Hakkeijima Sea Paradise

This weekend we decided to go and explore up towards the Yokohama area. We drove to Hakkeijima Sea Paradise which is a little island at the tip of Yokohama Bay. It is an amusement park and aquarium park all in one. It is home of one of the top aquariums in Japan. We were actually able to drive there and park in a huge parking structure only 2 blocks away from the entrance to the park. It took us about 30 minutes from the base and will only take us about 15 minutes from the house we wil be renting. When we arrived we went to the ticket counter to buy tickets for the aquarium and realized that we didn't have enough yen. It has been such a transition to have to carry yen because only a very limited number of places take credit cards. Fortunately we ran into another American where we found out about the season pass. It basically paid for itself in two trips and everything in the park was included. Since you pay per attraction at Hakkeijima it can get pretty pricey, especially when wanting to ride on the rides multiple times. The passes could be paid with credit card and are good until March 2011. Since we will be so close to the park we decided we just couldn't pass up the season pass.

With most of the afternoon and evening at our disposal to do just about anything in the park we first started at the Aquarium. It was incredible. We saw two big polar bears and one of them actually got up on its legs and waved at us. I am not sure if it was trained to do that but it was really fascinating. Then we saw the tank of swimming penguins. They were so big, beautiful and fast. The kids really enjoyed watching them swim. Next we headed over to the wall of fish and saw schools of fish and gigantic sting rays. We saw many neat looking fish, sharks, dolphins, and white whales. We even saw a small octopus up close. After finishing up at the aquarium we went over to the dolphin fantasy which was basically a big room where you could see the dolphines swimming all around. It was awesome to see how big and fast the dolphins were.

The kids were anxious to go on the rides so we headed over to the amusement side of the park. Andrew and I rode on the big roller coaster ride and then Andrew convinced Mike to go with him. It was so FAST. On the way to the smaller rides we stopped to go to the bathroom. It was Emma's first experience seeing the traditional Japanese toilets in the ground. Lucky for her there was a handicap stall which had a normal toilet. While Emma used the normal toilet I decided to try the traditional one. This wasn't the first time I had used this kind of toilet but I always find it humorous that anyone would want to squat close to the floor to go to the bathroom when they could just sit on a seat.

Emma was so excited to ride on the Merry-Go-Round. I could just see the excitement written all over her face. It was the cutest thing ever. This particular Merry-Go-Round was probably the slowest one we have all been on. Even the kids mentioned that it was super slow. Needless to say we only rode it once. Peter's turn was next and he chose the Peter Pan ride. He was super excited to sit in a ship all by himself. Mike was sweet to ride with Emma. I stayed with our sleeping Abby while everyone rode Peter Pan and the Great Baron rides. Somehow I agreed to go with the boys on the Viking Ship and all I can say is that I am never doing that again. There is something about those rides that makes me so sick. Andrew loved it but Peter was a little scared and I had to put on a good face for Peter all while trying to not lose my lunch. It took some walking and a good dinner for that sick feeling to go away. Gosh I must be old. By the time we were done eating dinner the sun had finally set and the park was all lit up with beautiful lights. It was so beautiful to look at the park from the boardwalk with all of the vibrant colors shining over the water. The boys went on one last ride...the water ride. Of course Mike got the most wet but he didn't seem to mind. Afterwards we all walked along the boardwalk towards the Fureai Lagoon. The Lagoon is a place where you can pet the sea life both big and small. We saw a huge whale and were so close to petting it. Since it was late we didn't stay long. We took a look around and then headed home. On our way out we stopped in some of the shops to browse. We saw a shirt that said something completely ridiculous. Obviously the translation didn't work out so well. That is the case with many things here. We also stumbled upon some raspberry cheesecake flavored Kit Kats. Apparently Kit Kats come in many different flavors in Japan. Our goal is to find them all and try them. So far we have tried the raspberry cheesecake ones and the coke and lemon ones. They were all good and quite unique. It will be so much fun to visit this place again!

Costco in Japan

One of the things we have been looking forward to since arriving in Japan was going to one of the nine Costco's that are in Japan. Lucky for us the closest Costco is about 30 minutes from the base. We had driving directions but quickly realized that parts of them were a bit confusing. All was well until we missed a big turn so we turned at the very next street but realized we were in a residential area so we had to turn around and get back on the main road. Just as Mike was turning he got in the right lane (oops) so he had to quickly get off on a side street. Luckily the road was small and not well traveled so we were in no danger. I got flustered because Mike wasn't listening to me and he got flustered because driving here is just plain CRAZY. We finally got moving in the right direction and were almost at Costco when we missed another big turn. The signs here are just plain confusing. Luckily we found Costco anyways and it felt good to see something familiar. We parked in the parking garage on the second floor. It was pretty packed which is not too surprising as the Japanese love all things American. In typical Japanese fashion we were able to take our carts from the second floor to the first floor on a people/cart escalator. The girls loved it.

First we headed to the food court to get our Costco hotdog. There were carts lined everywhere near and in the food court. All of the tables were completely packed with people. The hotdogs were only 200 yen (a little over $2) which is a little more than they are in the US but still pretty good for Japan. The hotdogs tasted exactly the same but the buns were topped with sesame seeds. We had orange fanta soda to drink which seems to be a popular soda around here.

Most everything about the Costco was similar to American Costco stores. The layout was exactly the same with the photo center and eye center right at the entrance followed by the TV's and cameras. We did find a few things that we thought were unique and interesting:

-a sushi and sashimi section near the deli
-octopus and other dead creatures all packaged up
-incredibly tiny scales used for petite people
-little kid sized kimonos and Japanese pajama outfits
-Japanese bicycles with baskets and all
-MacLaren strollers that were cheaper than the full priced ones from the US
-a small selection of Crocs
-the enormous backyard playsets that no one probably buys here because hardly anyone has a yard, let alone one that is big enough to host such a piece of equipment

We learned that we can pretty much get anything at this Costco that we would be able to get at most of the Costco's in the US. I had expected this Costco to be a bit more Japanese and so it was a nice surprise to find a little piece of America here. Since the produce isn't that great at the commissary I was relieved to see good produce here at Costco. The yummy berries from the cold section will be a welcome treat in our home. I am so excited to have a Costco where we live!