TOKYO DISNEYLAND!!!!!

Yes, thats right. CT and Stitch went to TOKYO DISNEY!!!!!!
The trains to get to Disney were no nicer than the train from Shinagawa to Yokosuka. Once CT, Stitch, Billy and I made it to the Tokyo Train Station we were so turned around and confused. The directions given to us were less than clear or accurate. We did, eventually, get to Disneyland.

When we got to Disney we rode on Pirates of the Carribbean. It was exactly like the one in Florida, but in the wrong order!!! They must have read the directions in the wrong order.. haha! After the trains, the ride and walking around for only a few minutes, we were DYING of heat!!! So we grabbed some yummy shaved ice!
We saw alot of ducks. Makes us wonder if Disney imports ducks to all their parks. If thats so the "do not feed the wildlife" signs lie! They wouldn't be wildlife!

Stitch knew he was at home when he saw this. Or that it was some weird altar in his honor... Either way he liked it. CT wasn't as amused.

Don't ask why we're eating Japanese food at Disney. It just seemed like the right thing to do since we were at Tokyo Disney. Besides, we ate a hamburger earlier that day.

CT and Stich posing in front of the castle, everyone needs a picture in front of a Disney castle!!! The detail in this castle seems nicer than the one in FL. Maybe tahts just because it's in Tokyo so we just thought it was more awesome by proxy?

The Disney parade started with Minnie!! It was such a great parade!!

Stitch sees Lilo and Stitch coming around the corner, he had to jump in the way of the camera of course.

We also watched Minnie Oh! Minnie! Its a dance show of latino dances such as salsa, merengue, etc. It was super cute!

Tomorrowland had cool trees!

Totoro was amused by the fact that Disney had alot of hamburger/hotdog places. This hotdog was delicious and is making CT, Stitch and I hungry. So to wrap up we saw the night parade. Oh and THERE WERE NO FIREWORKS!!! >: O!!! AND NO COTTON CANDY AND NO FUDGE!!!!!!!! The Confectionary sucked. We'll go back.. for Disney Sea. But it was totally awesome being able to go to DisneyLand in Tokyo!!!

CT and Stitch on their way to Yokosuka! 7-29

CT and Stitch would like me to apologize for not updating this, oh, say.. a month ago when we got hom from Yokosuka??? So I'm sorry for the delay all!!!! In order to lighten the load of the Yokosuka trip, I'll be posting our adventures seperately. Day one? TRAVELING BY TRAIN IN JAPAN!!! First we had to travel from SASEBO to Hakata (Fukuoka.) That was done by this train. We were going backwards at first! It was crazy weird!

Once we got to Hakata, it was time to wait for and get on the SHINKANSEN! (Bullet train.) (Note: this picture was actually taken 8-3 at the Tokyo station upon departure from our trip!)

Looking out the window! We passed through several major cities such as Hiroshima, Kyoto, and Osaka!
The seats were big and comfy!!!

The Shinkansen ride was amazing, but the local line from Shinagawa to Yokosuka-Chou was such a headache! The directions given to CT, Stitch and I said 5 stops and 40 minutes. It did not clarify that there was an express, local express, local, commuter blah blah blah trains. So We got off at the wrong station. Luckily between myself and the taxi driver we made it to our hotel! And what a great view we had!!! The first day wasn't a huge adventure but it was great being able to ride on a bullet train!!

YOKOSUKA TRIP!!!!

CT and Stitch LOVED going to Yokosuka, Tokyo and Tokyo Disneyland!!!! We will post pictures soon, when we get the keyboard on our laptop fixed and can upload pictures and type about the trip at the same time. :D

Going on the SHINKANSEN!!

Tomorrow morning CT, Stitch and I will be on our way to Yokosuka and Tokyo via the Shinkansen. Known to us Americans as... The Bullet Train!!! Depending on the availability of the internet, the blog may not be updated until our return to Sasebo. I hope we can have loads of fun while we're there!

American Culture Exchange!

Today CT, Stitch, Shannon, and I had a culture exhange with six young japanese children. Ruka, Hidetora, Akari, Hina, Ryousuke, and Koshiro came to visit us from Fukuoka to practice their English and have an American culture experience! After a quick tour of the base, where they saw the grocery store, the Navy Exchange, the ships at the pier, the foodcourt and the post office, we all headed back to my house! Here Akari showed us her piano skills, then Ryousuke and Hina played for us. These children's piano skills were AMAZING!!!

The children asked Shannon questions while I made them hotdogs and macaroni and cheese. We also had some chips sitting out on the table! If you look close in the picture with the hotdogs you may be able to see CT and Stitch in the bowl by the door! They wanted hotdogs too.

Yummy Yummy hot dogs!!!

Once the hotdogs were done, we painted sugar cookies with yolks and food coloring. We also had colored sugar to decorate!

The kids really liked painting their cookies! While the kids waited for the cookies to bake they made origami flowers and airplanes! It was fun watching them create things out of paper.

Baked and looking delicious! Didn't they do a great job!?

Akari was eating her cookies on the couch because the table was so packed! I sat near her so she wouldn't be alone.

When Akari was done with her cookies she stood by everyone else while they ate. Shannon and I tried to ask the kids what they do after school for fun.. they didn't seem to be able to translate what they like to do...

A group shot after the lesson and before playing in the park! From left to right is Me, CT and Stitch, Ruka (green shirt), Ryousuke (red shirt), Hidetora (white shirt), Koshiro (brown shirt), Shannon, and on the floor is Hina (pink shirt) and Akari (green shirt.)

Here are the beautiful gifts that were left! The children signed and drew on the Sensu (folding fan) and presented both me and Shannon with a Furin (Wind-bell.) Some of the paper airplanes were left behind, as well as the fortune tellers but the origami sushi platter (with chopsticks and rice ball) and ninja star were given to me and shannon!!! It was such a great day. CT, Stitch and I would love to see everyone again! Hopefully Naho-san will contact us soon!

Porcelin Shopping!

I went out to Hasami, Arita and Mikiwachi with Alex today and got some nice porceling. CT and Stitch stayed home but they wanted to share my finds! First, from the recycle shop Gage was this gorgeous vase! I believe this is a Fukagawa peice, judging by the picture of Fuji on the bottom. These are (supposedly) very popular in japan!

Next was the sake peice I've been looking for. This is designed so that I can take out the middle piece. Then you put hot water in the bigger case, put the little one in and let it heat up your sake! Yum!!

Lastly was the creamer, sugar container and spoon that match the coffee cups I found in Hasami during Golden Week!!! These new peices are authentic whereas the cups are "fakes." I was dissappointed to learn that but they're still gorgeous!

I would like to apologize for the lack of activity with CT and Stitch lately. I've been so busy lately and my new purse isn't big enough for them! I'll start going on adventures with them in my backpack soon!! We've got a big trip coming up soon, lets hope they're up for some pictures!

Lamp Shade Complete!

CT and Stitch just wanted to share the completed porcelin lamp shade that they helped create! Stitch definately wants to go back again, he liked all the clay. CT thinks it's a bit dirtier than he cares for but enjoyed carving out a design.

TAO!!! The taiko drumming concert ((UPDATE!))

Sorry this post is so late! One week ago CT, Stitch, Billy and I went and say a group called TAO. TAO is a modernized taiko drumming group. It was absolutely AMAZING. The performance was outstanding. There were a few drummers that were hilarious, the women looked so powerful and energetic, the entire group was energetic, strong, and amazing. Unfrotunately I was not able to get a picture during the show and trying to describe just how absolutely amazing and moving the show was is impossible. So instead, here is the trailer that TAO uses to entice their english speaking audience!





And one of their many amazing peices:

Nagasaki Bio Park!

Today we went to the Nagasaki Bio Park! It was terribly hot but we had a great time anyway seeing all the animals! Totoro even came along to see some things! Because our day was so busy we'll only share a few things.

First we saw a bunch of birds, then walked up a STEEP hill and into a butterfly garden. Thats were we found some bats! Cool huh?

Then around the corner, after some other animals, there were penguins! Hi penguins!

Then we fed some flamingos. Cool!

We also saw alot of turtles and some prairie dogs, then we sat down for lunch. Sandwhiches, fruits, veggies and cheese all brought from home! Yum!

Next was a small petting area, we held guinea pigs, pet the giant lizard thing, saw bunnies, hamsters, cats, birds, a pony.. and the thing with big ears. Stitch wanted to compare ears.

Then we pet and fed the Capybara. Unfortunately a little boy got bit by one :( Made them less cool.. but the baby Capybara was adorable! (Picture not shown)

Then we saw enough racoons to populate a north eastern state! I named them all Meeko :D

Totoro liked the big white Rhino.

We also saw llamas but I thought we'd get closer so I didn't take a picture.. we never got closer. But heres a giraffe!

We also saw porcupines and Skunks!

The japanese call Skunks "Skunku" ... Ayden corrected them.

Then we found the squirrel monkeys. They hung out with us for a bit, stole the food we bought for them as we were trying to get it onto our hands. Silly 'saru!'

Afterwards were some emu and red kangaroos. I hugged one. CT and stitch were jelous. Then I hugged a grey one.. and so they took a picture lounging with it.

Totoro found a bit black hippo and wanted a picture with it, then some big fish! He likes big animals, since he's big too!




At the end of the day we took a group photo in the butterfly garden. It was a lot of fun! I sort of wish it weren't so big so I could share more pictures and more information! But to find more information about the Nagasaki Bio Park (such as the animals CT, Stitch and I saw) go to http://www.biopark.co.jp/en/guidemap.html#animals

On the drive home we were looking out the window and saw the three towers. In the picture they're out in the distance. These three towers were what transmitted the message to bomb Pearl Harbor. Sort of a sad note to end the day on, but still insanely interesting!

The Bio Park was so much fun! We are definately going back again!!!