San Luis Obispo to San Francisco. Boarding a plane the old school way! It was quick and painless flying out of SLO, and it was cool seeing my Central Coast region by plane. Flying over Stanford University in Palo Alto. It was about a 45 minute flight to SFO. After a quick layover at SFO, off we go again! Flying over the Evergreen State. Almost made it to Sea Tac! Almost time to board my plane to Tokyo! Amazing view of Mt. Rainier from Sea Tac Airport, which is between Seattle and Tacoma. ANA lets you review the menu options on the seat monitors before they come by and ask you which one you want. This is the menu for the Japanese set. This is the menu for the International set. Flying over Olympic National Park which had plenty of snow on its mountains in June. I went with the Japanese menu set, since I'm going to Japan. My first glimpse of Japan! Nice long sandy beaches and if you look carefully you'll notice they're lined with wind turbines. Clean energy for the win! OMG! Look how green Japan is! Coming from drought stricken California I was excited to see this much green. I haven't even gotten off the plane yet and I already had my first Hello Kitty sighting. So excited to be here! I just got through customs and immigration. What should I do first? They didn't just have drink vending machines, they also had ice cream ones! Check out the vending machines! So many choices, what should I try first? I tried this ice cream which was a blueberry & cream one if I recall correctly. I went with a ume plum soda - very Japanese! My first step outside in Japan. Time to take the N'EX (Narita Express) train into the city. Its about an hour ride from Narita Airport to Shinjuku and I got to witness a sunset on my way there. Made it to Shinjuku! This is my capsule hotel for the night. The Shinjuku Ekimae branch of the Anshin Oyado Luxury Capsule Hotel. Time to experience my first capsule hotel on my first night in Japan. This is a sign explaining how to use all the features on this awesome Japanese toilet. My first experience with a Japanese toilet was at the airport though. Since this was a deluxe capsule hotel as opposed to a basic one, it included features such as an onsen, and a dining/living area with included snacks and free pour vending machines. These drinks pour into small cups that pop down and I could try as many of these as I wanted to. Not all of these were sodas or cold drinks, they were also hot drinks like tea and coffee and even soup! This sign was above the urinal in the restroom. #JapanHumor The view of Shinjuku from my level of the capsule hotel. After taking a hot shower, enjoying the onsen (spa), and having some snacks and beverages I was ready to check in to my capsule for the night. It's actually pretty comfy in the capsule. You're provided with a locker to put your stuff in, given a bag with slippers and toweltries (no shoes allowed past the lobby), and if you have a large suitcase (like I did) they put it in storage behind the front desk. I turned on the TV and after a few minutes I was about to crash so I turned it off and went to sleep. Good night from Shinjuku! Time to say bye to the California Central Coast. See you again right before the 4th of July!

R.E.M. "It's The End of The World"

Cool trip report so far. Mexico City is a place I would eventually like to visit, even if it is not the highest priority on my list. I've connected through their airport on the way to Cancun back in 2007, but's that's the closest I got to México D.F. I would love to visit all the historically sites (especially the Aztec pyramids) and try some of the crazy street vendors and tacos, as well as see the other interesting sites of the city. I'd definitely visit Six Flags Mexico just for the RMC Medusa, and I'd most likely visit La Feria even if its not that great just because its conveniently located in the middle of the city. I didn't realize Mexico City was that high up in elevation at 7382 ft, that's higher than the base of Lake Tahoe! Parts of the city and that big park remind me of when I went to Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2004 (minus the amusement park of course). Certain big city parks in BA have a bunch of scattered vendors selling all sorts of stuff just like in your pics. La Feria reminds me of a Rollercoaster Tycoon park, if they had corporate logos and mascots you could add to your park. That Jules Verne Orbinaut totally looks like the simulator you could add from RCT. It's a shame that mobius woodie was only running one train and that it was pretty rough, but at least it was running I guess. Its also too bad that Schwarzkopf Montaña Triple Loop was closed for painting, but that's the way it goes on these trips sometimes. I remember a couple of minor coasters like a Arrow suspended coaster being closed for painting when I was in Japan, its no big whoop. Not all Schwarzkopfs are good by the way (there, I said it ); I don't miss the former Zonga at Six Flags Marine World (Discovery Kingdom) at all, which is somewhere in Mexico I think. Anyways, looking forward to reading more on your report.

Great pictures from Shanghai and Hong Kong. Now that you're in Japan, Kurisumasu ni wa Kentakkii?

Awesome pictures! I can't wait to see more and hear the TPR perspective I've come to know and trust of Shanghai Disneyland.

So sad to hear that Space World will be closing. I'm glad I got to visit this park in 2015, although I didn't get to ride Venus GP because it was a "rain out" day. Hopefully Zaturn, Titan Max, and Venus GP get relocated, although I don't think Venus GP will be the same if it doesn't get relocated with the NASA rocket. I also hope they can find a way to sell and relocate the weird log flume with a helix, Twin Mercury to another park - that ride was an awesome surprise when I rode it.