A Tour Around Nagoya and Legoland Japan
As we set foot on Chubu Airport in Nagoya Japan, our initial reaction was this airport is so huge and definitely clean as compared to our country’s version. We took the train from the airport to Sakae Station to check in at Hotel My Stays Nishiki Nagoya.
But going there was a bit of a struggle as it was our first time to be in Japan and buying a ticket from the vending machine was not really a breeze for first timers. It took us a while to figure it out that kid below 3 years old are free of charge and we need to press the time slot of the train to be able to purchase the ticket properly. I was trying to force myself to buy the 7:45 P.M. ticket as the time was just only 7:38 P.M. at that time but I cant seem to continue on the purchase and I cant pick a seat. The rule was that you cannot buy ticket of a train that is about to leave on the closing minutes. Therefore I have to purchase the 8:10 P.M. ride instead just to complete the transaction. As we arrived to Nagoya Station, the struggle continues as we need to change to a subway station to get down at Sakae Station. The problem was we cant find the way to the subway and we asked a student of around 18 years old, his English was not really fluent, but he was kind enough to go out of his way just to show us the route to the subway station, and this one single trait of helpfulness really opened our eyes to the good characteristics in Japanese people. Purchasing the subway ticket was not easy as well as there was nothing written about how much going to Sakae Station was, and I need to ask the staff for assistance as he knows by heart the prices, as he just punched in the price of the ticket, we learned that children below 13 only need to pay half of the adult ticket price. We were able to safely arrive at the hotel thanks to the help of Yelp app, and we had a nice bowl of ramen before we went to bed.
As we set foot for an adventure day in Osu Shopping Center, we were supposed to walk our way to the said place, but decided not to do a 2 kilometer hike due to carrying 2 kids is not a walk in the park for any parent. It cost us around 700 Yen for a 2 KM ride to the destination from the hotel.
We were awed by the way that the Japanese people arrange their place so neatly even that its a bargain center, everything was so organized and we were probably a little bit early as many shops are still closed at 10 A.M. in the morning.
First stop, candy store! My youngest son cant get enough of the many different designs and types of candies he cant probably find in our home country, and he walk out with a loot bag indeed. I was able to saw several flavors of Kit Kat and took a photo of all the varieties they offered. We then continue to stroll around looking at different toys stores, we stumbled upon a temple and took some shots with the friendly pigeons walking around the park. And finally our biggest stop was at Jungle Nagoya wherein almost all the good toys for kids and not so small kids come together in one big store.
There are anime, tamiya, gundam models, marvel, DC and almost anything you can possibly ever think of.
My eldest son walked away with a few Beyblade which is exclusive just for Japan and I walked away still empty handed! We had a nice lunch at a restaurant which specialty is unagi (eel).
It was quite expensive but it was really good. The kids loved the food there and mine was a Hitsu-Mabushi wherein you need to eat 1/4 of the bowl, then next you need to add seasoning and eat another 1/4 of the bowl, and last is to eat everything after dropping in all the seasoning and bouillon (soup stock) into the bowl. It was a different experience, all I can say is that the unagi was good and the rice was extra good, and the price was even awesome.
We later hit a grocery at a Don Quixote, everything there was probably at a bargain and we later get a 8% tax rebate upon presenting our Japanese Visa and Passport. We bought a lot of dried squid in 1,000,000,000 Yen paper bill packaging, it was kinda hilarious so we sort of bought a little more than what we need. Dinner was at a local Chinese restaurant serving Xiao Long Bao and dumplings, the food was quite good in my opinion, and one thing I learned was that 3 persons are enough to run a restaurant. 1 cook, 1 runner/waiter, 1 cashier/waiter/receptionist. They were so freaking efficient in running the store, how I wish it can be implemented in my own home country. I later went on to buy a salmon sashimi bowl for my midnight snack, a Japan trip wont be complete without sashimi.
We went straight to Legoland hotel to claim my 2 day pass as I booked the night with a combo pass to save a little on cost (it was a promo back then). The staff took in my luggage for safekeeping with a claim stub and I lined up to claim the tickets and pre-check in into the room. The staff were friendly, even if they have a hard time with English, I simply use Google translate app and type in my message as it will auto translate to Japanese for them to read. While I was busy with the front desk, the kids kept themselves busy as they play with bricks, bricks and more bricks on the small pool filled with Lego bricks. I could tell in their eyes that they are happy to be here, next stop we hit the entrance and took our traditional photo in front of the entrance with the help of a Lego officer roaming around to keep the entrance in good order.
My youngest son, a big fan of carousel saw the Lego brick carousel and we immediately lined up since there is not much queue in the line yet. He chose to ride the Yellow Motorbike and the eldest took the rainbow tiger. We played for 2 times on the same ride and he had so much fun. Next we stopped over at Duplo Park where everything there is a supersized Duplo figure, from slide to horse and train. Speaking of train, we lined up to take a ride in the supersized Duplo train. After that we took our lunch at Chicken Diner where we spend over 4000 Yen for just fast food. There are Lego brick fries, Brick shaped hamburger buns.
We loved the ambiance of the restaurant, drinks are unlimited including the coffee. As we amaze ourselves pass the mini land, where many famous places are turned into miniature bricks, we were later invited to the Halloween show, too bad we cant understand much on the story telling as everything was told in Japanese language. The kids asked to take a ride in the submarine where we cant say no but lets go, and they were glad to see the underwater creatures and see God’s beautiful creation. The boat ride was another good attraction as you get to drive your own boat at a slow phase, tho my son had us bumping all the way to the finish line with his un-orthodoxed sailing. We took off to the sky with the ride on the observation tower as we catch a glimpse of the whole park up in the sky and it was breathtaking. The kids then had their next mission, to pass the Octan driving school where there is a center for both toddlers and teenagers. I was amazed at my little one as he passed the test and it was his first time to drive on his own. We later caught some trick or treats before heading back to the hotel. As we enter the room, luggage are already sent to our room to my surprise. We were awed with the beauty of the room as it was Ninjago themed, everything was a kid ever dreamed of and there is even treasure hunt to crack the code of the treasure box to get 2 gifts inside, me and my son cracked the code later on. We then went down to the creative room as my youngest one was invited to celebrate his birthday in November. Lego took the extra mileage to appreciate the bithdays of their client’s kids. After that they went back to their room and for the first time my son slept on his own in the Lego children room to my surprise.
The kids woke up early today to catch their breakfast at Bricks Restaurant, we heard food served there were good so the kids were excited to go. As the elevator door opened, we saw people lined up to take a photo with the Lego Chef. We then lined up inside to take a quick photo first before heading off for the buffet table. The kids loved it as the talked and cheered with the mascot, then shortly they took a photo together. Both of the kids ate their food and we made sure they are full before setting off for another adventure packed day. First stop we took a flight at the flying school, where the plane would take off and the tracks is an oval shaped one. as the plane hit every turn. it will speed up to give you a little adrenaline rush, and the kids loved it that much that we need to fall in line again for another round. We strolled along to the adventure island where we found the Lego Mummy mascot there, interacting with Lego fans and kids. My younger son, being a tough guy, tried to scare the bricks out of the mummy and I guess he had fun doing so.
They insisted to go back to the Octan driving school and back we go as requested by the kids. We saw that there will be a movie for Ninjago, so we walked all the way from the knights area to the movie house. it was quite a good 1 Kilometer tho. All for of us were mesmerized by the way the actors was able to perfectly portray the character while holding them. They were able to control the hands, feet, even the eyebrow and the mouth. Right after, Sealife Nagoya! One of the attraction l personally recommended for the whole family, the kids get to see all the nature and creatures under the water. We left Legoland at around 5:50PM. and everyone was so happy but tired, we took a bus ride of around 40 minutes going from Kinjo Futo to Chubu International Airport as we checked in at Centrair Hotel. We continue to shop the night away, then we stumbled into another toy shop named the Pokemon Center. This shop shows Pikkachu and the gang their different toys and evolution. We bought 6 anime eggs which contains Beyblade Vol 10, and luckily that I was able to complete all the 5 characters in 6 tries.
Early check out from Centrair Hotel as we prepare ourselves toward checking in our luggage and boarding the flight, tho everyone was tired, its still fun. My son got his one last push in buying some candies as I tried to unload all the coins I have left in my pocket. The trip was a very successful one as we see the grin on the faces of our kids.
richmondtan 