Tokyo Comic Con 2019

Bob took a Saturday off work so we could check out Tokyo Comic Con.  Bob and I aren't that into it, but we do enjoy a good super hero movie and thought it would be fun to see what there is to see.  Boy was it crowded!  We had to wait in a pretty long line just to walk inside the building.  It was rainy and cold so we were happy when we made it inside.  Most of the line was under cover but we did walk outside a good 20 minutes in the rain and I was not prepared for that.

Right when we walked in everyone was handed a plastic bag with random papers and advertisements inside.  Each bag also contained one little toy, not a lego, but like a  lego figurine.  The kids were so happy about those toys they said that made whole trip was worth it.

 We just walked around for a couple hours and looked at the booths. 

There were a lot of people dressed up.  I'm pretty sure this was just a regular guy who posed for the picture.  He kind of came up to Leon and tried to get him to pose for me to take a picture.   It was a little strange but I guess when you invest in a costume like that you want to get some use out of it.

 There were tons of figurines to look at.

 Calista got to see Ariel again.

 On the way out we stopped at a convenience store to grab some lunch.  Calista actually grabbed a corn dog and ran out.  Luckily I noticed her and was able to add it onto our other items as we were checking out.

I'm glad we went to see what it was all about.  We probably won't go again though.

The Abels and Heiwa-No-Mori Park

With five people staying with us we were short five seats in our car.  So we got to ride the train a lot while the Abels were over.  I don't mind though.  It can be fun to do something different than the norm.  We are pretty fortunate to live near a train stop so we can get around ok without a car.

 Plus, it just feel so much more Japanese to travel around by train.

The kids managed to go to the skate park three times during the couple days they were her to visit.  James even managed to pack both a scooter and skate board so we had to make sure he got good use out of them while here.

 We made a pit stop at the cutest little pond near the skate park.

We made one more trip up to Tokyo and went to Heiwa-No-Mori Park.  I love these Japanese adventure parks. 

 We had a lot of fun.  Even Calista is now a pro at the zipline.

I'm sure the kids would have raced through the whole thing in about 20 minutes, but I made them wait for me so I could take lots of pictures and videos and to just see them doing it.  I think they were a little frustrated with me, but I like doing it all together.

On the way home we stopped for ramen.  I finally ordered the right amount.  One large one to share for me and two children seemed perfect.  And Tucker eats a while one by himself.

I'm so glad the Abels made the long trip all the way to Japan to visit us!  They were really fun to have over and it is so good and important for the kids to spend time with cousins!

TeamLab Planets and Harajuku

The Abels came to visit us last week.  We had a lot of fun visiting with family.  I think I need more people to come see us in Japan!  Any takers?

We spent one entire day having fun up in Tokyo and first on the list was TeamLab Planets.  It is a museum where the people are supposed to not just look at art but be immersed in the art.  The people are part of the art.  You have to take your shoes off before entering because a good bit of it is through water. 

I thought it was really cool.  But it was dark and there was music playing so Calista was scared to death the entire time.  She has been touchy every since we went to DisneySea. Some of those rides really freaked her out.

Anyway, we walked though rushing water.

Then through a beanbag room.  This was crazy hard.  Every time you step you would sink down like a foot.  I got to do it carrying both Calista and Beatrix, but honestly it would have been a little bit of a challenge without any babies.

The sparkly room was my favorite.

It was hard to get pictures because it really was dark.  But we waded through this misty light up warm pool. 

Next we were attacked by giant color changing balls.

Lastly we sat in a dome of moving flowers. 

Next we hopped back on the train and went to a different part of Tokyo.

A trip to Tokyo wouldn't be complete without visiting a shrine and seeing a huge crowd.  So we went straight to the heart with the Meiji Shrine and Takeshita Dori street.

And we finished it off by crossing at Shibuya scramble a few dozen times.  It is definitely cooler at night.