CHIBA | Disneyland & Urayasu [Day 4]
Can say my map reading skills or geography in general suck because i kept thinking that Tokyo Disneyland was in Osaka padahal that was actually Universal studio instead XD
Coming here felt somewhat natural, it's like going back to my childhood roots and i can't help screaming "I'm home! I'm home!" lol wtf.
Coming here felt somewhat natural, it's like going back to my childhood roots and i can't help screaming "I'm home! I'm home!" lol wtf.
It's real!!
But sadly brought none of my Disney princess costumes along for this trip lol
And i just learned that Tokyo Disneyland and Disney SEA is 2 separate places instead of one theme park but they close by each other that it's easily accessed by their monorail service that goes two and fro frequently between both parks. Packaged price tickets are available for pre-purchase on their website and make sure not to forget to get their "fast passes" upon arriving at the gates to optimized your trip there since there'll be tons of queuing lol.
Japanese people just love to queue and they don't mind doing so since it's already part of their lifestyle habit where they need to queue for train, to buy food and other stuff. But what amazes me is they do it in such an orderly fashion, unlike back home where the word queuing is somewhat non existent to both old & young and they all behave the same unfortunately :-/
Spot Yuki-chan!
And i look like a giant because im so broad overall T.T
This was our last day here in Chiba and by all our faces you could see how reluctant we are to make this outing our very last but the least we could do now is make the very best out of it by enjoying ourselves with our new found friends from Chiba University where had the pleasure of meeting Ayako-san, Riku-san and cute petite Yuki-chan!
The first thing i asked Yuki-chan was whether i could hug her or not and you should have seen her blushed! So cute that i could dieeeeee! >w<
I swore i accidentally nearly squeezed Yuki-chan to death with my manly arms, because she is just so adorable and fun size! Literally had the "GLOMPS"* impression in my head haha.
*sound of swallowing whole.
After doing a little more study on Tokyo Disneyland and thanks to our super fun & helpful guide of the day, Nagakura-san, I got to know abit more about the origins of name and location of it which mislead many who have not been to Japan before into thinking that Tokyo Disneyland is in TOKYO itself but actually it's in Chiba prefecture lol. Perfect example?
Me. *emo*
Come on, i bet i'm not the only one okay! :-P
The name came about because previously Chiba wasn't as established as their main city Tokyo which is a neighboring one and easily accessible by a train ride when it was first built and guessed the name show how got stuck to it but it does have a nice general ring to it rather than "Japan Disneyland" or "Chiba Disneyland" haha. It's like whenever one mentions "TOKYO" everyone knows you are referring to the capital city of Japan lol.
The captain is so suave looking ₍ ( ๑॔˃̶◡ ˂̶๑॓)◞♡
Seriously this pirate has stolen my heart ♥
Was so lucky to have catch pirates performing live and my don't they all look dashing in those costumes? So in character, just having fun while entertaining the crowd. Sadly there wasn't any Princess parade here because i was dying to meet Elsa and the other princesses real life (yes, i sound like a frigging kid again lol)!
After a whole day of being with mother nature the day before (you can read about it HERE), guess this was a different change of scene while there were actually 2 more other groups assigned to visit places like near the sea and farm animals, meanwhile my group got Tokyo Disneyland lol. Getting here was relatively fast and easy from the hotel we stayed at since there is a chartered shuttle bus from Marrod International Hotel Narita to Narita Airport and from there there is another shuttle bus leading to Tokyo Disneyland (✿ฺ´∀`✿ฺ)ﾉ
EVERYTHING is easily accessed by bus and it's according to timetable too!
Why can't my country's buses be this convenient? *RAGE* /flips table.
Overall from our hotel to Tokyo Disneyland it took approximately and hour to reach and we took the earliest bus by the way and upon arriving there's already a huge crowd waiting at the main entrance to enter but the theme park only opens at 10am lol.
And boy the crow is really scary!! Have i told you guys i am actually scared of crowds as it reminds me of being in an enclosed room, think it's called claustrophobic but yea it applies to people too even if it's open space like this but the amount of people crowding around makes me feel suffocated >.<
Your essentials, don't loose'em!
That's where i accidentally broke off with my group as i was trying to get away from the crowd, ended up wandering on my own for a good 2 hours before bumping into my group again somewhere in the middle lol. I kid you not with the amount of people there and despite me having such a bright colored hair, it still gets drown in the sea of people here unless i'm a 6 feet giant la lol wtf.
Being on my own somehow it's also quite enjoyable as i got to walk into shops without having to make people wait for me and all :)
But of course with the company of friends on outings like these it's x100 times better because who likes to be alone right? Unless you tengah emo-ing la lol.
Iconic Cinderella Castle where every little girl's dream starts.
Upon entering through the tunnel of Cinderella's castle you will be greeted with beautiful tile artworks of Cinderella's tale and if you are familiar with her story words are not needed to interpret what you are seeing. It's literally a whole storybook displayed on the walls, so just feast your eyes on the wonderful color coordinations which makes this whole dark tunnel a bright and cheerful one, reminds of stain glass windows by the way! Don't you think so too?
For those who needs their memory refreshed here is a summary (see, i so nice to tell story also lel):
Once upon a time, there was an orphan named Cinderella whom was badly mistreated by her evil stepmother and constantly being bullied by both of her stepsisters too. They deneied her of everything and made her work day & night scrubbing floors, pots and dishes while they went about enjoying themselves. Soon an invitation from the King arrived, inviting all fair maidens in the country to their ball. Obviously Cinderella was forbidden by her stepmother to attend the ball as she is labeled as a simple "peasant" girl who will shamed them infront of royalty with her rags.
It's not painting but TILES! Thousands of tiny tiles placed together to form this image.
Cinderella cried for she was unable to go to the ball and her tears was heard by her fairy godmother who granted Cinderella's wish to attend by transforming her rags into a magnificent gown, a pumpkin into a golden carriage, mice into steeds and her faithful dog into a coachman but with the condition that the spell only lasts till midnight before everything turns back to normal.
As the clock strikes midnight, Cinderella remembered her Fairy godmother's warning about the spell and she fled the scene leaving behind a dainty glass slipper and a mesmerized confused prince who soon sent word to seek out for this mysterious maiden whom had stolen his heart (See? This fairytale shows girls making the first step and not wait for the slow guy! lol).
And after a long (day) pursuit they finally found the owner of this glass slipper and from there onwards Cinderella left behind her dreadful rags to a "happily ever after" with her prince. The end.
This is just the brief tale, wait till you read the original version which might freak some of you out as it involves cutting one's feet just to fit the slipper lel. Morbid wei.
I did try queuing to enter the castle but kinda gave up halfway pffft.
Learned that coming here on a weekend it's bound to be extra crowded and with public/ school holidays ongoing it's even more crowded than usual lol. Scary.
But nothing but a lil optimistic thinking to get by the day without feeling dreadful, it's considered a once in a life time experience for me and couldn't be more blessed to be here :)
Sadly i didn't have enough time to cover DisneySEA because we were short on time and to fully enjoy every single ride + activity here in Tokyo Disneyland it seems impossible lol, let alone going to DisneySEA. Well, more reasons to go back to Chiba again then lol :-P
Only this ride lol, queued about 30 mins and done with the ride in less than 5 mins XD
Believe it or not the only ride i sat that day was a mini roller coaster ride because the queue was just 30 minutes which most people would consider it fast already since average queuing time is 80 minutes here!
Still a fun one nonetheless and even managed to record a video for it which i promised to edit and share soon *sigh* because of my wonky laptop giving me so much of problems, making it difficult for me to edit videos :-(
New laptop sponsor anyone? Lol/shameless.
I did spent most of my time there just wandering around taking pictures and trying to look for Gelatoni merchandises but couldn't find any and after asking around i found out they were only sold in DisneySEA *sobs*
I found a life size house of Minnie Mouse's!
And i still remember how i used to play with a miniature version of it (polly pocket size) back when i was a kid, think it's still in my mom's house or something. So nostalgia wei~
Found governor Swan's place but didn't manage to enter T.T
How to Optimized your visit in Tokyo Disneyland/ DisneySEA
- Buy tickets online & print at home, skip the queue & hassle.
- Get your FAST PASS (FP) from the FP counter immedietly once you have entered Tokyo Disneyland main entrance.
- Plan ahead on rides/ routes, study the map online to get a better gist of the place
- Bring enough cash for souvenirs & food
- Bring a book/ gaming device to help pass time while you wait in-line (it helps!)
- Be Punctual, late 5 minutes and you probably be at the back of the line already or missed the shows.
- Try to plan your trip here on weekdays (non public holiday period).
- Lesser crowd = less people photobombing your photos lol.
Have your pick lol.
About Souvenirs
One might usually ask how much is "enough" to prepare for this trip alone, here's a rough estimations on the merchandises available via category. For small/medium packaged food like sweets & cookies it's usually around 1500¥ - 6000 ¥ and if it's a seasonal limited edition design or specialty it can costs up to 10,000 ¥ which is not surprising lol. But the designs are pretty though and you don't have to worry about the taste, anything in Japan confirm tastes good lol, not being bias but that's based form my experience la. They can never seem to go wrong with their confectioneries and desserts or anything sweet in particular.
If you are aiming for keychains, small (tiny) plush toys and typical tourist souvenirs you can easily get them at 1500¥ to 3000¥ for 3-6 pcs of it.
Chocolate lava cake for Valentine's or Christmas or New Year, whichever/ flips table.
Just make sure some lovey dovey occasion la (-_-;;)
Targeted Frozen merchandises, naturally of course :-P
Rolled up blankets
For the fashion section (clothes, bags, hats, jewelry) which i wanted so badly but couldn't afford, the price is enough to kill you lol reminded me much of those niche brands like Liz Lisa, so be prepared to cough up at least 7000¥ - 12,000 ¥
Much wants!! But the prices haha.
They do even have those customized Disney inspired rings with real diamonds but the prices are enough to make your eyes POP right outta your head lol. Saw one and kinda fell in love with it but the price- 32, 000¥ that's like MYR 1k+ *gasp*
I'll wait one day my prince charming comes along and put one on my finger la instead/ dreams on haha!
So beautiful *w*
About Meals
For eating there, you can get a decent lunch set for about 2000 ¥ but if you are planning to buy extra drinks and especially those famous popcorn character containers it's gonna costs about 2,700¥ (latest pricing). So it's best to prepare about 4000-5000¥, per head for food expenditure alone lol.
This 3 guys + 1 hot tea costs me 1800¥, but at least it was delicious and i got to bring home the container lol.
How Much to Bring?
Roughly from the pricing above think if you bring 10,000¥ would be enough for meal and some small souvenirs (keychains).
But if you are looking to buy tons of plushies and other big items be prepared for a hefty bill total because that's what you get for buying LICENSED merchandises lol XD
ATM machines available inside. Located on the left upon entering.
They do have ATM machines located nearby the main entrance but as usual it would be packed with people and as a foreigner swiping cards isn't exactly the best options due to tax charges and the exchange rates given by our local banks isn't that great either.
Taking the bus from Maihama to the museum.
Urayasu City Folk Museum
Our next location (and last) was a folklore museum nearby within Urayasu city which is easily accessible by bus, can't stress enough how much i love Japan's transportation system!
You know, if i was travelling alone the first visiting places on my list would be museums and art galleries. I somehow find it very inspiring to go through history, art and cultural stuff but it's not everyone's cup of tea so it can get rather difficult if i'm travelling with a partner who doesn't share the same interest lol they'll die of boredom. Trust me, i tried.
This particular museum is a free entry one, so if you are looking to just gain some insight on Japan's history and on a student kinda budget, then do come visit Urayasu City Folk Museum!
You can find all sorts of artifacts on display with explanations and if you check their activity schedule, they do conduct interactive activities for visitors get some real educational experience of the olden times that suitable for both young and old.
There's even a small replica village that's been rebuilt called Urayasu Fishermen's town that was previously burnt down during the 50s and rebuilt again, now it's considered a preserved artifact used as part of the museum attraction. Trust me that this place reminds me very much of old edo which makes it quite a nice picture worthy place if you are dressed in a kimono/ as a geisha :-P
Also this is where i got to learn how to wear a yukata (short cut) rather than the usual method i used which is difficult and time consuming lol.
The lady in charge was nice enough to tie for me a special bow to match my cute hair style!
And it's actually freezing cold wearing a summer robe at the start of winter :-P
Sadly our day has come to almost an end since the closing time is at 5pm, maybe next time i can come here again much earlier during the day for their seaweed making classes and pounding rice cake classes :D
Going back was relatively easy too, same was we came by bus we took the bus to the nearest JR line- Shin Urayasu station to head back to Makuhari city.
Closed | Mondays
Address | 1-2-7, Nekozane, Urayasu-shi, Chiba 279-0004
Contact | 047 (305) 4300
And this is my last night in Chiba, Nuuuuuuuuuuuuu T^T
Well we did make the most of it by going shopping in Jusco after dinner, sadly again we missed Misui outlet park since they close really early like 8.30pm and went to Karaoke the night away! Gosh, think i made everyone's ears bleed because i am tone deaf and everyone else in the group sounded so pro! Literally felt like burying my head in the ground beneath the sofa lol wtf.
Prior to that on the way walking from Jusco to the karaoke place we did bump into some random young girls who seems to be on their way home from a birthday celebration and it did remind me exactly like those Japanese anime & dramas where girls get too drunk and end up laughing at a very high pitch and grabbing everyone they could to be friendly with ^^;;
Ended up Hasegawa-san was such a sport, joined the girls in their laughing marathon and even had one of them tossed up & down (scary lol) while all of us were stunned and amused lol.
And guess my hair caught the girl's attention, and i pulak kena tossed up and down which nearly made me cry because i was afraid of height >.<;;
But heck it was fun and really amazed that all of them could hold my elephant weight, without dropping me to the ground lel.
Thanks random school girl for making my last night in Chiba a memorable one! If you do somehow come across this post, hope we can meet up for a drink someday :)
Missing Japan Dearly,
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