Our last day in Japan started with packing and breakfast. Nothing unusual. What also isn’t unusual on this trip is that we sourced some prepared breakfast items from the local convenience store.
To Americans, that sounds really lame, getting food from a 7-11 is best avoided at all costs. But in a country where most people walk or take public transit, the drive-through fast food concept that has become the norm in the US just doesn’t work.
What also doesn’t work very well is a rental kitchen where the dish dry rack and stove burner are in the same place. So very little cooking for us.
Instead, what works here are ‘konbini’, the affectionate nickname for convenience stores. They have fresh hot and cold meals, a wide selection of drinks and alcohol and lots of prepared meals including a good selection of Onigiri and other Japanese snacks. They even have great tasting fresh fruit.
We’re not always great at living like locals on our travels, although we try. We feel like in our convenience store meals, we fit right in.
A quick morning meal was important today because it is our last day in Japan and we wanted to get out early for one more adventure before flying home.
Today, we took a train down to the Joypolis indoor amusement park in the Tokyo Bay area. There is a beachfront mall which houses a number of attractions, including a Madame Tussaud’s wax museum, a Legoland, and an optical illusion art museum.
There were virtual reality rides, thrill rides and carnival games. Suaram was thrilled that there was a virtual experience for one of her favorite anime, Attack on Titans. The kids ran off to have some indoor fun while mom and dad hung out at the Cafe overlooking the beachfront and the bay.
Later, Mom and CreeperKitty got behind the wheel of a tuk-tuk on a ride called Spicy Taxi. Riders have to drive through various environments while honking to get animals out of the way and collecting coins for points. All the while the tuk-tuk vehicle is moving, twisting and vibrating to enhance the realism.
The clock moved pretty quickly for us and we needed to catch a train to the airport before getting to experience everything that the Joypolis had to offer.
We usually end up bringing home a few extra coins of local currency after our trips. This usually equates to a few dollars at most. Today at the airport, we were surprised to find an unspent 10,000¥ bill (value: $66). Hello, last minute duty-free shopping!
We started our Japanese trip with a sunrise and our flight today at 5p gave us a sunset in parting. A fitting end to a lovely trip.
That pretty much wraps it up for this set of adventures. We haven’t decided where or when our next trip will be. We are considering Scandinavia, South America, and Oceania. Stay tuned and we will continue to share our adventures with you!
5 Adventures Together 