Trip Report *COMPLETED* I've climbed the mountain, I've crossed the river, and I'm almost there!

Introduction

We've only been back from Japan since Saturday night but I am just itching to get started on this report! We had an absolutely AMAZING trip and I'm not ready to let it go, and writing my TR is one way for me to delay the inevitable return back to "the real world." This was the longest vacation I've ever taken, and like any long trip-or any new experience, for that matter-there were ups and downs, good moments and not-so-good moments. There were mistakes, mishaps, mountains, and monkeys. Yes, monkeys! There were surprises and there was DRAMMA!* There were things we will do differently next time we visit Japan, and believe me, we knew less than halfway through the trip that there WILL be a next time someday!

In case you missed the PTR, here it is: Bee's Big Birthday! There you can read about the cast, the general plans, and the reasons for planning this particular trip.

Now about the title: It's a reference to this song from The Princess and the Frog:

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I have been kind of obsessed with this song lately and I found myself singing it in my head repeatedly during the trip. You'll see why soon!

So, if you're ready for a journey halfway around the world, thousands of photos, and Double Disney bookends, keep reading!

EDIT: The Tokyo Disney stuff starts here.

*I've mentioned it in previous TRs, but I like to spell "dramma" the Italian way because I'm an opera singer and what's more DRAMMAtic than Italian opera?? So please don't think I'm an idiot (for that reason anyway )!

 

[bee]

Those flowers are beautiful!!

What she said! ^^^

Yes, I LOVED those flowers!

I love the zoo, but have no pets. I don't have any interest in having any animals in my life.

Sometimes I find that weird...

LOVING your report. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Not weird at all! There’s a huge difference between seeing animals once in awhile for fun, and caring for animals yourself. We don’t have any pets right now, though we love cats and want to have a cat or two one day. But right now with our schedules and living situation it doesn’t make sense for us to add a furry friend to our family.

And thank you! Glad you are enjoying it!

 

[MinnieM123]

LOVE the flower dome!!!

And I also love the animals that would come up to you -- they're so cute!

 

[bee]

Day 13, cont.

We exited the dome and continued along the path.

They are ready to be fed!

The Lonely Island?

Flamingo go back home

Throughout the zoo there were lots of signs with trivia questions like this. We made a game of guessing the answer even though of course we couldn't read the signs.

Up next: More animals and more flowers!

 

[bee]

Day 13, cont.

We made a bathroom stop...

Capybaras may gnaw!

This guy is too cool...

...for these guys!

And apparently they are all super itchy!!

Next we went inside a small building to see fennec foxes!

The words are small, but the sign is telling people to put on a hat and take a photo. #no #ialreadyhadlice

Up next: More BioPark!

 

[bee]

Day 13, cont.

Am I in Japan or am I at Coronado Springs?

Someone was inside a warm enclosure...but the gif moves too fast and I don't remember who!

Up next: Feeding Fail!

 

[bee]

Day 13, cont.

This poor guy was trying to escape

WHO YOU CALLIN' A LESSER PANDA???

The "lesser" panda kept walking laps around the stone path.

We noted from the sign that their feeding time was approaching, so we found a bench and waited so we could watch.

While we waited we also saw...

What's up? Zebra Butt!

Finally, at exactly 4:30pm, a zoo employee came over to feed the giraffes.

But they were not interested in what he brought them!

So he left...

...and came back...

...and apparently they approved!

We continued on the path toward the kangaroos.

We had to walk down a small hill to get down to the kangaroos.

Up next: Kangaroo time!

 

[dizfan917]

flamingo, go back home.

That's HILARIOUS. I wonder what they were trying to tell us?!

 

[bee]

Day 13, cont.

On the way down to the kangaroos we passed a few other animals...

No ice cream for us

FINALLY!

There were some people behaving really horribly around the kangaroos. One older man was stepping on their tails to get a reaction, and some teenagers were chasing them.

Up next: finishing up the zoo

 

[bee]

Day 13, cont.

Did we go back through the same dome as before? Was there another dome? I don't remember...

Either way, we found ourselves back by the front.

We stopped in the gift shop on the way out but didn't purchase anything.

The bocca is back!

Lo mejor di mi en Japon

I sent this to my MIL and her response was, "It looks like they cut the giraffe's neck!"

Up next: Food Fail...then Food Success!

 

[amjt660]

With regard to the mistreatment of the kangaroos:

Locals or Gaijin?

Max

 

[bee]

flamingo, go back home.

That's HILARIOUS. I wonder what they were trying to tell us?!

With regard to the mistreatment of the kangaroos:

Locals or Gaijin?

Max

What do you think?

 

[bee]

Day 13, cont.

Our next destination was a restaurant recommended by S's friend for its vegetarian curry. On the way we passed the big Torii Gate again.

We arrived at the restaurant, which was still decorated for Christmas.

When we arrived and checked out the menu, the veggie curry was nowhere to be seen. S even asked the server on our behalf if they still had it, and the answer was no. There was little else available for us, so S, M, and I left, while S's friends stayed behind and ate there.

S and J had both recommended an Indian place in Sasebo, so that's where we headed.

The restaurant had an all-you-can-eat menu, but unlike in the US, the entrees were brought by a server. However, you could order as much as you wanted, and there was a buffet for salads, desserts, etc.

I started with a vegetable curry and some salads.

M and I ordered a bean curry; I had spinach naan and she got cheese naan.

These were the choices for choosing the spice level of our curry entrees.

For dessert S had some coconut naan:

And I don't know why I can't find a photo of it, but I had matcha and strawberry ice cream (one scoop of each flavor).

On the way out...

The meal was great! There were plenty of choices and the flavors were all excellent. I'm still drooling over the spinach naan I had!

Back at home...

And of course, wine in Coke glasses

Day 13 Stats
Distance: 3.5 miles
Steps: 8170
Flights: 15

Up next: Day 14! Our last day in Sasebo before going to Tokyo!

 

[Tuvalu]

The cheese naan looks so yummy!

 

[riverside]

You can blow dry your glasses if they become foggy upon entering!

That's pretty cool!!

There were some people behaving really horribly around the kangaroos. One older man was stepping on their tails to get a reaction, and some teenagers were chasing them.

That's just plain awful.

 

[fractal]

Such an interesting culture.

 

[bee]

Day 14: Sunday, December 30

The night before S asked us what we wanted to do the next day. We were pretty tired from the busy day we'd just had, but we didn't want to offend her if she had big plans for us. We mentioned that we needed to do laundry and she asked if we were okay with having another chill day locally. We said yes and she said something like, "Oh thank god, I'm so tired!" So we were glad to all be on the same page!

Since it was Sunday, S and J went to church while M and I slept in. We made breakfast...

...and played with Bella.

We let her sniff the outside.

For lunch we had some leftover quinoa with some feta cheese added.

Throughout the day M and I did some laundry and worked on repacking all our stuff.

Sorry for the short post! We didn't take many photos this day!

Up next: Dinner Adventure

 

[melmel89]

The fact that this needs to be said...

You would think it's obvious right? I work in an airport and have to tell passengers every single day not to leave devices or bags unattended, some even question why or become aggressive about it It blows my mind!

 

[bee]

Day 14, cont.

For our last dinner in Sasebo we all decided to go to a hot pot restaurant with all-you-can-eat meals. When we arrived there was quite a crowd waiting to be seated. At the front of the restaurant there was a touch screen where patrons were supposed to input the number of guests in their party to join the queue. There were no instructions in English and we weren't sure we did it right!

Apparently we figured it out and did it correctly, because eventually we were called to our table. Each table had a screen for ordering various AYCE courses as well as a la carte items.

Since we weren't sure what was included with the AYCE options we pressed "Need Help" and a waitress came over. She didn't speak English so we all tried our best with our limited Japanese to figure out what we should order. In the end we decided to get a la carte items because M and I didn't want to pay for meat we wouldn't be eating.

First, we picked the broths we wanted for cooking our food. We went with soy milk (for me and M) and curry (for S and J).

Our food came out shortly after we ordered.

These leaf vegetables were AMAZING!

As you can see we were able to get tofu, noodles, and a TON of fresh vegetables. S and J got several kinds of meat as well.

I also got a lemon sour cocktail. It was lemony.

This was probably my second favorite meal of the trip behind Sushiro (sushi go round). We ate SO MUCH FOOD and it was all super delicious. M and I paid for everything to thank S and J for their hospitality during our trip, and the total for all of us was around $50. Crazy!

Up next: finishing up Day 14

 

[bee]

Day 14, cont.

On the way home we stopped by a 7-Eleven for some breakfast for the next morning. We also drove by this building which apparently was significant enough for me to take a photo of but not significant enough for me to remember what it was:

Back at home:

At home we also shared an ice cream dessert from 7-Eleven:

And we somehow managed to get everything repacked!

Day 14 Stats
Distance: 0.6 miles
Steps: 1301
Flights: 1

Up next: Day 15! Tokyo! Food! People! Trains!

 

[Swissmiss]

How many times did you need to remove the kitty from your suitcases as you were trying to repack?