OldJJman Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 This report sucks!! It makes me miss Japan even more! I can sympathize with you Joey about your love for all the LOSERS going on the trip!! JJ (keep up the good work!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaMiTsPaT Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Such an awesome trip report! I love your photos from both parks, and that megalite looks insane! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jray21 Posted May 30, 2011 Author Share Posted May 30, 2011 Now it's time for Parque Espana! This was a great park with a lot of cool and 'interesting' rides. The bull ride and the elevator 'ride' are really awesome weird rides. The theming is also really good, and Pyrenees was running really good! I lost some of my ride pictures from this day, but I still got a lot of the random stuff. Enjoy! On our way to Parque Espana! Typical train station, drink machines, and ladys in masks (they're allergic to Americans). A delicious grape juice drink. Fibe-Mini to cleanse my colon. My vitamin C and koala cookies for the day. And of course there is Mitsuya Cider to wash it all down! Waiting for the bus to take us to the park Lot's of open space, and some really nice ticket booths. This is their covered 'main street.' Nice big buildings. Idiot me on our first ride of the day! The log ride was typical and fun. Time to ride Pyrenees! Some cool elements Nice socks! If it's cheap and it works, why not? What the crap are these for? Seriously?! Ok, I guess this is to keep my shoe laces from magically coming undone because I don't know how to tie them. Awesome ride! Another ERT like experience where we could ride as much as we wanted with no wait! Don't worry, from up there no one will see you. The Japanese have these storage systems down to an art form (It also helps that people follow directions in Japan). They had a pretty lame Alice walkthrough. But it had random effects and a weird storyline. Next up was an ice house! These were the greatest during the heat of the day. We always bought the unlimited entry pass (it's usually an add-on attraction) and used it a lot! So this is what it's like at RCFreak's work! With the disco ball, lights, and music, I see a TPR takeover in the future! Amy's arm froze mid-wave. Trying to keep it PG so we will just move along. It's only appropriate that I take a picture on the toilet. I could stay here all day. Next up was the wine barrel Epcot old version Mexico style ride. Go towards the light. This was an odd and creepy section. They had these dancing spanish girls like the old Epcot ride, but with the flash on they look like demon zombies. Ok, this looks more like the old ride. Ok, maybe not. Time for more food and ice cream in this little spanish village. Cool little drinking faucet, but I don't think even the Japanese are that short! They had a diorama of the Big Bad Wolf and the...two little goats!? This was one of the coolest and warped things of the whole trip! This grasshopper was still moving while the ants were eating him!!!!! Nice park-like areas to walk through. We stopped to play this 'game.' You got to feel the weight of the 'winning' bag and then had to pick another bag that was the same weight. We made our choices and completely failed. We didn't know what it was when we saw it and it ended up costing about $5 each! Just hold the button until you hear it click. Good enough. We made it to the lower part of the park for Adventure Lagoon! Looks pretty cool! But first, let's see if there is anymore food here! Jackpot! Ok, back to the boat ride. The queue was pretty good On our way! Similar to Pirates of the Caribbean. This scared the crap out of me This part looks really cool! It's just not too intimidating when they are talking in Japanese. Now....SIT! Good mouse. With a Goose I don't quite get the Point...in the end (yeah, that was a terrible reference joke) Is he waving at us or flashing us? Somehow this doesn't sound appetizing. I guess Amy just experienced some Fast Food Colon! This made me miss Cingular. Next up was the worlds best escalator! Ooooooh, aaaaah, pretty colors and nice music! Next we headed to the castle to see what was in it. It was pretty much just a museum with a ton of stairs and walking. A view of the nice and empty park! This old man told us some nice tales about stupid fat hobbitses. Like many TPR members, this park had a lot of crabs running around. Next was the Spanish Peter Pan ride! They are sooooo excited! Disney quality snow white style effects. Jonathan still has a little jet lag. I guess it's time to head back to the hotel Can you tell he's a little tired !? Maybe a Coconut Yogurt drink will wake him up! We made it back. Next up is a little culture with an Epcot landmark!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldJJman Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Nice pics Joey! I'm guessing that you meant "Magical Circus" (creepy bunnies and all) when you mentioned the "elevator ride"? Yeah, that was ........ different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatle11 Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 So I guess they don't want you to lose your shoes. They need that in North America. People here are to dumb to know how to tie their shoes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amyzoo Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 This was a really nice looking park. All the rides were fun, and I think we did the musical, colorful escalator a bunch of times just because it was so random. Wasn't there a pretty good dark shooting ride here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 ^I thought I remember the pretty standard four across, circle shaped layout shooting ride here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryH Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Great photos! Don't tell me you missed the Musical Circus ride at Parque Espana? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jray21 Posted June 1, 2011 Author Share Posted June 1, 2011 ^^They had two shooting rides, and I can't remember which one was the one you described. ^Thanks! We hit everything, including the incredible Musical Circus and Matador, I just lost a few pictures Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas2 Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 I remember a shooting ride where you had to shoot gnomes and such. It was close to the mine train coaster. Also musical circus is gone now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 ^ Yes, I was sad to find out that "Musical Circus" was no more. The park has replaced it with a ...4-D movie thing? Not sure, but it just won't be the same without MC. But - thank goodness for the all-day pass (I hope, still) to the Ice House, LOL! And.... The Magical Musical Escalator Ride! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jray21 Posted June 4, 2011 Author Share Posted June 4, 2011 Next up is a little culture side trip. We headed to see the real version of the Torii gate in Miyajima, and then heade to the "How won the war against Japan" Hiroshima Atomic Bomb museum (Yeah that was in really bad taste). Then we headed over to a monkey park, and we got to feed and get chased by some monkeys. On our way to Hiroshima, and that means, more sandwiches! Lemon Soda, very very good! Clams, oysters, or some other nasty shellfish farm. This looks familiar. It's the real Torii gate that Epcot replicated! They had very tame deer everywhere! I bought one of my favorite snacks, mochi on a stick! This deer really wanted some of my Mochi He then started chasing me all over. I swear if you get any closer I am going to stab you with the Mochi stick. Nice view of the gate. Another nice view I'm glad this 'nasty thing growing out of its eyes' deer wasn't the one attacking me earlier. Lots of artsy/religious stuff here. Traditional Japanese dinning. Saying hi to another deer. Kaki Gori, the best way to cool down! It was so delicious They kept having to shoo the deer out of the stores. He started going after someone else for a change. This place also had the worlds largest rice spoon! I have no idea why. Tyler washes his hands, and his spirit Nice looking buildings Nice family shot Almost as nice as SFMM's Pagoda. The ceiling is held together only by wood. Now that's skill! Even the foundation is only held up by wood!!! This is really incredible, especially since it is still standing! Hey, what are they selling here!? Another lemon soda "Close," but no cigar. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Very sad, but an interesting place to visit. Pictures of the destruction It's amazing how much got destroyed. Before... ...After All the holes and marks in this cement column were caused by glass! Pretty disturbing. The only building still there from that day. This was taken about 15 minutes after the explosion, from about 6km away. This shadow is supposedly all that was left of a person sitting there when the bomb went off. The Peace Park area was really nice. The 'hypocenter' of the explosion. Above this spot is where the bomb detonated. Now it's time to leave the sad part, and head off for some more fun, Monkey Park! I love their english attempts! We get to feed the monkeys! They've got some nasty looking feet! Yeah, right there. That's the spot! Let's see, the short hand is the hour hand, and the long hand is for minutes. You couldn't stare at the monkeys or they take it as a threat and give you a pretty scary teeth baring look. Time for a snack! The monkeys were really cute! The baby was so cute! They want to be fed! Excuse me, what time does the next bus come by? They ran pretty much free around the hills. Stay low and crawl slowly and they won't see me. Jungleman juice was delicious! But Ambasa was even better! Next we headed up north to Kyoto to visit the best Tofu restaurant in the world, and visit some Temples. The boys didn't think it was anything special. I actually don't really care for tofu, but this place is so incredible that I ate a ton! It was a really nice place. And who says the Japanese don't believe in diversity. This was a line to drink and wash your hands with their special water Hey, I found a Japanese teacher for Robb! Maybe they are racist. So we have that phrase, 'Go jump off a bridge." My mom said they grew up saying a similar thing, but to jump off of this place. Yeah for turtles! They still have people dressed in kimonos, and it's completely normal. I know you can use pencils with paper, but I don't know how they would use peppers. No privacy here! Ok, those nasty spiking snails look terrible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnage Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 So the day you didn't go to a theme park is the day it was sunny? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekRx Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Joey, this is amazing and getting me so excited for all the new food and drink options (in addition to the parks which I've already been studying for years), so thanks for doing this for us. On the other hand, you suck for not going with us! I'll be sure to have some delicious mochi for you while I'm there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amyzoo Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 The Hiroshima museum was interesting (and sad) to see what happened. The monkeys were so cute when we were feeding them through the fence, but once we were out walking with them all free-they were a little scary! Don't look them in the eyes...They do a crazy stare and show their teeth. And Joey got chased by one and ran into a bush, that was so funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jray21 Posted June 9, 2011 Author Share Posted June 9, 2011 Time for another update! This update will combine a few days since I wasn't able to post anything for the past few days being in Santa Clarita for the canceled Food Truck festival. Thankfully, Elissa had an awesome plan B and I was still able to gain about 3 pounds! Anyway, we finished with southern Japan and headed back to Tokyo. Once back, we hit La Qua, Sega Joypolis, a baseball game, and Muscle Park, and of course, we ate a ton of food and had a bunch of sodas! Post some comments! We had a great view of Mt. Fuji on our way back. We stopped by for a quick visit to Kinkakujin, the Golden Palace Temple. Proof we were there! Pineapple soda jelly drink! Time for some Amino Acids! (Another great drink) We've made it to the Sega Joypolis/Muscle Park area! Lot's of 'full size' video games (They also had a bobsledding one) Amy's about to ride Half Pipe Canyon (Sorry for the bad pictures) Spin Bullet was pretty painful. My old dad at the food court. The round seating area in the background is perfect for a small TPR group. An interesting way of saying to go orders, or for our british friends, take away. My thoughts exactly! This was the warning sign for one of the full body games (you had to manually move a treadmill to get your character to run) Well, I guess that eliminates most of TPR! Pets can be recycled here. This is our favorite shopping area, Asakusa, and there is a tiny park right behind it but it was closed when we were there. A park, incredible food, great shopping, and tons of culture! It's a perfect place! Grilled mochi, one of my absolute favorites! Now it's time for Sukiyaki(a grilled teriyaki style dish), and Shabu Shabu (a meat cooked in a kind of soup). The Shabu Shabu 'stew' is starting to cook! Lot's of great veggies and tofu. The sukiyaki pan is getting ready! Perfection! Time to cook up some more perfectly marbled beef! Time to burn it all off at Muscle Park!!! They tested your reaction time in this game. In this game you had to stack blocks before the train came by. It was pretty difficult as the train got faster. In this one you both held a basketball and had to maneuver it through the maze without touching the bars in a certain amount of time. Me and Amy almost had it! This game literally sucked. You had to suck up the balls and then stand under the place where they would drop from. It was actually a lot harder than it looked. After seeing the hand bike on American Gladiators all those years ago we actually get to try it! Tyler and Jonathan did pretty good. But Fatty me did it really fast and put them all to shame!!! My fat butt even passed this part! Amy got over half way! This one was a bit hard for Amy. In this game you had to touch the numbers in order and each round added more and more numbers. If you finished all the levels in a certain amount of time, you won a towel, and I got one! This one was pretty tough. I think you had to hit the numbers in the order they appeared on the screen. Pretty tough, we all failed. Me and Amy attempt it, and fail. I should've practiced my frisbee throwing before I came here. The pushup and sit-up contest. I kept up with Jonathan for a while. But then my fatness set in and he pulled away from me. I felt like passing out after that. Time for a Monster Burger to gain back all of those calories! Elissa will be happy with this nearby! Time for Thunder Dolphin at La Qua/Korakuen! (hope it opens for you all!) This part is supposed to scare you. The vehicle leans somewhat over the edge of the building so the person on the left can see over it. Thunder Dolphin going through the choose your own music theme giant wheel! The one to the right gives you actual cups. Sometimes those are the best because they can have a lot of drink combinations. The massive sandwich in the middle is called the American Picnic. Yeah, they know we are all fat. We got this credit! I always thought this was the scariest mouse I had ever been on. The lateral forces were really extreme. Too bad it's closed now. Haha! Must have been the google translation of Baby Back Ribs The Parisian Honey Toast was the best french toast I have ever had! Never really thought about it, but it really does look a shinguard! There is a good toy/souvenir/junk store in this area. Yeah, I look like a tool, but this is the single greatest bakery in the world! Even better than the ones in Paris! It's called Andersen's. If you ever see one, you have to go! Miss the bus, it's worth it!!! One of my small Andersen's breakfasts. Yes, that is really all mine! Another day, another Andersen's breakfast! Japan has some awesome signage. Musk Melon (Like a honeydew but 10,000 times better) is one of the most expensive fruits in Japan. This slice cost $40!!! The single greatest soda in the world, REAL GOLD!!!! *Of course it's made by Coke! We ate sushi at Saito, one of the few three michelin star sushi restaurant s in the world. He's cutting the absolute best tuna. I hold the record at this restaurant for most sushi ever eaten by a non-sumo wrestler! It was about 52 pieces Some more delicious sandwiches! Now it's time for lunch! Can you tell I was hungry when I did this report! Let's just throw a few english words together for a band name! Time for some Japanese Baseball! To bad it's the Giants The mascots are a lot better. The concessions area is pretty similar. The food is somewhat similar as well. I'll pass on the Hamburger with raw egg. That's much better than what the Oakland A's has at their stadium! Delicious fried chicken on a stick! The police wear helmets so they don't get knocked out by a stray ball! My Bento Box lunch! Hamburger, hot dog, fried shrimp, fried chicken, and an omelette! This guy walked up and down the sidelines between play to remind you to pay attention or you will get smacked in the head. Clean and disinfect you seat before you sit! And you thought going to the bathroom was so simple! They definitely know how to use technology! They even had a shelf for all your bags. (BTW, Tokyu Hands is one of the coolest stores in Japan. It has absolutely everything you could think of! The Shinjuku one is the best!) This taxi driver had a horrible picture. This was a Avocado Burger from Kua' Aina, an incredible burger place. This was a shrimp dish from a local 7-11 type store. It was only 220 yen (about $2.50), but was much better and fresher than dishes you get from most US restaurants! I did have to do a little work while I was in Japan. I redid the paper and wood on these Shoji screens in my mom's office! We found this nasty huge beetle outside. Anyway, only two more updates left, and only a few more days until you leave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Divv3k Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Fantastic update, Joey! I'm so excited for next week! Too bad you're not coming with us, but thanks for helping getting me even more excited! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 So bummed about Muscle Park closing!!! Oh well, it gives me more reason to plan that Northern Japan TPR Trip to visit the one up in Hokkaido. Did you actually eat at that Baseball City Cafe place at Tokyo Dome? We ate there back in 2004 and it was actually quite good. Haven't gone back since though since we're more adventurous and comfortable in Japan. That was kind of the 'safe bet' place on our first trip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginzo Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 More Sushi Saito pics, please! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nay Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 After reading this, I'm getting really excited about the Japan trip now and can't believe it's almost here! Thanks, Joey!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryH Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Great photos! You kind of look like Tommy Lee Jones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Forget the coasters! It's all about FOOD in Japan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amyzoo Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 I really want to go to Japan again! I'm glad I got to go to Muscle Park before it closed, that was a fun place. And we did eat at the baseball stadium, it was good that I remember. We ate at alot of places and none of them were bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveRides Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Tokyu Hands!!! YES! Brittney told me she wants me to budget an entire day at that store on our next Japan trip lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveRides Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 (edited) Also, seeing your muscle park photos makes me want to cry. We were at Joypolis and planning on going to Muscle Park after, but we were short on time so we skipped it. That was the worst trip planning decision I've ever made I think. I would've much rather done Muscle Park than Joypolis (I hated Spin Bullet). Edited June 10, 2011 by ILoveRides Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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