I got home a several days ago, and would have written this final update sooner, but [insert fake excuse here]. I don’t think I have anything super important to say, but I feel like I need to give some closure to those who have been obsessively reading along (shoutout Robert).
So to start things off: pigs aren’t as soft as I thought they’d be. Don’t get me wrong, they’re still cute, but I didn’t realize petting them would feel like stroking a hairbrush. I’ve always struggled eating pork for nonsensical reasons that I inherited from my father, but I justified these struggles by telling myself that it’s because pigs are too cute to eat. I was a little worried that going to this pig cafe would make me stop eating bacon every now and again, which would suck because bacon’s amazing, but if anything, the experience made me think, “yeah, I wouldn’t mind eating you.” When this was put to the test though, I still chickened out. On the airplane, the dinner options were this seafood thing (there’s almost nothing grosser than seafood) or some kind of pork dish that didn’t look too offensive. I chose to not eat at all. I should have at least accepted the tray. I could have had a bun with butter: the loveliest airplane delicacy.
Anyway, back to actually being in Japan: my penultimate (a far too cool word for its meaning) night in Japan was New Year’s Eve. Growing up, New Year’s Eve was the most important holiday at Belmanor. It was like our Christmas with Canada Day being our Easter (in terms of mostly secular celebrations… an all-around unnecessary simile, I suppose). We’d always host a party that was a ton of effort and specifically themed e.g. murder mystery, game shows, Olympics, etc.. They’re some of my favourite memories from my childhood. To me, New Year’s isn’t a party holiday, but the ultimate family and family-friends holiday. In recent years, our parties have been retired as a result of the dozen or so kids who would attend maturing and having independent plans for the holiday. New Years has remained an important holiday in my heart, but I have recently realized that traditional New Years activities are my actual nightmare. When I was younger, the holiday was in the comfort of my own chalet, filled with people that I knew, and tons of ice cream. Loud noises, dancing, being in close proximity to strangers; none of it’s appealing anymore. Nevertheless, that’s what the rest of my family likes to do as it’s often the only way of communally celebrating.* I want to be with my family on New Years, so I actually left the hotel. Originally, I wasn’t planning on spending the holiday with them because they wanted to do all these events throughout Tokyo. My mum, in an effort to get me to come out, told me that they were going to an event put on by the city in their version of Nathan Phillips Square. The main draw was that she said Hello Kitty would be there, and I’ve recently become a bandwagon fan. I wanted to get a photo with her, or more specifically with My Melody, so I agreed to tag along. It was also mentioned that the Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen guy would be there, which excited my brothers. Additionally, the celebration was going to be from 6:00-7:00pm, which is barely stretching my ideal curfew.
We arrived at about 6:15, and there were a lot of people there. Still, I didn’t have an issue keeping my personal space, as we were basically behind two barricades. As soon as we arrived, the Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen guy started performing his one hit song from seven years ago. It lasted a really long time and there were the lyrics written out behind him. Then he stayed on the stage and talked a bunch, and then Hello Kitty and friends came out and started teaching and performing a dance. I tried to follow along, but I suck at dancing, and also the instructions were in Japanese.
Now I know up until this point, you’ve probably held the strong belief that the Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen guy, Hello Kitty and Friends, and the Mayor of Tokyo don’t all know each other, but here’s a photo to prove you wrong:
New Years is one of the most important holidays in Japan, as the first visit to the temple is an important one. My mum read that pretty much everything is closed, including ATMs, but that wasn’t the case in Tokyo. Still, our options of what to do were limited, so while my dad, Jayden, and Logan did a scavenger hunt around the city, my mum and I went to Tokyo DisneySea. I’m lucky enough to have already been to Tokyo Disneyland years ago, so originally, DisneySea wasn’t really on my list. I definitely went through a Disney Adult (or older teenager) phase, and I thought I was past that. I had a lot of fun at Tokyo Disney, and I didn’t think I needed to go back, but when my mum presented it as one of the only options for the 1st, I was looking forward to it. As the trip went on, I found myself growing more and more excited for it. I’m sorry to burst my cool guy image, but my internal excitement was hitting embarrassing levels.
Mum and I arrived at the park at about 10:00-ish I think. There was a New Year’s greeting show scheduled for around that time, but it was cancelled because of the wind or something, so we got in line for Soaring, my mum’s favourite ride. The line was around 2 1/2 hours long, but I brought my foldable stool, so I was able to sit when I needed to. Luckily, I had my AirPods in my bag, so each taking one, Mum and I listened to a bit of an NPR audiobook, before giving up and listening to the beginning of John Mulaney: The Comeback Kid. The ride was pretty cool, as it was a simulation of flying over different parts of the world. Mum said it was worth the wait, and I’m really glad shefelt that way.
Almost as soon as we got out of the ride, the show that had been cancelled earlier was beginning. We watched the start, but then decided to get a bite. After lunch, we walked around the park a bit. I’m not sure if it’s a big thing at all Disney parks, or is special to Tokyo, but there are a bunch of flavoured popcorn stands throughout the park, and you could buy these crazily expensive buckets to carry. There was this Winnie the Pooh one that I thought was so cute, but despite my pleas, my Mum reasonably did not want to spend $30 on a piece of plastic that has an incredibly niche purpose (although I would love to wear it as a purse).
Anyway, we had journeyed to the “American” part of the park, modelled to look like New York in West Side Story concept art. We saw a dance show in their “broadway theatre,” in which the dancers and choreography were amazing, but unfortunately the show featured the Mickey Mouse and Friends cast, singing and dancing, and being the unnecessary centre of attention. While I may be something of a Disney Adult, I hate Mickey Mouse and Friends. Actually, Goofy had his moments and Pluto wasn’t even there, but I wanted to murder the rest of them. Specifically Donald because every time he spoke I was like, “what the fuck did he just say?”
Despite my disdain for the character, I really wanted Mickey ears. I had a pair from my trip four years ago, but had left them at home. I was starting to feel left out because everyone else at the park was wearing something fun on their heads. My mother very kindly let me buy a pair, and I got pink fluffy ears with a sequinned bow. Then, when waiting in line for some caramel corn, everyone got a notification on their phones that sounded like an Amber Alert. Turns out it was about an earthquake and staff started telling everyone to get on the ground and move away from any objects that could fall or crumble. Mum and I were separated at the time, so I sat by myself in the middle of a walkway that had been overflowing with people minutes earlier. It was so weird to see such a lively place so stagnant, which is ironic considering the ground was literally shaking. I could feel the earth move underneath me (I had never felt so close to Carol King), with the most appropriate simile being it felt like I was sitting on the stomach of someone belly dancing. Where I was, it was pretty subtle, and honestly just kind of cool. I didn’t know that it was worse other places though, so it really didn’t feel like a huge deal. About ten minutes later, everyone was back on their feet and everything returned to normal.
The rest of the day was really fun too, but I feel like I can’t really top the earthquake story. The next day, I flew out of Tokyo to Taipei just a few hours before the plane collision, so I was once again narrowly unaffected by tragedy. My two flights were long and I’m fighting some serious jet lag right now.
I want to thank my parents for taking me on such an amazing trip, and I want to thank you for reading this. It was long and probably boring, so it’s really cool that you finished it.
*With all that said, last year we had a great New Year’s Eve at the Phoenix Botanical Gardens where I watched Simply Three perform live for hours.