Pre-Trip Bee's Big Birthday!

Intro

For those who don't know me, I'm Bee, an opera-singing, Epcot-loving, ex-Floridian now living in New Jersey just outside of New York City. My wife M and I both grew up going to Walt Disney World and carried our love of Disney into adulthood. We buy WDW Annual Passes every other year and take 3-4 trips during the "on" years, and we often meet up with her parents in Florida since they live a couple hours away from Disney.

I am turning 30 this year and I've been trying to figure out the best way to celebrate. 2018-2019 is an "off" year for WDW so that's not an option. My birthday is also very close to Christmas so most destinations are extra expensive and crowded when I want to travel.

Our close friend S is married to a US Naval officer, and they're currently living in Japan where he is stationed for the next few years. She is enjoying it but she's understandably lonely and wants as many American friends to come visit as possible. They also happen to have a three bedroom house for just the two of them where guests can stay for free.

Put all of this together, plus the fact that M has a decent chunk of paid vacation around Christmas, and you get:

A BIRTHDAY TRIP TO JAPAN!!!​

Obviously there will be Disney park visits, but there will be much more! I'll post more specifics later, but the countdown has begun and we're already in double digits! If you have travel tips for visiting Japan in general or the Tokyo parks specifically, please post them! We have both traveled overseas but never to Asia so we'll take any advice we can get! :D
 
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bee

bee

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We have waited what seems like FOREVER to get to our trip, and suddenly we are just one week away!!

So, instead of packing or doing anything useful at the moment, let's enjoy some pictures of food from the Tokyo parks!!

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Vegetable curry rice bowl
Plazma Ray's Diner-Disneyland

(I have a feeling we will be enjoying this one more than once. TDR doesn't have a lot of veggie options and they are not nearly as bend-over-backwards accommodating as WDW. I wouldn't expect them to be, since vegetarianism and veganism are way less common in Japan than in the US. I am not going to a foreign country with a totally different culture and expecting them to accommodate ME.)

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Pizza of tomato and mozzarella
Zambini Brothers (DisneySea)

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Vegetable curry
Casbah Food Court (DisneySea)

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Three course meal (veggie options) (bonus points for a beautiful treble clef!)
Blue Bayou (Disneyland)

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Matcha Latte
Various (both parks)

And of course who can forget all the exciting popcorn flavors???

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Popcorn
Various (both parks)

Looking at these menus really highlights a cultural difference between Japan and the US. As an American and as a vegetarian, I think, "how hard is it to just leave the meat off of something, or replace it with eggs of tofu?" But that's just not the thought process in other parts of the world where meat and seafood are so central to cooking. I'm sure we have nothing to worry about but I imagine we will be eating more carbs and sweets on our trip than usual! :joyfull:
 
wild01ride

wild01ride

Well-Known Member
Hey there, bee!
I'm super late to the party here but have been eagerly reading your plans and excited for your combo Disneyland, CA/Japan trip!

Again, I know it's super late but I can vouch for the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel. The hotel is gorgeous with great customer service (all places pretty much have great customer service, as you mentioned!).
If you happen to be a Starwood/Marriott member, you may have access to the top-level lounge which has snacks in the evening and breakfast in the morning.
The hotel is very convenient with a short walk across the street to get to the Disney Resort Line - the Hilton is equally close, although I haven't actually made the walk.
As Max mentioned, knowing the niceties for communication will get you a long ways! In most of the bigger cities, you can get an English menu. Of course, everything at Tokyo Disney will have English signs, menus and labels.
If you haven't tried it before, get the Google translate App! It comes in handy big time because you can literally scan something in Japanese with your phone camera, swipe across the part that you want translated and it will translate on the spot! I've used this for airport signs, menus, TOILETS, etc.! If you laugh about the toilets comment...you haven't seen a Japanese toilet! There are sometimes twenty buttons on them in Japanese with NO mechanical lever for "flush". And, let's just say that if you accidentally choose the wrong button, you may find yourself asking why the toilet didn't buy you a drink first... :eek:


I've been to Tokyo Disney Sea three times now, each for less than four hours at a time because of being combined with business travel limitations.

Enjoy the trip and make sure you keep us all posted!
I'm excited to hear how the trip goes!
It's almost here!!!
 
bee

bee

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In my park food research I have learned that there is a large mall called Ikspiari on Disney property, and on the monorail line in fact! It has a TON of restaurants and some of the menus are available online. So, if we get sick of the same vegetable curries in the parks, we can always take a little break at the mall for something else.

I don't remember if I posted this but we decided to go with the Sheraton for our Disney stay. There isn't really a reason, other than I like Sheratons and have always had good experiences with them.

Five days to California, eight to Japan!!!

PS forgot to mention we ordered 50,000 yen (about $500 worth) to be delivered to our bank and M will pick it up this week. That should get us through a good chunk of time before we need to get more currency.
 
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Songbird76

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
bee said:
We have waited what seems like FOREVER to get to our trip, and suddenly we are just one week away!!

So, instead of packing or doing anything useful at the moment, let's enjoy some pictures of food from the Tokyo parks!!

5bbc50a8c19cb_1.jpg

Vegetable curry rice bowl
Plazma Ray's Diner-Disneyland

(I have a feeling we will be enjoying this one more than once. TDR doesn't have a lot of veggie options and they are not nearly as bend-over-backwards accommodating as WDW. I wouldn't expect them to be, since vegetarianism and veganism are way less common in Japan than in the US. I am not going to a foreign country with a totally different culture and expecting them to accommodate ME.)

5c04b6b6e6395_1.jpg

Pizza of tomato and mozzarella
Zambini Brothers (DisneySea)

5b3ececa244a6_1.jpg

Vegetable curry
Casbah Food Court (DisneySea)

5b7cc3e928b7e_1.jpg


5b7cbd429c4be_1.jpg


5b7cc72717c7e_1.jpg

Three course meal (veggie options) (bonus points for a beautiful treble clef!)
Blue Bayou (Disneyland)

5ba07304efd23_1.jpg

Matcha Latte
Various (both parks)

And of course who can forget all the exciting popcorn flavors???

5aba1b82cf164_1.jpg

Popcorn
Various (both parks)

Looking at these menus really highlights a cultural difference between Japan and the US. As an American and as a vegetarian, I think, "how hard is it to just leave the meat off of something, or replace it with eggs of tofu?" But that's just not the thought process in other parts of the world where meat and seafood are so central to cooking. I'm sure we have nothing to worry about but I imagine we will be eating more carbs and sweets on our trip than usual! :joyfull:
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Wait....are you vegetarian or vegan? I was thinking vegan, but vegans don't eat eggs, right? Or dairy products? I just baked a bunch for my coworkers for my birthday and there's a guy I know is vegan, but I could not think of a single recipe I have that does not have either eggs or some sort of dairy in it....I was at a complete loss.
 
bee

bee

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Songbird76 said:
Wait....are you vegetarian or vegan? I was thinking vegan, but vegans don't eat eggs, right? Or dairy products? I just baked a bunch for my coworkers for my birthday and there's a guy I know is vegan, but I could not think of a single recipe I have that does not have either eggs or some sort of dairy in it....I was at a complete loss.
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I am lacto-ovo vegetarian, aka just regular vegetarian. I eat eggs and dairy but vegans don't. Some vegetarians eat eggs but not dairy, or dairy but not eggs because of either ethical beliefs, allergies, or whatever. The main kinds of vegetarian are:

lacto-ovo vegetarian (eats eggs and dairy, no meat) (like me!)
lacto vegetarian (eats dairy, no eggs or meat)
ovo vegetarian (eats eggs, no dairy or meat)
vegan (eats no animal flesh or byproducts including honey, eggs, dairy, etc.)

Also, most people who call themselves one of the above avoid gelatin, meat-based broths or stocks, lard, etc.

Did you Google "vegan baked goods?" There are tooooooons of vegan bloggers these days who publish vegan recipes. Many times there is an easy substitute for the animal products involved, though I'm not sure how readily available they will be in Europe.

We have a couple of friends from college with who also moved up here, and the husband is severely allergic to all kinds of things, including eggs, dairy, peanuts, soy, poultry, and more. When we get together and cook dinner we usually end up eating vegan since M and I don't eat meat and he can't eat dairy or eggs. :)
 
Songbird76

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
bee said:
I am lacto-ovo vegetarian, aka just regular vegetarian. I eat eggs and dairy but vegans don't. Some vegetarians eat eggs but not dairy, or dairy but not eggs because of either ethical beliefs, allergies, or whatever. The main kinds of vegetarian are:

lacto-ovo vegetarian (eats eggs and dairy, no meat) (like me!)
lacto vegetarian (eats dairy, no eggs or meat)
ovo vegetarian (eats eggs, no dairy or meat)
vegan (eats no animal flesh or byproducts including honey, eggs, dairy, etc.)

Also, most people who call themselves one of the above avoid gelatin, meat-based broths or stocks, lard, etc.

Did you Google "vegan baked goods?" There are tooooooons of vegan bloggers these days who publish vegan recipes. Many times there is an easy substitute for the animal products involved, though I'm not sure how readily available they will be in Europe.

We have a couple of friends from college with who also moved up here, and the husband is severely allergic to all kinds of things, including eggs, dairy, peanuts, soy, poultry, and more. When we get together and cook dinner we usually end up eating vegan since M and I don't eat meat and he can't eat dairy or eggs. :)
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Selection here in the Netherlands is very limited. I don't understand how anyone can eat on a special diet here. My mom was diabetic, and when I first moved here, I remember thinking there was no way my mom would have been able to have treats here....there's no sugar-free chocolate or ice cream or anything, and I still have yet to find a powder form of sugar substitute you can bake with. But there's not much in the line of meat substitutes...I've never seen vegan cheese or egg substitutes. It's just not a special-diet-friendly place here, I guess. Though Vegetarian would be easier to do than Vegan!
 
bee

bee

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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Look at this ad I just saw! We will be taking a Lyft/Uber from SNA to the Four Points tomorrow because it’s about the same cost as the shuttle. But, way to get me even more excited for my vacation, ad!

I was supposed to teach one student today and have a rehearsal after church, but the student cancelled and the rehearsal was cancelled. So, as soon as this service is over (yes I am on the forums during church, don’t tell anyone) I am officially on vacation!

There is still so much to do of course, besides just packing and cleaning. We need plenty of entertainment for the long flights to/from Japan, so I’m going to download the audiobook for the new ASOIAF book, Fire and Blood. We bought adapters so that M and I can both listen on the same device with our separate headphones. I have downloaded a bunch of music to my phone as well.
 
S

SHP

Active Member
Do you have amazon prime? I think you can do a month of Audible for 1-2 free books with introductory offer. I have been using for the last 6 months and I’m addicted! Let me know if you need any book recommendations.
 
bee

bee

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
SHP said:
Do you have amazon prime? I think you can do a month of Audible for 1-2 free books with introductory offer. I have been using for the last 6 months and I’m addicted! Let me know if you need any book recommendations.
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Yes, we used up our free books long ago, haha! 😄
 

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