Skittles Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 So great to hear that Kawasemi is still running great after a decade of operation! Is it still a "higher up" in the Alvey rankings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epcotrob Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 OMG I so need one of these. Why can’t we have merch like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted June 15, 2018 Author Share Posted June 15, 2018 (edited) REGISTER for our forum to leave a comment! Click HERE for an index of all our Japan 2018 Trip Updates ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yay! Another update! Today we visited two parks again: Yokohama Cosmoworld and Sea Paradise! Despite some rainy weather today we had a great time at both parks as the major rides were all open and both parks feature a lot of "indoor stuff" so that's a good thing! We love visiting Comosworld as the parks staff and management are always so nice and welcoming! Highly recommend when visiting Japan! Good morning from Yokohama Japan! I’ve got my Japanese Starbucks and I’m happy! Cosmoworld is home to a giant Ferris Wheel with GREAT views of Yokohama. Yokohama Cosmoworld is also home to Diving Coaster: Vanish! The only “under water” roller coaster in the world!!! (We swear! We would never lie to you!) Are you guys all ready to go “under water?” [twitter] [/twitter] [twitter] [/twitter] The dark rides at Yokohama Cosmoworld are super cool! This one you use an augmented reality app to shoot creature in the ride. I’m not exactly sure what we were doing, but it was fun! At the Alien spooky creature shooting dark ride everyone was given tokens based on your score and then you got some sort of trading cards from the machine! Why don’t we have cool stuff like this in the US parks??? Next up we tried Cosmoworld’s new VR attraction you say in this vehicle that moved back and forth down the track while your seats moved in sync with the motion on the VR media. It most certainly was interesting! There are attractions on both sides of the water. Your Yokohama Cosmoworld ride tickets will work at either section of the park. Great morning at Yokohama Cosmoworld! Huge thank you to the staff and management of the park for all their hospitality! We made a quick stop at Sea Paradise for their amazing drop tower and Surf Coaster. The signs advertising the park at the train were just so amazing and Japanese! The girls rode Blue Fall... still one of the tallest drop rides in the world! And because it was lightly raining, the park gave them all rain gear to wear so they wouldn’t get wet at 310 feet in the air! I love Japan! Surf Coaster at Sea Paradise is actually pretty darn good! Especially for a “Togo” coaster that’s 20+ years old! We tried Japanese Shake Shack today! Happy to report it’s just as awesome as US Shake Shack! Here’s the menu for Japanese Shake Shack! I did have the blueberry “Flavor of the Month” Shake! Delicious! I went to Sea Paradise and all I got was this Whale Shark Meat Bun! Now, POST YOUR COMMENTS!!!! After all, we took the time to write this report, the least you can do is post something nice about it! Click HERE for part Eleven of our Japan 2018 Trip! Edited June 17, 2018 by robbalvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 I Love It!!!!!! Did they still have the Lemur cage where you could basically go into the cage? What no Red Pandas? Yes to the Lemur Cage, and to some terrifying aviary where a giant bird almost attacked the girls! Stupid animals that are just basically a fox don’t get featured in Trip reports! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blk_mamba Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 I am loving all the food adventures in these post. Even the display sushi looks super fresh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garet Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 I just tried korean shake shack the other day after they started expanding recently. There was one opposite a Wallace and Gromit exhibition so decided to try it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy T. Koepp Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 I so badly need Godzilla underwear! Looks like you all are having a great time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubaski Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 Looks like all are having a great time. Thanks for all the great pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JG-77 Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 Every new installment of this TR makes me want to go to Japan more and more! Seems like an incredible country with an awesome culture, great things to do and see, and that’s not even considering the amusement parks and incredible public transportation! (I love trains and am very upset that I rarely get to ride them where I live ) This is an absolutely fantastic TR! I can’t wait to see more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 Robb, how is the capsule toy count on this trip? Any interesting ones found? Anybody going/gone totally OVERBOARD with the number they've bought? I miss Cosmoworld and Sea Paradise. And Blue Fall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted June 16, 2018 Author Share Posted June 16, 2018 Robb, how is the capsule toy count on this trip? Any interesting ones found? I haven't bought a single one in probably the last 2 or 3 Japan trips. Honestly, I think I'm "over" buying capsule toys for the most part. I'll take pictures of the machines we see that are interesting, but I've just found that the stuff I buy winds up in a drawer or eventually gets thrown away, so I really haven't been into buying many of them lately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bert425 Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 WIN! I was watching your front page twitter post of "We're on a Screaming Log Flume!" and about 10 minutes later, I hear cursing from the other room. So I called out to Nick, "what's wrong?" and he replied with: "We're on a Screaming Log Fluuuume!!!" "It's stuck in my head! why did you play that????? " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canobie Coaster Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 Great report! Cosmoworld definitely is a unique park. Did you do the haunted house walkthrough where they gave you the candle that measures your fear? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted June 17, 2018 Author Share Posted June 17, 2018 Great report! Cosmoworld definitely is a unique park. Did you do the haunted house walkthrough where they gave you the candle that measures your fear? I didn't do it this time around, but I've done it in the past. It's a type of walk-through you'll find at quite a few Japanese parks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted June 17, 2018 Author Share Posted June 17, 2018 (edited) REGISTER for our forum to leave a comment! Click HERE for an index of all our Japan 2018 Trip Updates ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Day 11 - Today we had a nice casual day in Tokyo after doing a few park days, so it was great to take a break and give people some time to see the city. We ended up back in Harajuku to re-visit some shops we wanted to go back to and also find some familiar but different food! I then ventured out to Akihabara, the "electronics district" for some retrogaming fun and ended the night taking advantage once again of the "evening Starlight" pass at Tokyo Disney! Here we go... Good morning from the Yamanote Line in Tokyo! Today’s adventure will bring us back to Harajuku and Akihabara areas of the city! OH, SHIIIiiiii.... Because the world needs...NEEDS a whole section of a store dedicated to squishy bakery products!!! Not kidding, there is a HUGE section of a store decides to fake squishy bakery items that look and smell (and squish) like the real thing!!! It is IMPORTANT that there are four different colors of squishy French Baguettes! Dear world... I apologize in advance that this had to happen... This was a quick service restaurant that ONLY serves things that are "long, longer, and longest." Potato on a stick, Cotton Candy, Churros. All super long versions of it! And now for the food portion of the day... Because we LOVE Gyu-Kaku at home, it only makes sense we go to one in Japan also! While the menu items were slightly different, the concept was the same... And everything is so fresh and delicious! If you live in or near a major city in the USA, you may have one of these close by! Akihabara is the “electronics district” and you can find every electronics item known to man. From iPads, Computers, Big Screen TVs, to wire cutters and soldering irons. I am mostly here for retro video games! You can find LOADS of Japanese retro games dating back to the early Nintendo Famicom days. Super Potato is the most well known retro games store in Akihabara but it’s also become the most main stream over the years. There are other shops like Book Off and Traders in the area, too. The volume of obscure retro game finds and decent prices are becoming less common in these stores and they are now more common to tourists rather than locals selling or trading games. Inside Super Potato you will find rows and rows of Famicom games for “okay” prices (about the same as eBay honestly.) There are still a few oddball systems, like this Japanese Vectrex, but I think this store is becoming less appealing for more hard-core collectors and more for casual retro game fans. Stores like “Book Off” will have bins of old Famicom games as well. Mostly common stuff so if you’re just starting out your collection, Akihabara is a great place to go! Many of you probably know that before I did TPR full time, I spent 20+ years in the video games business. While I’m not as much into modern games anymore, I will always have a soft spot for retro games and I love checking out these shops! It’s sooooo weird that I keep ending up here isn’t it? [twitter] [/twitter] I will never... EVER get tired of this view! [twitter] [/twitter] This is instantly my new favorite store at Tokyo DisneySEA! #NewsiesForever We just shot some really nice 4K low light footage of Sindbad’s Storybook Voyage! Can’t wait to share it with you all soon! It is most certainly a popcorn kind of night! First some Curry Popcorn (still one of my top favorite flavors!) Then the new Blueberry flavor! This one is soooo good! Another view I will never got bored of! Aquatopia is still my all-time favorite “pointless” attraction! (And I mean that in the best way possible!) I always have the biggest smile while riding this! You can find Toy Story Mania in the Toyville Trolley Park! Another completely impressive area of the park! And here are Some of my favorite scenes from Sindbad’s Storybook Voyage... Love this attraction!!! Another amazing evening at Tokyo DisneySEA!!! I can't believe all these Tokyo Disney visits so far have been "un-official" and we don't even start our official visit to the park for about another 10 days! We still have four full Tokyo Disney days to look forward to! While that wraps up this day, I have posted an awesome... AMAZING video from Yokohama Cosmoworld! Be sure to watch with the volume UP! Now, POST YOUR COMMENTS!!!! After all, we took the time to write this report, the least you can do is post something nice about it! Click HERE for Part Twelve of our TPR Japan 2018 Trip! Edited June 18, 2018 by robbalvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JG-77 Posted June 17, 2018 Share Posted June 17, 2018 TPR records back at it again with their new hit single “We’re on a Screaming Log Flume!” going on tour now at a flume near you Jokes aside, that’s one cool log flume, and another great installment in this TR! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ytterbiumanalyst Posted June 17, 2018 Share Posted June 17, 2018 Just got caught up with this report. So much to love here. Squishies, plushies, Pokemon, expectations that people behave civilly--Japan is incredible. And that's even before the ramen noodle ride and screaming log flume. Japan is full of the best ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canobie Coaster Posted June 17, 2018 Share Posted June 17, 2018 Great report! Toy Story looks incredible all lit up at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philrad71 Posted June 17, 2018 Share Posted June 17, 2018 ^^ I agree wholeheartedly, Andrew...loving this report! I have to say that your post made me think of Stephan from SNL - and that's never a bad thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ytterbiumanalyst Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 That's quite a compliment! Love Bill Hader; he's somewhat local too (Tulsa, OK). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCjunkie Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 Hey Robb, can you drop some of your retro game knowledge and explain the ATARI 2800 Centipede cartridge? Did they name it 2800 instead of 2600 because it was a Japanese system or was this just a later updated reiteration of the 2600? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Looty Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 I’m headed to Tokyo in a month. How feasible would it be to do Yomiuriland, Cosmoworld and Sea Paradise in 1 day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hauntguy Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 Dammit! Why can't California be Japan? I mean, we have a crapload of earthquakes, too. So why can't we be as cool as them? I don't think there is a single person in Japan asking why Japan can't be California... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoppy Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 (edited) ^^ Looty, I managed to get to all three in a day but it wasn't feasible to get all rides in...are you asking how feasible to ride everything? That would be a fun challenge and I would take you up on that if I was back in Japan soon! Why can't California be Japan? I don't think there is a single person in Japan asking why Japan can't be California... Japan doesn't want to deal with California and the nonsense that everyone deals with there... Not to mention Japan loves fireworks and many other hobbies that are banned in California. CA is not making people happier, Japan is. Edited June 18, 2018 by Hoppy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted June 18, 2018 Author Share Posted June 18, 2018 (edited) REGISTER for our forum to leave a comment! Click HERE for an index of all our Japan 2018 Trip Updates Follow our LIVE updates on Twitter and Instagram Stories! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Day 12 & 13 - It was time for us head out of Tokyo and down to Osaka. Don't worry, we will be back to Tokyo again later in this trip... we still have MORE Tokyo Disney (which is awesome!) In fact, technically the "official" trip hasn't even started yet as everything to this date has been the pre-trip stuff we've been doing. Our days in Osaka have been exciting so far considering we were on a train platform when the earthquake hit and even as someone who grew up with quakes in Southern California that quake hit HARD! That being said that, for the most part other than some train delays it didn't impact our day too much and everywhere we went everything was business as usual. Onto some photos & videos... Today TPR is heading out of Tokyo (but don’t worry, we’ll be back) for some time in the Osaka and Nagoya areas of Japan! We will miss this Shinagawa location though as it is one of our favorites in Tokyo! Follow along for the next part of our adventure! Kristen is giving her speech on Japanese etiquette to our TPR Japan trip participants! This is the first time she’s addressed the group on one of our trips! I am very proud of her and hope she continues doing this so I can retire early! Time to get on a bullet train and head to Osaka! Our first Shinkansen of the trip! This bullet train will travel at top speeds of about 170mph going to Osaka today! We will cover 546km in about 2 1/2 hours and that includes 6 stops along the way! Happy to be back on a Japanese bullet train! They are so smooth & quiet! You can sit back, relax, fall asleep, play Nintendo and enjoy one of the best travel experiences you’ll ever have! [twitter] [/twitter] How many of you wish you could be on this train? We just got to Universal City Walk! Our first stop is this amazing take-out Gyoza place! So good for being a “take out window!” For our TPR Japan Trip “Welcome Dinner” we are introducing our trip participants to the wonders of Yakiniku! Amazing Japanese BBQ! Japanese BBQ is soooo good! This place is in City Walk at Universal Japan! We highly recommend it! Our master BBQ tables at the TPR Japan welcome dinner! These guys are turning Japanese BBQ into an art form! The elevator at the Universal Japan Port Hotel terrifies me!!! We came out to Dotonbori tonight but the weird Ferris Wheel is closed! Do any of our local Osaka followers have any idea if it has run recently? I wonder where that train is going? This is by far the best “Women Only” train I’ve ever seen in Japan! We just felt an awesome jolt of a 5.9 earthquake in Osaka! Being originally from Southern California this brought back some “interesting” memories! [twitter] [/twitter] And not only are the trains moving in Osaka 20 minutes after that earthquake but they are already fixing the very minor damage they had here in the station. Again, this is why I love this country!!! [twitter] [/twitter] [twitter] [/twitter] This is how amazing Japan is... This random guy approached one of us, gave us a bag of drinks and snacks he bought for us, apologized about the train delays & the earthquake, & wished us safe travels once the trains are back in regular service. I this country! [twitter] [/twitter] We are currently on our way to Misaki Park! Hopefully the roller coasters will be open today after the earthquake! We see the park off on the distance! Our first coaster of the day at Misaki Park was this bizarre looking Wild Mouse ride! It wasn’t thrilling really, but it was WEIRD!!! The park allowed us adults to take over the “Child Coaster”... ...but we had to ride in a very unusual way! Side-saddle! [twitter] [/twitter] We ended our quick visit to Misaki Park with a ride on the Jet Coaster. The park claims this is the second oldest coaster in Japan. We had a great time riding it! It was a shorter visit to Misaki Park today due to the earthquake but we made it & had a great time! Parks like this bring out the child in all of us! We are back on the train heading to our second park! I love that this train was still on time and efficient considering there was the earthquake this morning and we aren’t that far from Osaka. Our next park was Adventure World! Arriving a bit later than expected due to the earthquake, but we made it! We made it over to the “Big Adventure” coaster in plenty of time before it was going to close. The “Pandafull Coaster” was adorable! Not that thrilling, but again another unique “Wild Mouse” style coaster that we rode today! [twitter] [/twitter] Yes, we even took a ride on the powered coaster at Adventure World! (Its themed to bees... we think!) In the “never in America” department Adventure World has penguins in this pond area you can just walk right up and look at. Everyone respects the animals and doesn’t try to touch or pick them up. And of course it wouldn’t be a Japanese amusement park without a giant Ferris Wheel! [twitter] [/twitter] We had a short but fun visit to Adventure World today! Even with the earthquake we still managed to get in everything we wanted to do today! A lot of thanks goes to how efficient and amazing Japan is! We had a pretty crazy day today! We experienced a 6.1 Earthquake very close to the epicenter, but was fortunate the trains we needed out of Osaka were not delayed too long and we made it to two theme parks today! Was great to see how well Japan handled this situation! Now, POST YOUR COMMENTS!!!! After all, we took the time to write this report, the least you can do is post something nice about it! Click HERE for Part Fourteen of our TPR 2018 Japan Trip! Edited June 19, 2018 by robbalvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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