Post-Trip Report: Katie’s Star Wars Celebration Trip (April 2025)

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VIRGINIA: Welcome to another post-trip episode of Where I Long To Be, A Magical Trip Report Podcast.

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VIRGINIA: I am your host, Virginia.

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VIRGINIA: Today, Katie is back to share all the details of her recent trip to Tokyo.

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VIRGINIA: She was traveling with her husband, Adam, and her brother-in-law, Ryan.

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VIRGINIA: The main focus of this trip was to attend the worldwide convention called Star Wars Celebration.

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VIRGINIA: I've linked to the convention in the show notes in case you're interested in attending.

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VIRGINIA: The next one will be in 2027 in Los Angeles.

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VIRGINIA: While they were there, it only made sense to visit some of the sites in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, as well as doing some park days at Universal Studios Japan, Tokyo Disneyland, and Tokyo DisneySea.

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VIRGINIA: Katie's Instagram is also linked in the show notes, so please give her a follow.

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VIRGINIA: And there you can see more pictures from her trip.

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VIRGINIA: Her handle is Love For All Disney Magic.

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VIRGINIA: That is all the information you need to enjoy this episode, so please join me in welcoming back Katie.

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VIRGINIA: Welcome back, Katie.

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KATIE: Thank you for having me back.

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VIRGINIA: I am so excited to hear about this trip because we just had a major holiday in the Star Wars world yesterday.

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KATIE: Wish you have.

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KATIE: May the 4th be with you.

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VIRGINIA: I was thinking about that as I was looking over my notes to get prepared to talk to you again.

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VIRGINIA: I was like, oh, too bad.

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VIRGINIA: Your very heavily Star Wars-themed trip was not over May the 4th.

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VIRGINIA: But...

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KATIE: Well, we did have a trip to California for May the 4th and Star Wars Celebration days last year, so we can't do it every year, so we thought we'll do the Star Wars Celebration in Japan this year.

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KATIE: You know, do something different.

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VIRGINIA: Right.

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VIRGINIA: Yeah.

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VIRGINIA: I will take it.

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VIRGINIA: Any excuse to try to get to Tokyo.

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KATIE: Exactly, right?

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VIRGINIA: All right.

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VIRGINIA: Let's kick it off with your flight.

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VIRGINIA: So you left on Wednesday, April 16th at 1 p.m.

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VIRGINIA: Was your flight on time?

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KATIE: Our flight was on time, which was great.

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KATIE: We didn't mind that.

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KATIE: You know, the sooner we could get to Tokyo, the better.

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KATIE: Considering it was a 14-hour flight, you'd think, oh my god, it's such a long time.

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KATIE: You know, when people tell you, how are you going to do it?

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KATIE: But it was actually quite pleasant.

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KATIE: You have we booked a premium economy seat because again, my husband's quite tall.

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KATIE: My brother knows quite tall.

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KATIE: My husband's six foot two.

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KATIE: And we thought we'd give them extra space.

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KATIE: You get extra, obviously get two suitcases each when you travel premium economy.

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KATIE: And we thought it's a great opportunity to be able to take less with us, buy stuff in Japan and we can bring you back.

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KATIE: So, yeah, so with the premium economy with British Airways, we had a welcome drink when we arrived.

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KATIE: By the time they loaded everybody on the plane, we took off on time.

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KATIE: It was quite a smooth flight, no bumps in the air, so it was quite great.

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KATIE: We had, we see food throughout the flight, snacks, drinks, and watching the films, you know, listen to some music.

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KATIE: And before we knew it, we landed in Tokyo.

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KATIE: And I think we landed about 10.30, 11 o'clock in the morning in Tokyo, on Thursday the 17th.

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KATIE: So I think considering how long the flight was, it actually didn't feel very well so long, cos you could get up and stretch your legs and have a drink.

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KATIE: And yeah, it was actually quite a ride.

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KATIE: We see we have done, me and my husband have done 11 hour flights or so to California from London.

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KATIE: Before my brother knew Ryan, it was the first long-haul flight, so that hence why one of the other reasons we booked to preview the economy.

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KATIE: But no, he was absolutely fine.

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KATIE: I was like, we were keeping our name, just checking.

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KATIE: Managed to have a little nap just to keep some energy from on the land.

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KATIE: But yeah, no, I think he was all right.

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KATIE: We all managed to survive the 14 hour flight.

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KATIE: So as Ryan said to me, if I can do 14 hour flight, I can go to California.

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KATIE: I was like, okay, he's by his next trip already.

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VIRGINIA: Good, good, good, good.

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KATIE: Yeah.

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VIRGINIA: All right.

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VIRGINIA: So you landed in the morning.

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VIRGINIA: You said you took a nap.

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VIRGINIA: So like the excitement of landing must have been just a huge dopamine high, I guess I'm going to say of the possibilities of everything that was right in front of you.

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VIRGINIA: How was it getting over to the hotel?

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VIRGINIA: You said you were probably going to take their version of the subway or metro or whatever they call it there.

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KATIE: Yeah.

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KATIE: So we actually didn't take the metro.

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KATIE: So we landed over 6, 8, about 11.

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KATIE: The luggage didn't take long.

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KATIE: So we got the bags.

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KATIE: So what we had to do, we had to pick up our Wi-Fi for the trip in Japan.

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KATIE: We opted for the portable Wi-Fi because then that way we could all connect to it.

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KATIE: Everybody who would get in contact with us wouldn't generally ring.

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KATIE: They could WhatsApp us so that will keep us in contact with family.

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KATIE: We can use the maps and anything we needed our phones for because if we go for an eSIM option, we would each have to pay, which we added up a bit more.

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KATIE: I think we paid for 11 days trip, we paid about £19 each, which was quite cheap compared to if we would have used our own network in Japan, they charge £7 per day.

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KATIE: So we actually had quite good deals here.

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KATIE: So we had to pick that up and we either wanted to take the metro or the taxi, whichever option was working, but better for us.

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KATIE: So by the time we got the Wi-Fi, which didn't take long, we knew there was a shuttle bus that also went from the airport to Tokyo, and we asked the question, how long does it take?

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KATIE: How much is going to be?

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KATIE: They said it's about 40 minutes ride and it's only £6 per person.

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KATIE: So we were like, if we'd get the metro with two big bags each going up and down the stairs, we did think that was the best idea.

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KATIE: So we opted for the shuttle, we picked up a ticket at the airport.

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KATIE: It was a very easy way to find your way out to the bus stop, you load your bags in and the shuttle stopped at every, because we landed at Haneda Terminal 3, it stopped at Terminal 2, Terminal 1, and then it was direct route from there to Tokyo main train station and it was about five-minute walk for us from there to the hotel, which was quite convenient.

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KATIE: So that's why we thought instead of going up and down the stairs with the bag, it's just a straight walk to the hotel.

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KATIE: So we chose to do that.

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KATIE: And again, the price of it was actually not bad, which worked out quite cheap as well.

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KATIE: So yeah, we found that option very easy, very...

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KATIE: If people are going into Tokyo, I think that's quite a nice and easy journey without any hassle.

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KATIE: You can sit down, they can take where you need to go.

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KATIE: We found it quite easy.

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KATIE: So I think we've also felt using the subway or the metro on the first day of being jet lagged and tired may not have been the best idea.

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KATIE: We decided for somebody to do the hard work for us.

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VIRGINIA: Sure, sure.

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VIRGINIA: And everything at the airport was translated into English, correct?

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KATIE: Yes.

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KATIE: So they had signs in both Japanese and English.

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KATIE: We picked up obviously the Wi-Fi, we got the tickets.

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KATIE: We also picked up our seven day railway pass, which allowed us travel on the bullet trains, which we have pre-booked prior to a trip to Japan.

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KATIE: And yeah, so all their signs were in English and Japanese.

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KATIE: However, if you do need any assistance, they had the information point, so I wasn't sure where to go for the Wi-Fi pickup.

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KATIE: And they were quite friendly and very helpful to direct me where I had to go.

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KATIE: So I think the whole airport system works quite well in Japan.

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KATIE: There's no, yeah, if you can't find it, there's somebody there, but it's quite straightforward as well.

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VIRGINIA: Okay.

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VIRGINIA: Now let's talk about your hotel.

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VIRGINIA: So you said you were staying at the Sotetsu Fresa.

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VIRGINIA: I hope I'm pronouncing it correctly.

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KATIE: Well, I don't know how it's correct either, so I'll say it as I read it.

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KATIE: So you and me both.

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VIRGINIA: Okay.

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VIRGINIA: So I did get a little peek of it on their website, but what were your initial impressions and how are the accommodations for a party of three like yourselves?

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KATIE: So in terms of the location, because where we stayed, the Tokyo train station, as I said, was about five-minute walk from the hotel.

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KATIE: And that's what we needed because we were traveling from Tokyo to Star Wars Celebration.

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KATIE: So we had to get the train from Tokyo.

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KATIE: We then went to Universal Studios by the bullet train, again from the Tokyo train station.

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KATIE: And the trip to Kyoto, Osaka again was planned from Tokyo train station by the bullet train.

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KATIE: So all the trips that we're doing was happening from the Tokyo station, which is where we opted for the hotel.

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KATIE: The hotel location was great.

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KATIE: It was clean.

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KATIE: It was like staff or friendly.

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KATIE: The only thing was for us.

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KATIE: So we had two rooms.

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KATIE: My brother-in-law Ryan had room for himself.

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KATIE: And me and my husband had a room for the two of us.

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KATIE: The rooms were a bit small for me.

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KATIE: We did not realize when we booked it.

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KATIE: I understand this probably was on our behalf that we didn't think that they were going to be that small.

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KATIE: It was a little bit small for us because my husband's a bit tall.

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KATIE: We found it a little bit strange because we've never been in such a small room.

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KATIE: However, Tokyo is a little bit overcrowded.

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KATIE: And we understand that people did tell us beforehand that some of their hotel rooms are a little bit smaller than usual purely because of the location and they don't have the space.

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KATIE: And the only thing for them, the staff again, I went to ask if they could move us to a bigger room, which we were happy to pay for a bit extra for.

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KATIE: Unfortunately, because it was peak season, they were like, look, this is what we have.

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KATIE: They said we can find another hotel and they will cancel this room and bring Bursa.

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KATIE: So we had an option to leave if we wanted to.

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KATIE: They said they offered us a separate room, the same size, just for the luggage, which was great.

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KATIE: But I didn't particularly want to be going up and down the hotel with the bag here and forth.

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KATIE: So I think the first night was a bit of a shock to the system because we weren't used to it.

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KATIE: However, after a couple of days, we got used to it.

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KATIE: We managed to, all we did was just took stuff out that we were using and then the rest was staying in the suitcases.

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KATIE: We were only there for the night, so it kind of wasn't really a big deal.

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KATIE: It just was a bit of a surprise when we turned up.

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KATIE: I don't know if you understand square meters, but it's 13 square meters.

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KATIE: My office is bigger than the room we have.

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KATIE: We were like, wow.

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KATIE: Yeah, so, but again, the hotel was lovely.

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KATIE: The people were friendly.

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KATIE: They had pajamas.

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KATIE: If you didn't bring, you could use theirs.

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KATIE: They were giving people options.

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KATIE: There's a restaurant downstairs.

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KATIE: They had, you could do breakfast, dinner.

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KATIE: And if you stay in the hotel, they give you a discount as well.

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KATIE: They had like laundry service.

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KATIE: They had vending machines on site.

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KATIE: They had tea and coffee in the reception.

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KATIE: So as, as the hotels go, they will find that I can't, I can't complain about the hotel.

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KATIE: Like I said, it probably was a bit of a confusion on our behalf because we just didn't think it was going to be that small.

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KATIE: We just didn't like, we just didn't think.

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KATIE: But again, it was, it was lovely.

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KATIE: Like I said, for one person, for Ryan, his room, like he was on his own.

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KATIE: It was fantastic.

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KATIE: It was, it wasn't, it didn't feel probably as small for him as it did for us purely because we had all the luggage and there's two of us, but it was clean.

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KATIE: Like I said, they did the room service cleaning every couple of days.

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KATIE: If you needed anything like we asked for an extra pillow, they brought it straight away.

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KATIE: If you'd like anything like that, they were very good and very friendly.

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KATIE: The checking was quite straightforward.

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KATIE: No issues.

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KATIE: Like I said, because we booked it through travel agent, sometimes hotels need further information.

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KATIE: They just need passports.

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KATIE: We came in, checked in, left our bags, because again, the checking, we couldn't use the room until I think three o'clock, they said.

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KATIE: So we left the bags, checked in, left the bags and then went off.

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KATIE: So but no, I think as a whole, the location was fantastic.

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KATIE: It was like I said, walk a distance to the station.

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KATIE: We had the 7-Eleven around the corner, lots of little restaurants and cafes around, like if you wanted food or whatsoever.

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KATIE: So I would recommend the hotel.

00:12:45.409 --> 00:12:56.389
KATIE: The only thing I would say, if people weren't looking for a standard size room, just be mindful and book because we went for the standard one and it wasn't just what we thought it was going to be.

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KATIE: But I would recommend it because like I said, we didn't have any problems with anything throughout the site.

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KATIE: So it wasn't like I said.

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VIRGINIA: Yeah.

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VIRGINIA: Did you have connecting rooms?

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KATIE: So they weren't connecting rooms, but they were next door to one another.

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KATIE: When we booked it, we have requested, if we could have either next door or like a room, one room apart, as close as possible together, so then we didn't have to go too far.

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KATIE: So Ryan didn't feel like he was on his own kind of thing.

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KATIE: Right.

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KATIE: I don't think they have connecting rooms because I've looked, when I looked after on their website, they have like a bigger room.

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KATIE: Like if there's a family, you can book a bigger room or bigger room with like two bigger beds.

00:13:39.089 --> 00:13:42.029
KATIE: So even if you want a bigger room, but there's just the two of you.

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KATIE: But I didn't see they had any connecting rooms, but they are like quite close by.

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KATIE: So you can request it, which is what we did.

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KATIE: And yet they were happy to accommodate that as well, which was nice.

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VIRGINIA: Okay.

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VIRGINIA: What did you do with the rest of that first day while you were trying to stay awake as long as possible?

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KATIE: We were very positive thinking we're going to be able to do more than we thought we were going to do.

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KATIE: But so what we did on the first day, so we obviously we arrived to the hotel, checked in, left the bags, and on the same day, we went to the exhibition center where the Star Wars Celebration was happening the following day, because we had to go pick up our tickets purely because they said you could pick them up on the day.

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KATIE: But obviously, as you can imagine, there's a lot going on and the queues may be quite long to the say if you can pick them up before, they would recommend it.

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KATIE: So our railway pass that we have picked up from the airport allowed us to travel for free to the exhibition center.

00:14:43.389 --> 00:14:47.649
KATIE: So we used the opportunity to go get the tickets.

00:14:47.649 --> 00:14:51.209
KATIE: So then we had them for Friday and for Sunday.

00:14:51.209 --> 00:15:00.029
KATIE: And what we did then when we came back, we just, well, the Turkey train station has got a lot of shopping, a lot of food options.

00:15:00.029 --> 00:15:01.889
KATIE: It's not just a railway station.

00:15:01.889 --> 00:15:05.189
KATIE: So we walk around there, found some little shops.

00:15:05.209 --> 00:15:06.929
KATIE: They had like Lego store.

00:15:06.929 --> 00:15:10.289
KATIE: They had little Manisa store, lots of like ramen restaurants, etc.

00:15:10.349 --> 00:15:12.169
KATIE: So people wanted like food options.

00:15:12.169 --> 00:15:13.869
KATIE: There's loads of little bars.

00:15:13.869 --> 00:15:22.489
KATIE: So we walked around, managed to get some sandwich just because we were a bit full up from the flight, just want a little snack before we went to bed.

00:15:22.489 --> 00:15:23.969
KATIE: So pick up some food.

00:15:23.969 --> 00:15:29.089
KATIE: We also picked up some food to take with us for the Star Wars Celebration.

00:15:29.089 --> 00:15:36.789
KATIE: Because on their map, it didn't look like they had a lot of food options, like not many food carts.

00:15:36.789 --> 00:15:40.509
KATIE: So we picked up some lunch to take with us the following day.

00:15:40.509 --> 00:15:42.489
KATIE: And then we just went and had an early night.

00:15:42.489 --> 00:15:48.389
KATIE: Because I think because we had to get up early the following day, we wanted to just have a good night rest, sleep.

00:15:48.389 --> 00:15:51.489
KATIE: So then we're ready for the full on day with a few events.

00:15:51.489 --> 00:15:53.189
VIRGINIA: I'm not sure you were exhausted.

00:15:53.229 --> 00:15:56.069
KATIE: Yeah, just a bit.

00:15:56.069 --> 00:15:59.069
VIRGINIA: All right, well, tell me all about this Star Wars Celebration.

00:15:59.069 --> 00:16:02.089
VIRGINIA: So Friday, April 18th, you headed over there to spend the day.

00:16:03.269 --> 00:16:06.229
VIRGINIA: What did you see there?

00:16:06.229 --> 00:16:08.789
KATIE: It was a really busy day.

00:16:08.789 --> 00:16:10.869
KATIE: We have done Star Wars Celebration in London.

00:16:10.869 --> 00:16:16.229
KATIE: So obviously we have done one of those events before, and we knew that it was going to be busy.

00:16:16.229 --> 00:16:17.529
KATIE: There's a lot of queues.

00:16:17.529 --> 00:16:25.849
KATIE: And I think because A, you had people that live locally, plus obviously people traveling, it was very, very busy.

00:16:25.849 --> 00:16:28.089
KATIE: Like there were queues everywhere.

00:16:28.089 --> 00:16:35.829
KATIE: At one point I did get a little bit overwhelmed because it was just so unusually busy for me, like a lot of people in the same place.

00:16:35.829 --> 00:16:41.209
KATIE: Because, yeah, even though it's a big exhibition centre, there was a lot going on.

00:16:41.209 --> 00:16:46.469
KATIE: So we managed to get some Star Wars Celebration exclusive merchandise.

00:16:46.469 --> 00:16:48.969
KATIE: So I got like a T-shirt, lanyards.

00:16:48.969 --> 00:17:00.089
KATIE: My husband managed to get like some sweatshirts, hoodies, because every Star Wars Celebration has its own special logo for that particular location.

00:17:00.089 --> 00:17:08.429
KATIE: And this one they did a Darth Vader with like a lightsaber, but like a samurai style, which was really awesome.

00:17:08.429 --> 00:17:14.469
KATIE: And I was like, I wanted to have something with it on because it's just so unique to Japan.

00:17:15.089 --> 00:17:26.989
KATIE: So the Star Wars Celebration T-shirt I picked up had that print on it and it had Star Wars Celebration in Japanese on it, which was just something like, I thought, you know what, it's just a little something to take back.

00:17:26.989 --> 00:17:29.849
KATIE: So we managed to get some of that.

00:17:29.849 --> 00:17:33.409
KATIE: We did see Peyton Christensen on the main stage.

00:17:33.409 --> 00:17:43.489
KATIE: So to see the panels and actors, you'd had to book reservations prior to the event.

00:17:43.489 --> 00:17:47.309
KATIE: Unfortunately, because there was a lot of people, those reservations were gone in two minutes.

00:17:47.769 --> 00:17:49.269
KATIE: So we didn't manage to get a lot.

00:17:49.269 --> 00:17:56.269
KATIE: So you just had to go on the day, get in the queues and try and get, obviously, into the panels.

00:17:56.269 --> 00:18:00.169
KATIE: Because there was a lot of people, I didn't want to end up queuing and then not getting in.

00:18:00.169 --> 00:18:04.729
KATIE: So a lot of the people that did the panels, then also went to the main stage.

00:18:04.729 --> 00:18:06.469
KATIE: We didn't have to have a reservation.

00:18:06.469 --> 00:18:11.149
KATIE: They were just on the main stage of the house so you could see them, which was quite great.

00:18:11.149 --> 00:18:15.449
KATIE: So we managed to see Peyton Christensen and it was his birthday on Friday.

00:18:15.449 --> 00:18:17.049
KATIE: So then we sang him happy birthday.

00:18:17.169 --> 00:18:19.129
KATIE: It was just so special, so cute.

00:18:19.129 --> 00:18:27.469
KATIE: He's just, yeah, he got so overwhelmed, you know, and which was nice to see that he was, you know, he got the love on the day.

00:18:27.469 --> 00:18:29.949
KATIE: I'm a huge fan of Pedro Pascal.

00:18:29.949 --> 00:18:33.729
KATIE: Obviously they did the Mandalorian panel, which I missed out on.

00:18:33.729 --> 00:18:36.729
KATIE: And when he came on stage, I actually ran to see him.

00:18:36.729 --> 00:18:37.949
KATIE: I was like, I don't care.

00:18:37.949 --> 00:18:38.989
KATIE: I'm going to see him.

00:18:38.989 --> 00:18:41.069
KATIE: I know he won't see me, but I'm going.

00:18:41.069 --> 00:18:42.569
KATIE: So it was great.

00:18:42.569 --> 00:18:47.509
KATIE: It was also nice to see that Ryan Gosling was now joining the Star Wars family.

00:18:47.509 --> 00:18:49.449
KATIE: So people will be like, oh, yeah, right.

00:18:49.449 --> 00:18:51.349
KATIE: Fantastic.

00:18:51.349 --> 00:18:56.789
KATIE: And there was obviously a lot of people like from the cartoons, Star Wars films.

00:18:56.789 --> 00:19:03.589
KATIE: So you have the guy that voiced Darth Maul, and they will see now the Darth Maul series coming out.

00:19:03.589 --> 00:19:10.729
KATIE: So it was nice just to see people on stage because in the element, they're talking about the films, they're talking about how it all started.

00:19:10.729 --> 00:19:16.609
KATIE: And obviously they talked about, yeah, Hayden Christensen being a part of a new Ahsoka series.

00:19:16.609 --> 00:19:20.689
KATIE: And so we did get to see people on the stage.

00:19:20.689 --> 00:19:24.969
KATIE: As I said, because there was a lot of people, there was a lot of queuing for the shops.

00:19:24.969 --> 00:19:34.049
KATIE: So there was a store called Hot Toys, which they released limited run of the Star Wars figures just for Japan.

00:19:34.049 --> 00:19:41.149
KATIE: So they had a Darth Vader figure, the Anakin Skywalker figure, and exclusive for Star Wars Celebration Japan.

00:19:41.649 --> 00:19:44.989
KATIE: They did a Stormtrooper with Blossom Flowers on it, which was great.

00:19:44.989 --> 00:19:49.229
KATIE: So people could get something exclusive for just Japan if they wanted to.

00:19:49.229 --> 00:19:52.109
KATIE: So we're cute for that because they did these figures.

00:19:52.109 --> 00:20:04.289
KATIE: And then they also did all the little like bagchains of Ewoks and little models of, I kind of remember what they're called now, Cosbis.

00:20:04.289 --> 00:20:08.549
KATIE: So they're like little models of different characters.

00:20:08.549 --> 00:20:09.689
KATIE: So we picked some of those.

00:20:09.749 --> 00:20:13.189
KATIE: So yeah, so we got to do the stores.

00:20:13.189 --> 00:20:19.469
KATIE: And then there's a lot of people that were doing like limited edition merch just for Star Wars.

00:20:19.469 --> 00:20:24.589
KATIE: They also did a lot of prints and artwork just for Star Wars Celebration you could buy.

00:20:24.589 --> 00:20:28.989
KATIE: So it's just nice to see what people created for the event.

00:20:28.989 --> 00:20:42.949
KATIE: But I think what was the most interesting thing for me, which I haven't done in London, what people were doing with them on making their own badges or stickers for the Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025.

00:20:42.949 --> 00:20:44.529
KATIE: And they were exchanging it.

00:20:44.529 --> 00:20:58.469
KATIE: So I came back with a bag full of stuff because I had some stickers I was giving to people and I had a load of cool like Star Wars Celebration with, again, with either Blossom or the Samurais on it.

00:20:58.469 --> 00:21:01.969
KATIE: Or if the people got so creative, it was fantastic to see.

00:21:01.969 --> 00:21:10.149
KATIE: So it was just nice to see people coming together, obviously for the last Star Wars, but also people getting creative for it.

00:21:10.149 --> 00:21:17.469
KATIE: And some people were, like I said, they were giving free stickers, free badges, free pins or free little art prints.

00:21:17.469 --> 00:21:21.429
KATIE: You know, it was just great to see what, yeah.

00:21:21.429 --> 00:21:23.269
KATIE: People just did it because they wanted to.

00:21:23.269 --> 00:21:25.429
KATIE: They didn't do it for money or what.

00:21:25.429 --> 00:21:29.849
KATIE: It was just great to see the fans doing all this cool stuff for the event.

00:21:29.849 --> 00:21:30.689
KATIE: So yeah, it was just-

00:21:30.689 --> 00:21:32.209
VIRGINIA: A sense of community.

00:21:32.209 --> 00:21:33.469
KATIE: Yeah, absolutely.

00:21:34.209 --> 00:21:34.909
KATIE: Fantastic.

00:21:34.949 --> 00:21:36.429
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

00:21:36.429 --> 00:21:40.449
VIRGINIA: Did you wear anything special for this exhibition?

00:21:40.449 --> 00:21:45.269
VIRGINIA: Because I know that when I've been to things like Comic Con, people go crazy with their outfits.

00:21:45.269 --> 00:21:49.229
VIRGINIA: I'm sure that you probably saw some amazing things too.

00:21:49.229 --> 00:21:56.929
KATIE: We did see a lot of great cosplayers, people dressed up, those people dressed as Palpatine, Stormtroopers.

00:21:58.269 --> 00:22:02.969
KATIE: I did end up wearing a cosplay, so I don't often go all out.

00:22:03.109 --> 00:22:08.269
KATIE: I tend to wear more like Star Wars merch, like clothes, t-shirts, et cetera.

00:22:08.269 --> 00:22:12.749
KATIE: But I was like, we're traveling 14 hours, it's a big event, you know.

00:22:12.749 --> 00:22:21.089
KATIE: So this time I decided to dress up, and I went for the Ahsoka TV series version of Sabine Wren.

00:22:21.089 --> 00:22:27.829
KATIE: So Sabine Wren is the rebels character, and they all came from the cartoons, and I absolutely fell in love with the rebels.

00:22:27.829 --> 00:22:34.409
KATIE: And then when she appeared in Ahsoka Season One, I was like, I had to do it.

00:22:34.409 --> 00:22:38.529
KATIE: So I went all out, I had the hair, so I went for the purple wig.

00:22:38.529 --> 00:22:45.169
KATIE: I had, I bought a jacket, and I ordered from Etsy her badges.

00:22:45.169 --> 00:22:46.449
KATIE: So I ironed them on.

00:22:46.449 --> 00:22:50.249
KATIE: They came all the way from California, because in UK, you couldn't buy the badges.

00:22:50.249 --> 00:22:53.749
KATIE: So it came all the way from California, so I brought the badges for it.

00:22:53.749 --> 00:22:58.809
KATIE: I've got like, like a top that she wore in the film, a pair of cargo trousers.

00:23:00.409 --> 00:23:06.169
KATIE: And when I met my friend at Star Wars Celebration, she actually didn't recognize me, because I was blonde.

00:23:06.169 --> 00:23:11.329
KATIE: And then she's like, oh my god, I was looking at the outfit, I didn't even recognize you.

00:23:11.329 --> 00:23:13.149
KATIE: But yes, so I went all out.

00:23:13.149 --> 00:23:20.449
KATIE: I did the hair, I did the outfit, and then my friend that I met out there, she went as Ahsoka from the Ahsoka series.

00:23:20.449 --> 00:23:25.589
KATIE: So we did, we meet, we agreed to do it on Friday, so we could take some cool pictures together.

00:23:25.589 --> 00:23:26.849
KATIE: And it was just fantastic.

00:23:27.909 --> 00:23:30.749
KATIE: The two friends reunited in the galaxy far away.

00:23:30.749 --> 00:23:32.349
KATIE: That was just awesome.

00:23:32.349 --> 00:23:47.949
KATIE: So yeah, I'm glad I did it, and people knew who I was, and because they saw my outfit, I was gifted a lot of the stickers or the badges with either Sabine on it or the lost cat or the Chopper Droid because I had the Chopper backpack.

00:23:47.969 --> 00:23:48.829
KATIE: And it was just great.

00:23:48.829 --> 00:23:50.129
KATIE: So I absolutely loved it.

00:23:50.249 --> 00:23:51.749
VIRGINIA: It was so great.

00:23:51.749 --> 00:23:52.669
VIRGINIA: That's so fun.

00:23:52.669 --> 00:23:53.049
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:23:53.049 --> 00:23:56.889
VIRGINIA: What time did you stay at the exhibition until?

00:23:56.889 --> 00:24:04.489
VIRGINIA: Did you make your way back to your hotel for dinner or were you there until the late hours?

00:24:04.489 --> 00:24:09.389
KATIE: So the exhibition finished at 6 p.m.

00:24:09.389 --> 00:24:14.049
KATIE: I think, I mean, to be honest, the first day was a bit of a blur.

00:24:14.049 --> 00:24:22.149
KATIE: We finished about the end time because we wanted to make the most of it because again, we travel all this way to experience it.

00:24:22.149 --> 00:24:24.549
KATIE: So we've stayed pretty much till the end.

00:24:24.549 --> 00:24:27.009
KATIE: We finished at the exhibition about 6.

00:24:27.009 --> 00:24:36.089
KATIE: And so what we did, and so we picked up some lunch prior to that because in the exhibition didn't look there was much food options for us.

00:24:36.089 --> 00:24:41.849
KATIE: But outside they had a lot of food vans, food trucks with various food options.

00:24:41.849 --> 00:24:48.009
KATIE: So you could buy burger, you can buy some barbecue chicken, some stir-fry noodles, et cetera.

00:24:48.009 --> 00:24:49.449
KATIE: So there was quite a bit of option.

00:24:50.009 --> 00:24:56.569
KATIE: So there was food, there was alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, bubble tea, coffee, and they had some tables outside.

00:24:56.569 --> 00:25:01.409
KATIE: So what people did, they just went out either during the day or the evening to have some food.

00:25:01.409 --> 00:25:11.089
KATIE: So we finished the event about 6, and we decided to have food there because the travel back would have been busy, because everybody would have been leaving.

00:25:11.089 --> 00:25:14.249
KATIE: And if people were heading back to Turkey, the trains would have been a little bit too busy.

00:25:14.369 --> 00:25:16.989
VIRGINIA: Let it calm down a little before you actually get up.

00:25:16.989 --> 00:25:18.649
KATIE: So we decided to have some food.

00:25:18.749 --> 00:25:23.209
KATIE: We had some food from the truck, had some drinks, just sat down for a bit.

00:25:23.209 --> 00:25:26.969
KATIE: And it wasn't cold, the weather was quite nice, it was just right.

00:25:26.969 --> 00:25:33.509
KATIE: And we just sat out there enjoying ourselves, just soaking it all in thinking, oh my god, what has just happened?

00:25:33.509 --> 00:25:35.529
KATIE: We've been here all day, it's just been fantastic.

00:25:35.529 --> 00:25:43.209
KATIE: So yeah, just talking about what happened throughout the day, making sure we haven't lost anything throughout the day with all the shopping bags we had.

00:25:43.389 --> 00:25:51.509
KATIE: So yeah, so we just had a little bit of a chill moment, just relaxed and then had some food and then yeah, got the train back, which was quite nice.

00:25:51.509 --> 00:26:02.129
KATIE: Because like I said, with our travel card, it's a straight direct train from the event to Tokyo Station, which was quite easy, about half an hour on the train.

00:26:02.129 --> 00:26:04.249
KATIE: So it wasn't too bad of a journey either way.

00:26:04.249 --> 00:26:09.129
KATIE: So yeah, so we just having like a relaxing evening after.

00:26:09.129 --> 00:26:09.509
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:26:09.509 --> 00:26:18.369
VIRGINIA: And then you had Saturday, April 19th, you had a day to kind of explore Tokyo in between your first and your second day of the exhibition.

00:26:18.369 --> 00:26:21.289
VIRGINIA: So what did you end up seeing on that Saturday?

00:26:21.289 --> 00:26:26.869
KATIE: So what we wanted to do is because we wanted to see Mount Fuji.

00:26:26.869 --> 00:26:37.929
KATIE: However, traveling out for the day for the for the guided tour was a bit too much because it's a full on day and you only get to see one thing.

00:26:37.929 --> 00:26:52.589
KATIE: And we've done a bit of a research and they did say that if you have a dry clear day, you can see it from the Tokyo Skytree because it's similar to the Eiffel Tower, like a viewpoint.

00:26:52.589 --> 00:26:56.109
KATIE: So we thought, well, it was £12 per person.

00:26:56.109 --> 00:27:02.909
KATIE: Let's book it if the weather is good because obviously you don't know when you book it, how the day is going to go.

00:27:02.909 --> 00:27:07.949
KATIE: And then what we're going to do, we're going to do the sky tower and they do a bit of exploring.

00:27:08.789 --> 00:27:14.189
KATIE: It was a clear dry day, but it was so hot, it was smoky, so you couldn't see far out.

00:27:14.189 --> 00:27:17.469
KATIE: So we were unfortunately not able to see that.

00:27:17.469 --> 00:27:25.509
KATIE: But you still had a nice view of Tokyo, so you could see go around, have like a 360 degree view of Tokyo, which was fantastic as well.

00:27:25.509 --> 00:27:28.989
KATIE: I mean, you know, you hope for the best, but we still had nice time.

00:27:28.989 --> 00:27:29.869
KATIE: We had nice views.

00:27:29.869 --> 00:27:35.269
KATIE: So we did the Tokyo Skytree and they also, again, they had nice little shopping area around.

00:27:35.269 --> 00:27:40.309
KATIE: My husband loves Pokemon, so we found a Pokemon Center there.

00:27:40.309 --> 00:27:43.889
KATIE: And he was just buying all the Japan exclusive Pokemon cars.

00:27:43.889 --> 00:27:46.189
KATIE: He was in Yuz element, so we just left him to it.

00:27:46.189 --> 00:27:47.709
KATIE: We just left him to it.

00:27:47.709 --> 00:27:49.189
KATIE: That's why you just carry on.

00:27:49.189 --> 00:27:50.509
KATIE: We just wait out here for a minute.

00:27:50.509 --> 00:27:51.329
KATIE: That's fine.

00:27:51.329 --> 00:27:52.689
KATIE: So yeah, he was he was loving it.

00:27:52.689 --> 00:28:00.349
KATIE: So we did a bit of shopping around there and not far from that, they had like a nice little temple which we wanted to see.

00:28:00.349 --> 00:28:04.249
KATIE: And we were like, well, it's a walking distance from where we were.

00:28:04.249 --> 00:28:06.469
KATIE: So why don't we just go and see while we're here?

00:28:07.069 --> 00:28:16.869
KATIE: So we took a short walk from the Skytree and we ended up going to the Meiji Shrine.

00:28:16.869 --> 00:28:18.709
KATIE: It's like a little temple.

00:28:18.709 --> 00:28:19.309
KATIE: So we did.

00:28:19.309 --> 00:28:19.549
KATIE: Yeah.

00:28:19.549 --> 00:28:23.569
KATIE: So we did a little walk from the Skytree there.

00:28:23.569 --> 00:28:30.129
KATIE: Again, because all the shrines and temples in Japan get a little bit busy with tourists, with local people.

00:28:30.189 --> 00:28:31.849
KATIE: We just didn't rush it.

00:28:31.849 --> 00:28:34.849
KATIE: If there was too many people about, we just kind of minded our own business.

00:28:34.849 --> 00:28:36.509
KATIE: Because again, we just wanted to see.

00:28:36.509 --> 00:28:41.929
KATIE: We weren't worried if we didn't get to go in because it can get a bit busy.

00:28:41.929 --> 00:28:44.749
KATIE: And it's just, yeah, it was just a bit, we're not too religious.

00:28:44.749 --> 00:28:48.669
KATIE: So we weren't very concerned about having to go into the temples.

00:28:48.669 --> 00:28:54.049
KATIE: I think it was just about seeing them learning the history.

00:28:54.049 --> 00:28:58.409
KATIE: And it was nice to go to that place because I, I suppose maybe it was the weekend.

00:28:58.949 --> 00:29:04.769
KATIE: You had all the girls dressed in the traditional outfits with little flowers in their heads, with the shoes and the bag.

00:29:04.769 --> 00:29:07.149
KATIE: It was just nice to see them walking around.

00:29:07.149 --> 00:29:11.509
KATIE: But like, if I thought I was taking a lot of pictures, those girls, they were professionals.

00:29:11.509 --> 00:29:20.789
KATIE: They were like out there posing for nice pictures, you know, because it's just the outfits, the colors, and they had like flowers in their hair, all the hair, the makeup, flawless.

00:29:20.849 --> 00:29:23.689
KATIE: I was like, oh my god, like, they were going all out.

00:29:23.689 --> 00:29:26.429
KATIE: And I think they were just, you know, having a nice day.

00:29:26.429 --> 00:29:29.869
KATIE: And yes, so we did the temple and the shrine.

00:29:29.869 --> 00:29:36.329
KATIE: And then while we were walking through little gardens around it, this local gentleman came up to us.

00:29:36.329 --> 00:29:39.429
KATIE: He took us to a little side shrine, like a little one.

00:29:39.429 --> 00:29:41.109
KATIE: He said, this is how you pray.

00:29:41.109 --> 00:29:42.649
KATIE: So he showed us how to pray.

00:29:42.649 --> 00:29:44.909
KATIE: He said, just if you do this, this is what's going to happen.

00:29:44.909 --> 00:29:46.049
KATIE: Then you're going to have some money.

00:29:46.049 --> 00:29:46.889
KATIE: There's this temple.

00:29:46.889 --> 00:29:50.909
KATIE: If you go and pray in that temple, you come home and you're going to have wealth.

00:29:50.909 --> 00:29:52.349
KATIE: If you're going to go to this.

00:29:52.349 --> 00:29:54.929
KATIE: He was telling us all about it.

00:29:54.929 --> 00:30:01.529
KATIE: Then he showed us this pond that had koi fish with like a bright blue and orange colors, which was very nice.

00:30:01.529 --> 00:30:03.529
KATIE: So we didn't have to come and tell us any of this.

00:30:03.529 --> 00:30:09.349
KATIE: We were just walking around, but he was just very friendly and very nice to tell us all about it.

00:30:09.349 --> 00:30:12.129
KATIE: So we had a little bit of a nice time there.

00:30:12.129 --> 00:30:23.389
KATIE: And then we just, you know, walked around and then we decided to go get some lunch because it was about lunchtime and we were getting a little bit hungry.

00:30:23.389 --> 00:30:28.389
KATIE: And we were recommended to go to this fluffy pancake place.

00:30:29.629 --> 00:30:34.209
KATIE: When I did the research before, it said they were going to open at 8.30 in the morning.

00:30:34.209 --> 00:30:37.849
KATIE: So I was like, fantastic, we'll do the pancakes, then we'll do the Skytree.

00:30:37.849 --> 00:30:44.689
KATIE: Unfortunately, whether I did my research wrong, or they changed their opening time, they actually opened at 10.

00:30:45.249 --> 00:30:51.309
KATIE: So we would have missed the breakfast lot, or we couldn't have gone to the Skytree.

00:30:51.309 --> 00:30:55.449
KATIE: So we thought, we'll do the Skytree first, and then we'll eat the pancakes.

00:30:55.449 --> 00:31:05.809
KATIE: Places still got the pancakes, because they said, because how busy they are, and how popular, normally within a couple of hours, they just sold out, because they don't like, once they're sold, say they're sold.

00:31:05.809 --> 00:31:09.089
KATIE: We said, well, we'll take a chance, and we can go and try it.

00:31:09.089 --> 00:31:13.029
KATIE: And yet, unfortunately, by the time we got there, they were sold out for the day.

00:31:13.329 --> 00:31:14.149
KATIE: So, it's okay.

00:31:14.149 --> 00:31:18.769
VIRGINIA: Are these traditional style pancakes, or is it something special?

00:31:18.769 --> 00:31:23.409
KATIE: It is the way they make them, because they, and there's actually a restaurant in London that does it.

00:31:23.409 --> 00:31:33.009
KATIE: Whatever they put on it, they do like a breakfast form with eggs and bacon, et cetera, or they can do the sweet ones, but it's how they make them, it's the texture of the pancake.

00:31:33.009 --> 00:31:37.489
KATIE: So they are quite thick, and very bouncy, very fluffy.

00:31:37.489 --> 00:31:42.069
KATIE: So they do a stack of them, and then they just put stuff on top or around it.

00:31:42.529 --> 00:31:46.969
KATIE: It's how they make them, so it's what they put in the mix to make the pancake.

00:31:46.969 --> 00:31:51.289
VIRGINIA: I think we have a place like that in New York City too, because I just recently heard somebody talking about it.

00:31:51.289 --> 00:31:53.789
KATIE: Well, we have one.

00:31:53.789 --> 00:31:59.869
KATIE: Yeah, it looks good, and everybody I've seen a lot of Instagram stories and posts about it.

00:31:59.869 --> 00:32:03.449
KATIE: My cousin lived in Japan for two years, so she said you have to try.

00:32:03.449 --> 00:32:09.889
KATIE: But because it's a bit out of Tokyo, we thought we'll do on the way when we do everything else around that area.

00:32:10.709 --> 00:32:15.109
KATIE: As much as I'd love to try Panky's, I wouldn't want to travel just for Panky's.

00:32:15.109 --> 00:32:19.389
KATIE: There's so many other different food places you want to try.

00:32:19.389 --> 00:32:24.049
KATIE: So we thought, but yeah, unfortunately, by the time we got there, it was sold out.

00:32:24.049 --> 00:32:27.929
KATIE: So we found this little food place.

00:32:27.969 --> 00:32:39.609
KATIE: They're made similar to poh sandwiches, like a soft bun with whatever different flavors and meats inside.

00:32:39.609 --> 00:32:43.889
KATIE: It's basically a Japanese version of a sandwich or burger.

00:32:43.889 --> 00:32:46.629
KATIE: They did their own twists on it.

00:32:46.629 --> 00:32:50.489
KATIE: It was a small shop, didn't look like a chain or anything.

00:32:50.489 --> 00:32:52.229
KATIE: We just ended up going in there.

00:32:52.369 --> 00:32:54.349
KATIE: To be honest, I was in heaven.

00:32:54.349 --> 00:33:00.549
KATIE: I mean, the whole trip, I was in heaven for food, no matter what I bought, no matter what I picked, it was fantastic.

00:33:00.549 --> 00:33:01.749
KATIE: It couldn't go wrong.

00:33:01.749 --> 00:33:05.049
KATIE: Their flavors, their texture, everything was fresh.

00:33:05.049 --> 00:33:07.049
KATIE: So yeah, so the sandwiches were really, really good.

00:33:07.069 --> 00:33:18.889
KATIE: I think we, as a whole in Japan for food, we haven't paid more than 10 pound, 12 pound for food with alcoholic drink even included.

00:33:18.889 --> 00:33:28.489
KATIE: It was such a great way to try so many different things because sometimes as you go and food is so expensive, you want to try anything.

00:33:28.489 --> 00:33:30.229
KATIE: My God, but I don't want to pay the money.

00:33:30.229 --> 00:33:37.489
KATIE: We had all the fresh stuff, we had fish and a lot of different seafood, meat, chicken.

00:33:37.489 --> 00:33:39.289
KATIE: It was all very fresh and very good.

00:33:39.289 --> 00:33:41.369
KATIE: So yeah, so that sandwich shop was really nice.

00:33:41.369 --> 00:33:46.249
KATIE: We just sat down because it had some nice tables outside and just people watching.

00:33:46.249 --> 00:33:47.829
KATIE: And that's the only country I've been to.

00:33:47.829 --> 00:33:52.089
KATIE: I've been to Amsterdam, which is very popular for cyclists.

00:33:52.089 --> 00:33:57.829
KATIE: But Japan was the first country I went where they actually have seen parking for bicycles.

00:33:57.829 --> 00:33:59.889
KATIE: I have never seen parking for bicycles.

00:33:59.889 --> 00:34:02.409
KATIE: And you could see there was actually a traffic warden.

00:34:02.409 --> 00:34:06.289
KATIE: If the bike was parked at too long, they would come in and give you a ticket.

00:34:06.289 --> 00:34:10.189
KATIE: And I was like, they're very strict.

00:34:10.189 --> 00:34:13.909
KATIE: So I didn't realize how strict they were until we actually have seen it.

00:34:13.909 --> 00:34:24.529
KATIE: So yeah, so that was very, very strange experience on that day to watch somebody to come and give a ticket for a bike.

00:34:25.769 --> 00:34:28.569
KATIE: So, but yeah, so we'll receive.

00:34:28.569 --> 00:34:30.709
KATIE: So we've done the SkyTree in the morning.

00:34:30.709 --> 00:34:37.629
KATIE: We had our reservation for 10 o'clock in the morning, because they, if we do it in the morning, then we have the whole day.

00:34:37.629 --> 00:34:38.649
KATIE: It's not too early.

00:34:38.649 --> 00:34:42.729
KATIE: Give us time to have a little eye, get the train.

00:34:42.729 --> 00:34:49.689
KATIE: So then we did, so we have done the SkyTree, the Temple, and then just wandered around the shops.

00:34:49.769 --> 00:34:56.389
KATIE: They had some lunch, and then we made our way to the area called Akihabara.

00:34:56.389 --> 00:35:08.209
KATIE: So Akihabara is very famous and very well known in Japan for like a gadget area, so that you have a lot of shops that sell gadgets.

00:35:08.209 --> 00:35:14.089
KATIE: They're also very famous for the anime, and my husband Adam collects Gundam robots.

00:35:14.089 --> 00:35:17.629
KATIE: So you basically buy a box and you build it yourself.

00:35:17.709 --> 00:35:23.469
KATIE: You cut the bits out and you stick them together, and it's very, very popular in Japan.

00:35:23.469 --> 00:35:41.149
KATIE: So we then made our way to Akihabara because we wanted to see what they have, price wise, because when we did research for the Gundam from London in Japan, Sam Phipps has one allowing you to see the prices, so we just wanted to see what it's like because he wanted to buy some.

00:35:41.149 --> 00:35:45.009
KATIE: He had an empty suitcase just for them, so he came prepared.

00:35:45.029 --> 00:35:45.989
VIRGINIA: He was ready.

00:35:46.629 --> 00:35:52.449
KATIE: He was ready and yeah, it was very different again.

00:35:52.689 --> 00:36:01.509
KATIE: It's a different, a lot of the things in Japan is arcades, vending machines, all these little bubble machines with little toys.

00:36:01.509 --> 00:36:13.369
KATIE: They sell it everywhere you turn there, it was on the next level because if you see them in Japan, you go to Akihabara because it's all very busy and they're trying to get people in and out as quick as they can.

00:36:13.929 --> 00:36:17.829
KATIE: A lot of it is the vending machines and the arcade machines.

00:36:17.829 --> 00:36:31.309
KATIE: But no, it was very good to see because there's a lot of shops that do, again, anime, Pokemon, all the gads, so my husband likes to play all the vintage console games, so there's a lot of things for things like that.

00:36:31.309 --> 00:36:37.489
KATIE: You can buy controllers, you can buy spare batteries or any accessories.

00:36:37.489 --> 00:36:44.329
KATIE: It was just nice to see a different variation of different stuff that we can't even buy in London.

00:36:44.329 --> 00:36:48.029
KATIE: There's so many things that they have out there that we don't even have here.

00:36:48.029 --> 00:36:55.889
KATIE: And some of the stuff, my husband obviously knows better than me, but he's like some of the stuff that he was able to buy in Japan.

00:36:55.889 --> 00:37:01.849
KATIE: A, he wouldn't be able to buy here, and B, the price difference is absolutely crazy.

00:37:01.849 --> 00:37:04.729
KATIE: It's half the price to what we would pay here.

00:37:04.729 --> 00:37:12.309
KATIE: And he ended up buying, I think, two or three London sets, which were half the price to what we would pay in London.

00:37:12.309 --> 00:37:16.929
KATIE: And he was very happy with himself, because he's like, oh, I'll pay in my suitcase.

00:37:16.929 --> 00:37:19.749
KATIE: I mean, little did I know he was going to buy more for the rest of the trip.

00:37:19.749 --> 00:37:22.429
KATIE: It was only the beginning, but no, it was just great.

00:37:22.429 --> 00:37:23.149
KATIE: And I think-

00:37:23.149 --> 00:37:28.249
VIRGINIA: Wait, were any other additional suitcases purchased on this trip?

00:37:28.949 --> 00:37:45.389
KATIE: We didn't end up buying any, which was surprising, but we ended up having, so we ended up putting stuff in Ryan's suitcase, because he had pretty much one suitcase full with Gundam boxes, and some of them are big.

00:37:45.389 --> 00:37:47.929
KATIE: They don't weigh much, but they are just big.

00:37:47.929 --> 00:37:49.389
VIRGINIA: They just take up a lot of space.

00:37:49.389 --> 00:37:54.309
KATIE: They come in big sheets, which you cut off, so it's like it's big, but it doesn't weigh much.

00:37:54.309 --> 00:37:56.289
KATIE: So we ended up putting stuff in Ryan's bag.

00:37:56.289 --> 00:38:03.209
KATIE: Then we had extra bag in hand, and to be honest, we were very lucky, because Richie Sherwood didn't even look what we had in our bags.

00:38:03.209 --> 00:38:05.369
KATIE: We just went through, they didn't even care.

00:38:05.409 --> 00:38:06.709
KATIE: We were like, okay, fantastic.

00:38:06.709 --> 00:38:09.829
KATIE: We're selling airlines, I think they're a bit more stricter.

00:38:09.829 --> 00:38:10.589
KATIE: They didn't even bother.

00:38:10.589 --> 00:38:17.509
KATIE: We bought, my husband and our boy in two more sets of Gundam at the airport, and we carried out through and they did not even look.

00:38:17.509 --> 00:38:18.569
KATIE: They did not even look.

00:38:18.769 --> 00:38:20.009
VIRGINIA: That was lucky.

00:38:20.009 --> 00:38:20.309
KATIE: Yeah.

00:38:20.309 --> 00:38:24.309
KATIE: No, I was like, oh my God, oh my God, please don't look at us.

00:38:24.789 --> 00:38:25.989
KATIE: It's not us.

00:38:25.989 --> 00:38:32.829
KATIE: It was really different because I'm not very much into gadgets and stuff, but it was just nice to see the variations.

00:38:32.889 --> 00:38:45.409
KATIE: It's just like, I think it was, like I said, it's more the fact that a lot of places had like the vending machines and the arcade machines, and a lot of people go around and try and win the toys and try and win this.

00:38:45.409 --> 00:38:57.709
KATIE: It's just we don't have that many in London, so that's why for me it was very different to see what, like, you know, it was so full on with these sort of places.

00:38:57.709 --> 00:38:59.109
KATIE: But no, it was just, it's just cool.

00:38:59.109 --> 00:38:59.829
KATIE: It's just different.

00:38:59.829 --> 00:39:04.609
KATIE: It's just different set out and different ways of how people do things.

00:39:04.609 --> 00:39:06.249
KATIE: So it was just interesting for me.

00:39:07.069 --> 00:39:17.929
KATIE: I didn't go by and stuff because it's not something that is for me, but it was just cool to see because my husband and Ryan, they loved it, so they were just walking around the shops and like kids in the candy shop.

00:39:17.929 --> 00:39:18.809
KATIE: Oh my God, look at this.

00:39:18.989 --> 00:39:23.189
KATIE: I'm like, I don't even know what that is, but I was just tagging along, so it's fine.

00:39:23.189 --> 00:39:30.729
KATIE: But again, the purpose of the trip was for everybody to do something what they wanted to do, which is what we tried to achieve.

00:39:31.869 --> 00:39:35.629
KATIE: I think that was something for the boys, and I was just like, yeah, I'm here.

00:39:35.629 --> 00:39:36.289
KATIE: I'm still here.

00:39:36.289 --> 00:39:36.749
KATIE: Don't worry.

00:39:36.749 --> 00:39:37.529
KATIE: I'm not going anywhere.

00:39:37.529 --> 00:39:38.309
KATIE: I'm still here.

00:39:39.429 --> 00:39:40.129
KATIE: So that was great.

00:39:40.129 --> 00:39:42.489
VIRGINIA: So there's plenty for you to look at.

00:39:42.489 --> 00:39:43.289
KATIE: Absolutely.

00:39:43.289 --> 00:39:43.969
KATIE: Absolutely.

00:39:44.849 --> 00:39:45.349
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:39:45.349 --> 00:39:49.409
VIRGINIA: So was there anything else that day, or are we okay to move on?

00:39:49.929 --> 00:39:54.169
KATIE: I think, yeah, Saturday was just, yeah, we did sightseeing, shopping, et cetera.

00:39:54.169 --> 00:40:02.949
KATIE: But again, we tried to get back relatively early because we wanted to be able to relax and rest for the Sunday.

00:40:02.949 --> 00:40:14.169
KATIE: We came back, and I think what we did on a Saturday, we wanted to go to a sushi restaurant that I again, I found online, and a lot of people have recommended.

00:40:15.229 --> 00:40:17.089
KATIE: And it was a walking distance from the hotel.

00:40:17.089 --> 00:40:22.149
KATIE: We could have got the metro, but we thought it was a nice warm evening, so we decided to take a walk.

00:40:22.149 --> 00:40:24.949
KATIE: And it was about 10, 15 minute walk.

00:40:24.949 --> 00:40:33.829
KATIE: It was again inside of the shopping centre, which is quite a lot of places had there, like it's literally all together, restaurant shops, everything together.

00:40:33.829 --> 00:40:41.949
KATIE: Unfortunately, when we got there, the wait time for sit down dinner was 240 minutes.

00:40:41.949 --> 00:40:43.989
KATIE: And I was only prepared to wait for four hours.

00:40:43.989 --> 00:40:45.009
KATIE: I was like, what?

00:40:45.009 --> 00:40:47.049
KATIE: And it was already like eight o'clock in the evening.

00:40:47.049 --> 00:40:49.089
KATIE: I'm like, who's going to wait for four hours?

00:40:49.089 --> 00:40:57.589
KATIE: I'm like, so because they had like a little food court, we went around the corner and there was a dim sum place that had a set menu.

00:40:58.149 --> 00:41:05.909
KATIE: You could do, I think, five dishes for like one thousand yen, which is like five, six pound.

00:41:05.909 --> 00:41:10.389
KATIE: And obviously, they do like all you can eat for like 15 pound.

00:41:10.389 --> 00:41:11.809
KATIE: I was like, well, I can't eat that much.

00:41:11.809 --> 00:41:13.949
KATIE: I love it, but like I couldn't eat that much.

00:41:13.969 --> 00:41:16.789
KATIE: So and their waiting time was about 10, 15 minutes.

00:41:16.789 --> 00:41:19.669
KATIE: So we ended up going there.

00:41:19.669 --> 00:41:25.729
KATIE: And it was my first experience of being served my dinner by a robot because they have no human serving food.

00:41:25.729 --> 00:41:30.029
KATIE: They load it on the little robot, a little kitty cat robot brings you your food.

00:41:30.029 --> 00:41:31.769
VIRGINIA: You take it off and it goes off.

00:41:31.769 --> 00:41:32.369
KATIE: It was quite cool.

00:41:32.369 --> 00:41:33.629
KATIE: It was very fascinating.

00:41:33.629 --> 00:41:36.549
KATIE: So yes, we ended up having dinner there.

00:41:36.549 --> 00:41:40.109
KATIE: Again, just went back to took a slow walk back.

00:41:40.109 --> 00:41:41.089
KATIE: And that was it.

00:41:41.089 --> 00:41:43.509
KATIE: I think that we had enough excitement for one day.

00:41:43.509 --> 00:41:47.609
KATIE: I think we just, again, overwhelming using the underground.

00:41:47.609 --> 00:41:51.109
KATIE: Very new experience for us is, you know, just trying to work it out.

00:41:51.229 --> 00:41:57.169
KATIE: It is quite straightforward when you work it out, but until you do, can get a bit confusing, so.

00:41:57.169 --> 00:41:57.569
VIRGINIA: Right.

00:41:57.569 --> 00:42:00.389
KATIE: But yeah, no, I think that was it for the day.

00:42:00.389 --> 00:42:01.009
VIRGINIA: Okay.

00:42:01.009 --> 00:42:01.369
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:42:01.369 --> 00:42:04.389
VIRGINIA: Well, Sunday, April 20th, you were back to the exhibition.

00:42:04.389 --> 00:42:13.729
VIRGINIA: So I imagine it was a lot of the same that you did the first day, with the exception of I know you had an appointment to get a photo taken with Hayden Christensen.

00:42:13.729 --> 00:42:14.349
KATIE: Yes, we did.

00:42:14.349 --> 00:42:15.389
VIRGINIA: So how was that?

00:42:15.389 --> 00:42:17.589
VIRGINIA: Because I did a photo experience.

00:42:17.589 --> 00:42:19.969
VIRGINIA: I'm looking at it right now because I'm in Alex's room.

00:42:20.749 --> 00:42:25.869
VIRGINIA: And we paid for a photo with some of the members of the Guardians of the Galaxy.

00:42:25.869 --> 00:42:28.109
VIRGINIA: And it was so fast.

00:42:28.109 --> 00:42:33.549
VIRGINIA: It was like, get in, smile, take the photo, get out.

00:42:33.549 --> 00:42:34.309
VIRGINIA: It was really fast.

00:42:34.309 --> 00:42:38.769
VIRGINIA: I mean, they were nice in the 30 seconds we had with them, but it was really fast.

00:42:38.769 --> 00:42:40.809
VIRGINIA: So what was your experience like?

00:42:43.009 --> 00:42:45.629
KATIE: So, I mean, okay, where do I begin?

00:42:47.169 --> 00:42:50.729
KATIE: The actual experience of meeting Heijin Greshanshu was great.

00:42:50.729 --> 00:42:52.549
KATIE: And I'll get to that in a second.

00:42:52.549 --> 00:42:56.949
KATIE: But anything, everything that happened prior to that was not the best experience.

00:42:56.949 --> 00:43:03.849
KATIE: So there was a lot of talk going around the Star Wars Celebration fans.

00:43:03.849 --> 00:43:10.949
KATIE: So we were given a time slot at 1.30 in the afternoon by local time in Japan.

00:43:10.949 --> 00:43:16.629
KATIE: So we went a little bit earlier saying, can we come early or do we have to come back on time?

00:43:16.629 --> 00:43:21.009
KATIE: It was, I don't speak Japanese and maybe I should have learned a bit.

00:43:21.009 --> 00:43:29.889
KATIE: However, it was an international event and it was very hard to communicate with some staff members that worked at the event.

00:43:29.889 --> 00:43:36.049
KATIE: So they used the translation app and the answer to everything was, we don't know, you're going to have to come back.

00:43:36.049 --> 00:43:37.449
KATIE: And I was like, that's fine.

00:43:37.449 --> 00:43:46.869
KATIE: But can you tell me roughly one hour or two, like what time, because they said we were, they said they were running behind on schedule, I said, that's fine.

00:43:46.869 --> 00:43:48.489
KATIE: But they couldn't tell us the time.

00:43:48.489 --> 00:43:52.789
KATIE: So in the end they said, just come back at 1.30 and we'll see what happens.

00:43:52.789 --> 00:43:57.369
KATIE: So we came back at 1.30 and again, they said, we're running behind.

00:43:57.369 --> 00:43:58.829
KATIE: We don't know how long it's going to be.

00:43:58.929 --> 00:44:00.529
KATIE: I was like, okay then.

00:44:00.529 --> 00:44:08.269
KATIE: Well, I have no choice because if I don't get in the queue, they can't give me the time to come back.

00:44:08.269 --> 00:44:09.089
KATIE: So I made this up.

00:44:09.089 --> 00:44:11.709
KATIE: So we're like, okay, let's get in and see what happens.

00:44:11.709 --> 00:44:14.769
KATIE: So we got in about half past one.

00:44:14.889 --> 00:44:19.609
KATIE: I think it was about, I would say, two half past two.

00:44:19.749 --> 00:44:22.889
KATIE: We could see him walking out his photo booth.

00:44:23.269 --> 00:44:26.849
KATIE: We were like, obviously, he's a human, he needs a break and I completely understand.

00:44:26.969 --> 00:44:29.189
KATIE: It wasn't about, oh, where's he going?

00:44:29.189 --> 00:44:34.789
KATIE: But the frustrating part was he left and there was no communication saying, look, he's having a break, he's going to come back.

00:44:34.789 --> 00:44:37.929
KATIE: Nobody came out to tell us what was going on.

00:44:37.929 --> 00:44:40.349
KATIE: Half an hour later, no update.

00:44:40.349 --> 00:44:42.209
KATIE: And then we see him going.

00:44:42.209 --> 00:44:52.229
KATIE: So what they did on the all the days of the event, they had Hayden Christensen solo photo, Rosario Doulson who played the solo photo.

00:44:52.229 --> 00:44:55.169
KATIE: And then they did a duo for both of them.

00:44:55.169 --> 00:44:59.629
KATIE: And he went to do a duo photo after he left us.

00:44:59.629 --> 00:45:01.709
KATIE: And people like, what's happening?

00:45:01.709 --> 00:45:02.809
KATIE: What's going on?

00:45:02.809 --> 00:45:05.389
KATIE: Why is he not like, why is he not here?

00:45:05.389 --> 00:45:10.409
KATIE: So they were all taking their photos with him and Rosario Doulson.

00:45:10.409 --> 00:45:12.149
KATIE: We were all waiting and waiting and waiting.

00:45:12.149 --> 00:45:12.969
KATIE: No one's saying anything.

00:45:12.969 --> 00:45:16.189
KATIE: So in the end, I went over and I said, can you tell us what's happening?

00:45:16.189 --> 00:45:26.229
KATIE: Because people are standing here and there was some people with us in the queue, who had a photo up with Hayden Christensen on a Friday.

00:45:26.229 --> 00:45:31.829
KATIE: And they got told, it's not going to happen Friday, come back Sunday.

00:45:31.829 --> 00:45:38.349
KATIE: And people said, well, I don't have ticket for Sunday, what's going to happen because I don't have physical ticket to come to the event.

00:45:38.349 --> 00:45:42.309
KATIE: So we're giving people tickets for the event to come back on Sunday.

00:45:42.309 --> 00:45:46.109
KATIE: And there was quite a few people in the queue with us that were from Friday.

00:45:46.729 --> 00:45:48.789
KATIE: So you can imagine their frustration.

00:45:48.789 --> 00:45:54.569
KATIE: They missed out on Friday and it's getting close and closer to the end because the event on Sunday finished at four.

00:45:54.569 --> 00:45:57.309
KATIE: So they were like, are we actually going to get to do it today?

00:45:57.309 --> 00:45:58.009
KATIE: What's happening?

00:45:58.009 --> 00:46:00.089
KATIE: And the problem was nobody was telling us.

00:46:00.089 --> 00:46:02.909
KATIE: So we were waiting, waiting, waiting.

00:46:02.909 --> 00:46:06.769
KATIE: And I was like, look, I said, you just need to tell us if it's going to happen, if it's not going to happen.

00:46:06.769 --> 00:46:15.009
KATIE: So the last three hours of our time at the event, we ended up waiting in the queue to wait for him to come back.

00:46:15.529 --> 00:46:16.469
KATIE: We missed his closing ceremony.

00:46:16.469 --> 00:46:17.789
VIRGINIA: When you had an appointment.

00:46:17.789 --> 00:46:18.669
KATIE: Yeah, exactly.

00:46:18.669 --> 00:46:23.809
KATIE: We missed the closing ceremony where they announced Los Angeles Star Wars Celebration 2027.

00:46:23.809 --> 00:46:26.589
KATIE: So I had to watch everything on the screen.

00:46:26.589 --> 00:46:30.149
KATIE: I mean, luckily we've purchased everything we wanted to purchase before we went in the queue.

00:46:30.149 --> 00:46:37.409
KATIE: But if you wanted to experience the event, they were giving tickets out or come back, but there was no time.

00:46:37.409 --> 00:46:39.189
KATIE: So it could be half an hour.

00:46:39.189 --> 00:46:40.009
KATIE: It could be an hour.

00:46:40.009 --> 00:46:41.689
KATIE: It could be whatever.

00:46:41.689 --> 00:46:42.969
KATIE: So nobody was telling you this.

00:46:43.069 --> 00:46:46.289
KATIE: They said, give you a ticket, say, OK, come back in half an hour.

00:46:46.289 --> 00:46:46.729
KATIE: That's fine.

00:46:46.729 --> 00:46:52.329
KATIE: But they were not telling people any, not giving any indication, which was a bit frustrating.

00:46:52.329 --> 00:46:54.029
KATIE: So it was getting close to four o'clock.

00:46:54.029 --> 00:46:56.589
KATIE: And obviously the event finished at four.

00:46:56.589 --> 00:46:58.169
KATIE: They've announced that it's finished.

00:46:58.169 --> 00:47:00.529
KATIE: They're closing like I said, please leave the event.

00:47:00.529 --> 00:47:02.249
KATIE: And we're still standing.

00:47:02.249 --> 00:47:04.649
KATIE: And I'm getting to the point thinking it's not going to happen.

00:47:04.649 --> 00:47:06.809
KATIE: They're just going to tell us, look, it's four o'clock.

00:47:06.809 --> 00:47:07.489
KATIE: It's done.

00:47:07.489 --> 00:47:08.469
KATIE: He's not coming back.

00:47:09.129 --> 00:47:15.629
KATIE: But I think he probably had a choice to go home or stay and obviously do the photo.

00:47:15.629 --> 00:47:17.429
KATIE: And he did come back.

00:47:17.429 --> 00:47:17.989
KATIE: Bless him.

00:47:17.989 --> 00:47:22.209
KATIE: I think he was so stressed out because he's a human being.

00:47:22.209 --> 00:47:27.389
KATIE: I feel like he was pulled left, right and centre a bit on the day because he got there at nine.

00:47:27.389 --> 00:47:30.489
KATIE: We got there at nine because we saw him turn up.

00:47:30.489 --> 00:47:32.809
KATIE: So we know what time he got there.

00:47:32.809 --> 00:47:36.769
KATIE: And he's been taking photos, signing autographs or whatever.

00:47:36.869 --> 00:47:38.589
KATIE: He was doing all day long.

00:47:38.589 --> 00:47:42.489
KATIE: So you can imagine how tiring it can be.

00:47:42.489 --> 00:47:44.829
KATIE: So we were getting closer to take the photo.

00:47:44.829 --> 00:47:48.469
KATIE: And it was about four o'clock because the event has closed.

00:47:48.469 --> 00:47:50.389
KATIE: And they said to look, it's very quick.

00:47:50.689 --> 00:47:51.349
KATIE: You can't do this.

00:47:51.349 --> 00:47:51.909
KATIE: You can't do that.

00:47:51.909 --> 00:47:53.009
KATIE: I was like, OK, fair enough.

00:47:53.009 --> 00:47:55.269
KATIE: I said, can I ask for a hug?

00:47:55.269 --> 00:47:57.469
KATIE: The girl was like, well, you can try.

00:47:57.469 --> 00:47:59.329
KATIE: So I walked in.

00:47:59.329 --> 00:48:01.909
KATIE: So my brother, Ryan, went first because he was on his own.

00:48:01.909 --> 00:48:03.289
KATIE: So I said, why don't you go first?

00:48:03.289 --> 00:48:04.909
KATIE: Because at least we're behind you if anything.

00:48:05.089 --> 00:48:07.509
KATIE: We can make sure he's OK.

00:48:07.509 --> 00:48:09.329
KATIE: He went for a handshake.

00:48:09.329 --> 00:48:11.209
KATIE: Wish Hayden Christensen a happy birthday.

00:48:11.209 --> 00:48:13.169
KATIE: He said, thank you very much.

00:48:13.169 --> 00:48:17.849
KATIE: And then before you know it, he was obviously gone because it doesn't take too long.

00:48:18.029 --> 00:48:20.649
KATIE: I offered him a birthday hug and he said yes.

00:48:20.649 --> 00:48:22.009
KATIE: I actually thought I was going to cry.

00:48:22.009 --> 00:48:22.989
KATIE: He was so cute.

00:48:22.989 --> 00:48:26.989
KATIE: He said, I've waited for this for so long, meaning my whole life.

00:48:26.989 --> 00:48:31.089
KATIE: He said, I'm ever so sorry I made you wait based on today.

00:48:31.089 --> 00:48:32.709
KATIE: I was like, it's absolutely fine.

00:48:32.709 --> 00:48:33.249
KATIE: Don't worry.

00:48:33.249 --> 00:48:33.869
KATIE: It's all good.

00:48:34.429 --> 00:48:37.729
KATIE: And in the picture, my smile is so high up.

00:48:37.729 --> 00:48:43.169
KATIE: You cannot like, I came out, I had a hug and I didn't care about the three hours I waited.

00:48:43.169 --> 00:48:44.889
KATIE: It was like, it was worth it.

00:48:44.889 --> 00:48:47.949
KATIE: He was really in the space of time we were there.

00:48:47.949 --> 00:48:49.929
KATIE: He was ever so nice.

00:48:49.929 --> 00:48:52.449
KATIE: Very grateful that we actually waited.

00:48:52.449 --> 00:48:53.749
KATIE: He likes that I had a hug.

00:48:53.749 --> 00:48:55.589
KATIE: My husband had a hand cherry.

00:48:55.729 --> 00:48:59.569
KATIE: It was just, I think because we waited so long, like I'm actually tearing up.

00:48:59.569 --> 00:49:00.229
KATIE: He was so nice.

00:49:02.069 --> 00:49:14.549
KATIE: I actually feel like because we waited so long, he felt that he had to be a bit like, not extra nice, but like give people the opportunity to, you know, to say things, et cetera.

00:49:14.549 --> 00:49:23.289
KATIE: So the wait wasn't right because again, but I don't blame it on him because he can't, he only does what he's told essentially.

00:49:23.289 --> 00:49:28.469
VIRGINIA: It sounds like it was poor organizing and also poor communication on the venues part.

00:49:28.789 --> 00:49:33.749
VIRGINIA: Because like you said, if you have to wait, you have to wait things happen.

00:49:33.749 --> 00:49:39.489
VIRGINIA: But it really does help for somebody to say, hey, I'm so sorry you're waiting.

00:49:39.489 --> 00:49:41.229
VIRGINIA: You know, we think it'll be this long.

00:49:41.229 --> 00:49:47.889
VIRGINIA: Even if it's like not a great estimate, you know, just having something makes you feel like they're acknowledging what you're going through.

00:49:47.889 --> 00:49:48.449
KATIE: Exactly.

00:49:48.449 --> 00:49:49.089
KATIE: And that's the thing.

00:49:49.089 --> 00:49:55.089
KATIE: And that's why I think it was the organization didn't help, but if they would keep us updated.

00:49:55.089 --> 00:49:59.329
KATIE: And I said, even if you give an update every half an hour, so look, we're still waiting to hear back.

00:49:59.329 --> 00:50:00.429
KATIE: He's coming back.

00:50:00.429 --> 00:50:03.289
KATIE: We just don't know 100% maybe because they said half an hour.

00:50:03.289 --> 00:50:05.729
KATIE: You could at least keep people updated.

00:50:05.729 --> 00:50:17.629
KATIE: And my friend that I met at the Star Wars Celebration that came from London as well, her and her friend had an autograph with Hayden Christensen on Sunday.

00:50:17.629 --> 00:50:19.489
KATIE: They got completely canceled.

00:50:19.489 --> 00:50:25.149
KATIE: And the amount of people that got canceled over the whole weekend, because I've heard that from quite a few people throughout the weekend.

00:50:26.809 --> 00:50:37.429
KATIE: Somebody said there was a system crash, because they were allowing people to keep booking photos or signatures when you shouldn't have.

00:50:37.429 --> 00:50:38.729
KATIE: Got it.

00:50:38.869 --> 00:50:44.949
VIRGINIA: So poor organization and just the system letting way too many people sign up for this.

00:50:45.189 --> 00:50:47.929
KATIE: And that's what I heard from people around.

00:50:47.929 --> 00:50:49.869
VIRGINIA: Did your friend get her money back?

00:50:49.869 --> 00:50:53.269
KATIE: They did get their money back, but they got dressed up with all the stuff.

00:50:53.669 --> 00:51:00.249
KATIE: Obviously, Darth Vader, Hayden Christensen, they brought the stuff for him to sign and the only fan there was canceled when they got there.

00:51:00.249 --> 00:51:06.189
KATIE: If they would have said to them the day before, look, we're ever so sorry, we can't do it tomorrow.

00:51:07.049 --> 00:51:08.369
KATIE: You could have prepared yourself.

00:51:08.369 --> 00:51:13.949
KATIE: But that's where I was getting a bit upset because I came prepared to meet him.

00:51:13.949 --> 00:51:16.529
KATIE: I've been here queuing for all this time.

00:51:16.529 --> 00:51:19.529
KATIE: And if they now say, sorry, it's not happening.

00:51:19.529 --> 00:51:20.909
KATIE: Money can't buy it, can it?

00:51:21.629 --> 00:51:31.829
KATIE: Your expectations of meeting the actor or seeing the actor, getting him to sign stuff or taking a photo, you can't, money can't buy that.

00:51:31.829 --> 00:51:33.269
KATIE: Like, yes, you're paying for the photo.

00:51:33.269 --> 00:51:38.569
KATIE: But if they give me a refund, I would still be gutted regardless whether they give me money or not.

00:51:38.569 --> 00:51:44.309
KATIE: And I think that's what it was, is not having that experience with him.

00:51:44.309 --> 00:51:46.189
KATIE: But yeah, I'm glad we did.

00:51:46.249 --> 00:51:51.569
KATIE: I was actually, because I was getting to the point where I was worried they would just say, look, we don't think it's going to happen.

00:51:51.569 --> 00:51:54.089
KATIE: So but yeah, no, I'm glad we did.

00:51:54.089 --> 00:52:00.149
KATIE: It was yeah, it was probably one of the highlights of the trip because he just, it was just so nice, honestly.

00:52:00.149 --> 00:52:06.409
KATIE: And in my opinion, he doesn't get the credit for what he did for Star Wars.

00:52:06.409 --> 00:52:10.349
KATIE: I think he's only now getting the love for his character.

00:52:10.349 --> 00:52:12.669
KATIE: He had so much hatred for years.

00:52:12.669 --> 00:52:13.549
VIRGINIA: I've noticed that.

00:52:13.649 --> 00:52:20.769
VIRGINIA: I've noticed that lately people seem to really be appreciative of him as an actor.

00:52:21.629 --> 00:52:34.469
VIRGINIA: And that particular trilogy that was added on to the original, we know when it first came out, especially those of us who were alive when the first set came out.

00:52:34.669 --> 00:52:38.269
VIRGINIA: I think there was a lot of like, what is this?

00:52:38.269 --> 00:52:47.749
VIRGINIA: And now I've noticed that people are really accepting it as part of the overall Star Wars universe in the same way that they now accept the cartoon.

00:52:47.749 --> 00:52:49.669
VIRGINIA: And there's all these different parts to it.

00:52:49.669 --> 00:52:52.229
VIRGINIA: It's not just the original three movies anymore.

00:52:52.249 --> 00:52:53.289
KATIE: He's more to it now.

00:52:53.289 --> 00:52:53.669
KATIE: Absolutely.

00:52:53.669 --> 00:52:57.109
KATIE: I think that's what it is, is having the recognition.

00:52:57.109 --> 00:53:03.649
KATIE: I think, as I was saying, if he was a few years ago, probably he would have thought the whole day may have been overwhelming.

00:53:03.649 --> 00:53:05.889
KATIE: He may have actually left and gone home.

00:53:06.049 --> 00:53:12.789
KATIE: I think because now, and like I said, the Friday was his birthday, the love and appreciation he had from the fans, singing happy birthday, etc.

00:53:12.789 --> 00:53:18.049
KATIE: I think, yeah, he's, I think he, most people do for the fans.

00:53:18.049 --> 00:53:19.709
KATIE: They don't do it for themselves.

00:53:19.709 --> 00:53:25.589
KATIE: I think it's for the fans because fans are the people that carried any franchise.

00:53:25.589 --> 00:53:28.569
KATIE: Because without the fans, there's going to be nothing, isn't it?

00:53:28.569 --> 00:53:32.709
KATIE: You could make such a fantastic film, but if there's no fans sometimes, isn't it?

00:53:32.709 --> 00:53:34.649
KATIE: So no, it was really, really great.

00:53:34.769 --> 00:53:36.869
KATIE: It was, like I said, it was a long wait.

00:53:36.869 --> 00:53:39.389
KATIE: It was frustrating at the time, but I forgot all that.

00:53:39.389 --> 00:53:42.449
KATIE: As soon as I saw him, it was all gone.

00:53:42.449 --> 00:53:45.409
KATIE: So it was just, yeah, it was nice to get that experience.

00:53:45.869 --> 00:53:48.409
KATIE: I'm so glad we did it.

00:53:48.409 --> 00:53:50.669
KATIE: I really am.

00:53:50.669 --> 00:53:53.969
VIRGINIA: Well, we have a lot more to get through and limited time.

00:53:53.969 --> 00:53:58.009
VIRGINIA: So let's move on to Monday, April 21st.

00:53:58.009 --> 00:54:08.429
VIRGINIA: You were planning to take the bullet train to Kyoto to see a particular shrine you were interested in, but you also were kind of toying around with the idea of going to Osaka that same day.

00:54:08.449 --> 00:54:08.729
KATIE: Yeah.

00:54:08.729 --> 00:54:11.649
VIRGINIA: So how did this day actually pan out?

00:54:11.649 --> 00:54:15.449
KATIE: Well, we actually didn't go to Kyoto Osaka on the Monday.

00:54:15.449 --> 00:54:25.669
KATIE: We decided to stay in Tokyo purely because I think because Sunday we were from the South Federation, we were a bit, I think that weekend was a bit too busy and tiring.

00:54:25.689 --> 00:54:26.489
KATIE: We felt traveling.

00:54:26.489 --> 00:54:27.549
VIRGINIA: We needed a break.

00:54:27.549 --> 00:54:30.689
KATIE: Early on the train would have been a little bit much.

00:54:30.689 --> 00:54:39.369
KATIE: So what we've decided to do, we have decided to stay in Tokyo and do a little bit more of different areas exploring.

00:54:39.369 --> 00:54:44.889
KATIE: So we found another Pokemon Center that my husband wanted to visit.

00:54:44.889 --> 00:54:51.029
KATIE: We found a Godzilla head because it sits on the top of the hotel, which is quite cool.

00:54:51.029 --> 00:54:55.009
KATIE: There was the area that has like a 3D billboards.

00:54:55.809 --> 00:54:59.289
KATIE: So we wanted to do a bit more like just around Tokyo, just to see.

00:54:59.289 --> 00:55:03.829
KATIE: We wanted to go to Shibuya as well, which is where the Tokyo Drift was filmed.

00:55:03.829 --> 00:55:07.129
KATIE: We didn't end up going there because the whole day took a bit longer.

00:55:07.129 --> 00:55:11.169
KATIE: But we did visit Harajuku.

00:55:13.249 --> 00:55:15.789
KATIE: We did go to Disney Store.

00:55:15.789 --> 00:55:18.629
KATIE: We did, it's called Ikebukuro.

00:55:18.809 --> 00:55:21.029
KATIE: I made my pronunciation maybe horrendous.

00:55:21.169 --> 00:55:26.089
KATIE: But what we tried to do, we tried to target the areas that are close by together.

00:55:26.089 --> 00:55:30.809
KATIE: So then we go on the train and we can walk from one another.

00:55:30.809 --> 00:55:34.509
KATIE: It's a short ride from one station to the other.

00:55:34.509 --> 00:55:43.389
KATIE: We tried to do the three areas together because, like I said, we were looking for the Pokemon centers, we were looking for the Disney Store just to see what they had.

00:55:43.389 --> 00:55:49.989
KATIE: Because a lot of the stuff that they sell in London, they don't sell there, and vice-versa, we went to see what other stuff they had.

00:55:49.989 --> 00:55:54.389
KATIE: And a lot of the May the 4th stuff started to come out.

00:55:54.389 --> 00:56:00.769
KATIE: So they had a Disney pop-up, a Disney Store pop-up at the Star Wars Celebration but you couldn't buy anything.

00:56:00.769 --> 00:56:06.549
KATIE: So we thought, oh, well, we see what they had in store, so we want to go see what we can get in the store.

00:56:06.549 --> 00:56:07.269
KATIE: And then we did that.

00:56:07.269 --> 00:56:08.909
KATIE: Yes, we did the Godzilla head.

00:56:08.909 --> 00:56:11.509
KATIE: We just walked around, just had a look.

00:56:11.509 --> 00:56:15.149
KATIE: Just like I said, there's so many things you don't see.

00:56:15.449 --> 00:56:17.989
KATIE: Once you walk down the road, you know, oh, this shop's cute.

00:56:17.989 --> 00:56:20.869
KATIE: You go in there, oh, this shop's nice, and you just start going around.

00:56:20.869 --> 00:56:22.029
KATIE: Then we were on the mission to do this.

00:56:22.029 --> 00:56:24.909
VIRGINIA: It's nice to have that spontaneity element.

00:56:24.909 --> 00:56:34.049
VIRGINIA: You know, you do have to have some sort of planning, especially for a bigger trip like this, but to have spontaneity within the planning, I think is the ideal.

00:56:34.049 --> 00:56:34.849
KATIE: Well, that's what we did.

00:56:34.849 --> 00:56:36.809
KATIE: We tried not to overcrowd.

00:56:36.809 --> 00:56:48.209
KATIE: We had the idea of certain shops that we wanted to visit and we thought we'll give a bit of extra time because again, you don't want to be like, run, run, run, run, run, wear yourself out and then, oh, I want to stop here.

00:56:48.209 --> 00:56:49.729
KATIE: No, we don't have time.

00:56:49.729 --> 00:56:54.509
KATIE: We didn't want to do that exactly because we wanted to experience the local cuisine.

00:56:54.509 --> 00:57:06.969
KATIE: We wanted to experience the local shops, like little souvenir shops that you wouldn't normally find in certain places and different areas have different stuff, different things that are associated with this area.

00:57:07.029 --> 00:57:09.029
KATIE: So we wanted to have a look.

00:57:09.029 --> 00:57:14.129
KATIE: And again, we didn't know how often the trains run because, again, we've never done it before.

00:57:14.129 --> 00:57:17.389
KATIE: Their metro is not something that we were familiar with.

00:57:17.389 --> 00:57:19.909
KATIE: So we wanted to allow a bit of time.

00:57:19.909 --> 00:57:24.889
KATIE: And again, taking to Canada, we had quite warm weather throughout the trip.

00:57:24.889 --> 00:57:26.909
KATIE: Getting a bit hot, you don't want to overdo it.

00:57:26.909 --> 00:57:28.929
KATIE: So we wanted to take it easy.

00:57:28.929 --> 00:57:30.489
KATIE: So yes, we've done all these areas.

00:57:30.489 --> 00:57:35.709
KATIE: We wanted to do Shibuya as the last one because that's been making our way back to Tokyo.

00:57:36.629 --> 00:57:44.989
KATIE: But we ended up stopping in the Disney Store for ages and picking up stuff up and I was like, like I said, again, prices compared to London.

00:57:44.989 --> 00:57:45.829
KATIE: I was in heaven.

00:57:45.829 --> 00:57:48.589
KATIE: I was picking stuff up and paying hardly any money.

00:57:48.589 --> 00:57:57.549
KATIE: And again, so the rule in Japan is that you have to carry your passport with you at all times because you can get stopped by police.

00:57:57.549 --> 00:58:07.409
KATIE: And if you don't have it, you can get fined, I think up to 1200 yen or 12 or they even say you can get actually put in the cell overnight.

00:58:07.409 --> 00:58:08.849
KATIE: We never get stopped.

00:58:08.849 --> 00:58:10.089
KATIE: Yeah, I know.

00:58:10.089 --> 00:58:17.509
KATIE: I think I suppose unless you're doing something like very naughty, wrong, I doubt you're going to be put in a cell.

00:58:17.509 --> 00:58:19.229
KATIE: I think, yeah, you know what I mean?

00:58:19.229 --> 00:58:23.349
KATIE: So we have seen police stopping people and searching bags, et cetera.

00:58:23.349 --> 00:58:25.709
KATIE: We never got stopped in the whole time we were there.

00:58:25.729 --> 00:58:29.329
KATIE: But we did carry a passport with us because, do you know what?

00:58:29.329 --> 00:58:32.849
KATIE: We don't want to be paying the fines, et cetera.

00:58:32.849 --> 00:58:37.929
KATIE: But again, it was handy because if you are a tourist in Japan, you get tax free.

00:58:37.929 --> 00:58:44.529
KATIE: So if you show your passport, you can get tax free and they take the money off your purchase for most stores.

00:58:44.529 --> 00:58:54.089
KATIE: Some stores you have to pay full price and then you have to go to a little information tax free office within the shopping center, which will give you money back.

00:58:54.089 --> 00:58:55.469
KATIE: But yeah, it was quite handy to do that.

00:58:55.529 --> 00:59:02.909
KATIE: So yeah, without passport tax free, it was honestly, I paid probably for the items I purchased.

00:59:02.909 --> 00:59:05.349
KATIE: I would have paid 100 pound in London.

00:59:05.349 --> 00:59:07.209
KATIE: I probably paid less than 50 pound there.

00:59:07.209 --> 00:59:09.729
KATIE: So I was like, so I took stuff.

00:59:09.729 --> 00:59:14.129
KATIE: I was like, I'm never gonna, I'm never gonna, but if you don't buy, you're gonna regret it.

00:59:14.129 --> 00:59:15.229
KATIE: So I had to break stuff up.

00:59:15.229 --> 00:59:22.749
KATIE: So yeah, so did a bit of shopping, did a bit of exploring different areas on the other side of Tokyo city.

00:59:22.749 --> 00:59:27.529
KATIE: And yeah, we do make it to Shibuya because again, it was just a little bit too much.

00:59:27.529 --> 00:59:32.629
KATIE: But we did manage to go to the sushi place that we wanted to go on Saturday.

00:59:32.629 --> 00:59:35.689
KATIE: And we found one nearby and we managed to get there.

00:59:35.689 --> 00:59:38.309
KATIE: And the waiting time wasn't, wasn't long at all.

00:59:38.309 --> 00:59:39.509
VIRGINIA: It was not four hours.

00:59:39.509 --> 00:59:44.249
KATIE: No, that one was because I said, I was like, please not take us 240 minutes.

00:59:44.249 --> 00:59:48.429
KATIE: I think we've only waited about 20 minutes because you can have.

00:59:48.429 --> 00:59:50.149
KATIE: So it's like a conveyor belt.

00:59:50.149 --> 00:59:51.689
KATIE: You order your food and it comes to you.

00:59:52.189 --> 00:59:56.909
KATIE: You can have a little stool at the bar if you like, don't have any bags or if you're on your own.

00:59:56.909 --> 01:00:03.149
KATIE: But if you have got a few people, they give you like, you can get like a little booth, which is what we went for because we had some shopping bags.

01:00:03.149 --> 01:00:04.489
KATIE: There was three of us.

01:00:04.489 --> 01:00:08.569
KATIE: So it will be easier rather than trying to cram the bags around us.

01:00:08.569 --> 01:00:09.749
KATIE: And then there's a tablet.

01:00:09.749 --> 01:00:14.089
KATIE: You order your food, it arrives to you, and then you just pay at the end.

01:00:14.089 --> 01:00:23.209
KATIE: And just to give you a prime example of the price, we go to sushi restaurants in London, and similar concept is on the conveyor belt.

01:00:23.209 --> 01:00:27.089
KATIE: You normally would pay four pound the least for the set.

01:00:27.089 --> 01:00:34.229
KATIE: We paid, their most expensive one was 79p for the plate, compared to four pound we pay in London.

01:00:34.229 --> 01:00:36.329
KATIE: So we had a, I was in paradise.

01:00:36.329 --> 01:00:40.529
KATIE: I was ordering all the different food, and I only paid like seven pound.

01:00:40.589 --> 01:00:45.349
KATIE: So I was like, here I would have paid triple that, probably if not more.

01:00:45.349 --> 01:00:48.069
KATIE: So yeah, so that was great result that we found that.

01:00:48.069 --> 01:00:49.709
KATIE: So I was very happy with that.

01:00:49.709 --> 01:00:53.209
KATIE: But yeah, it was nice day of, again, looking around, seeing all the cars.

01:00:53.209 --> 01:00:57.429
KATIE: We've seen a lot of people doing the Mario Kart experience on the route.

01:00:57.429 --> 01:01:06.049
KATIE: So you can pay that, and you basically drive a Mario car throughout around Japan or Tokyo, et cetera, wherever they go.

01:01:06.049 --> 01:01:09.369
KATIE: We didn't do it because you have to have a full driver's license to do it.

01:01:10.229 --> 01:01:12.449
KATIE: Ryan doesn't have a driver's license yet.

01:01:12.449 --> 01:01:17.349
KATIE: So we said next time we go to Japan, he has to have a driver's license because we have to do it.

01:01:17.349 --> 01:01:22.009
KATIE: But it wasn't like something we've missed out much at.

01:01:22.009 --> 01:01:24.469
KATIE: We wanted to do, but it wasn't the end of the world.

01:01:24.469 --> 01:01:25.049
KATIE: We didn't do it.

01:01:25.049 --> 01:01:27.509
KATIE: We had so many other things planned.

01:01:27.509 --> 01:01:28.989
KATIE: We didn't mind if we didn't do it.

01:01:28.989 --> 01:01:30.949
KATIE: So, but yeah, it was just nice to see what people did.

01:01:30.949 --> 01:01:32.769
KATIE: So it was nice to see them driving around.

01:01:32.769 --> 01:01:35.829
KATIE: Some people get dressed up in different outfits, which is quite cool.

01:01:36.369 --> 01:01:42.609
KATIE: But yeah, it was nice to explore, have some sushi finally that I've waited for so long.

01:01:42.609 --> 01:01:52.189
KATIE: And yeah, so we, again, we tried to, so we left quite early, tried to come back a bit early as well, because the next day we had an early travel.

01:01:52.189 --> 01:01:56.109
KATIE: So we wanted to be back in bed, ready for a full day.

01:01:56.109 --> 01:01:56.589
VIRGINIA: All right.

01:01:56.589 --> 01:02:07.949
VIRGINIA: So that brings us to your first theme park day of this trip, which was Tuesday, April 22nd, and you were headed to Osaka for Universal Studios.

01:02:07.949 --> 01:02:13.709
VIRGINIA: And you had mentioned in the pre-trip that they just had Donkey Kong Land open.

01:02:13.709 --> 01:02:27.789
VIRGINIA: So what are some of the highlights of your Universal Studios day, particularly if there are things that are different there than we have access to at any of our Universal Studios parks in the States?

01:02:27.789 --> 01:02:32.809
KATIE: I think as a whole it's a different experience because it's a different set up.

01:02:32.809 --> 01:02:33.869
KATIE: They have different characters.

01:02:33.869 --> 01:02:38.609
KATIE: There's a lot of compared to like we've done Hollywood, we've done Florida, Universal.

01:02:38.609 --> 01:02:41.429
KATIE: There's a lot more characters just roaming around.

01:02:41.429 --> 01:02:45.669
KATIE: I haven't seen as many in the US, which I think is would be nice to see.

01:02:45.669 --> 01:02:48.349
KATIE: I had like the wicked girls out there.

01:02:48.349 --> 01:02:50.529
KATIE: They had Snoopy walking around.

01:02:50.529 --> 01:02:53.829
KATIE: They had all the minions dancing around.

01:02:53.829 --> 01:02:55.589
KATIE: Minions were like the highlight of the whole day.

01:02:55.589 --> 01:02:58.829
KATIE: They were coming out with different outfits, dancing, singing, etc.

01:02:58.829 --> 01:02:59.409
KATIE: So it's quite cool.

01:02:59.789 --> 01:03:02.769
KATIE: So I think that would be nice to see in more parks.

01:03:02.769 --> 01:03:04.289
KATIE: So just more characters coming out.

01:03:04.289 --> 01:03:10.289
KATIE: I've seen a few in Hollywood, but not as much, I think, as I've seen in Japan.

01:03:10.289 --> 01:03:15.769
KATIE: I think they had obviously, sadly, their jaws right was shut, which was disappointing.

01:03:15.769 --> 01:03:20.329
KATIE: We wanted to experience that because when we went to Florida, that was already shut as well.

01:03:20.329 --> 01:03:21.229
KATIE: But you know what?

01:03:21.229 --> 01:03:25.109
KATIE: It's one of those things you can't, if it's broken, it's broken.

01:03:26.129 --> 01:03:30.829
KATIE: They had, it's called flying with the dinosaur, right?

01:03:30.829 --> 01:03:34.509
KATIE: So you're sitting down where they load you on.

01:03:34.509 --> 01:03:37.289
KATIE: They obviously lock you in.

01:03:37.289 --> 01:03:40.989
KATIE: And then they tilt you and you're actually flying.

01:03:40.989 --> 01:03:43.829
KATIE: I did not let go of the restraints because I was so petrified.

01:03:43.829 --> 01:03:46.669
KATIE: I didn't close my eyes, which I thought I would.

01:03:46.669 --> 01:03:49.929
KATIE: Ryan and Adam let their arms go so you can like pretend you're flying.

01:03:49.929 --> 01:03:51.949
KATIE: But it's a roller coaster.

01:03:51.949 --> 01:03:53.089
KATIE: So you fly forward.

01:03:53.469 --> 01:03:55.849
KATIE: Then it does the loops backwards.

01:03:57.069 --> 01:04:02.509
KATIE: Yeah, it was a bit terrifying because you can see people walking underneath and you're just like, oh, my God, please, please.

01:04:02.509 --> 01:04:06.489
KATIE: But I had to do it because I thought if I don't do it, I'll regret it.

01:04:06.489 --> 01:04:09.609
KATIE: So it was great to experience that.

01:04:09.609 --> 01:04:19.029
KATIE: Again, for me, Universal, the best part for me was to see Ryan's reaction to the park because he has never done Universal Park.

01:04:19.029 --> 01:04:22.469
KATIE: So we did a Jurassic ride, which we again, we've done and we knew what it was like.

01:04:23.669 --> 01:04:25.769
KATIE: His face just was priceless.

01:04:25.769 --> 01:04:28.869
KATIE: It was just to see him experience that.

01:04:28.869 --> 01:04:30.869
KATIE: We've done obviously Jurassic.

01:04:30.869 --> 01:04:32.949
KATIE: We then did the Harry Potter ride.

01:04:34.269 --> 01:04:38.269
KATIE: Again, Hippogriffin ride and just seeing the Hogwarts.

01:04:38.269 --> 01:04:46.169
KATIE: It was just his reaction for me was probably what made the whole day because that's what I was like when I went the first time.

01:04:46.169 --> 01:04:47.049
KATIE: It was just nice to see.

01:04:49.249 --> 01:04:53.649
KATIE: As you said earlier, they have opened in February Donkey Kong Land.

01:04:54.469 --> 01:05:01.209
KATIE: You go through Nintendo Wildland and then take you into the Donkey Kong Land.

01:05:01.209 --> 01:05:06.109
KATIE: You had Donkey Kong there again as a character meet and greet, taking photos, etc.

01:05:06.109 --> 01:05:11.989
KATIE: They had nice souvenir cup with a drink in it.

01:05:11.989 --> 01:05:15.249
KATIE: You have a little waffle with a milkshake type of drink.

01:05:15.489 --> 01:05:16.909
KATIE: There is a Donkey Kong barrel.

01:05:16.909 --> 01:05:18.829
KATIE: You can take that home with you.

01:05:18.829 --> 01:05:21.429
KATIE: A little Donkey Kong spoon in it.

01:05:21.429 --> 01:05:26.949
KATIE: You had to get that to try the drink and then take something with us.

01:05:26.949 --> 01:05:29.289
KATIE: The Donkey Kong ride was crazy.

01:05:29.289 --> 01:05:29.969
KATIE: It was awesome.

01:05:30.549 --> 01:05:33.149
KATIE: We rode it at the end of the day.

01:05:33.149 --> 01:05:35.709
KATIE: It was just fun.

01:05:35.709 --> 01:05:36.629
KATIE: It was just so much fun.

01:05:36.689 --> 01:05:41.529
KATIE: Obviously, I've done the Nintendo ride, the Mario ride, but that was just fantastic.

01:05:41.529 --> 01:05:42.769
KATIE: It was really, really good.

01:05:42.769 --> 01:05:43.529
KATIE: So much fun.

01:05:44.189 --> 01:05:52.449
KATIE: We did buy the Fastpass for the Nintendo World, so for the Universal Park for the whole day.

01:05:52.449 --> 01:06:01.669
KATIE: So we had the Donkey Kong rides, Nintendo rides and Harry Potter rides, allocated time slots only because we were only there for the day.

01:06:01.669 --> 01:06:10.449
KATIE: We wanted to make sure we got on those rides because they're very, very popular and the rides were like two hour, three hour wait and we didn't want to wait that long.

01:06:10.949 --> 01:06:11.889
KATIE: We didn't want to do that.

01:06:12.969 --> 01:06:16.589
KATIE: So what we did, our time slots started in the afternoon.

01:06:16.589 --> 01:06:25.129
KATIE: So in the morning we did the Minions, we did the Jurassic, we went around, just had a look around the shops, seeing if we wanted to buy anything.

01:06:25.129 --> 01:06:30.149
KATIE: For the Nintendo World land, you can get an entry ticket.

01:06:30.149 --> 01:06:33.209
KATIE: So they still do the tickets for the entries.

01:06:33.209 --> 01:06:40.889
KATIE: Yeah, so I think experiencing the Nintendo World was great because we have done in Florida, we have done in California, but again, it is different.

01:06:40.889 --> 01:06:44.589
KATIE: Every land is different in every theme park and the way they set it up.

01:06:44.589 --> 01:06:51.989
KATIE: But yeah, we did, you can get a free entry just into the area ticket for the Nintendo World.

01:06:51.989 --> 01:06:54.189
KATIE: They have the machine, so you get what we did.

01:06:54.529 --> 01:07:01.669
KATIE: We took the ticket just to explore if we wanted to look in the shops, get some food and drink because they do themed food in every area.

01:07:01.669 --> 01:07:03.889
KATIE: So it was nice just to have a look around.

01:07:03.889 --> 01:07:10.389
KATIE: And then when the time slot came, we went and did all the rides that were allocated for the time stocks for us.

01:07:10.389 --> 01:07:12.909
KATIE: And that was really, really good.

01:07:12.909 --> 01:07:17.169
KATIE: It was great to save time again because we were only there for the day.

01:07:17.169 --> 01:07:21.969
KATIE: Because their day ticket just for the entry was about 50 pounds.

01:07:21.969 --> 01:07:25.909
KATIE: And I think we paid about 120 for the Fastpass on the town.

01:07:25.949 --> 01:07:28.089
KATIE: But it was worth every penny because we got to do it.

01:07:28.089 --> 01:07:36.269
VIRGINIA: But still, that's not a bad deal considering how much it cost to go to a Universal Park in the US for one day.

01:07:36.269 --> 01:07:36.949
KATIE: Exactly.

01:07:36.949 --> 01:07:37.989
KATIE: And that's what we thought we...

01:07:37.989 --> 01:07:43.909
KATIE: And this is how we, when we booked any travel, food accommodation, we compared it to the US.

01:07:43.909 --> 01:07:45.469
KATIE: Because we've done theme parks.

01:07:45.469 --> 01:07:49.849
KATIE: We've done obviously long travel to California, which was 11 hours.

01:07:49.849 --> 01:07:54.329
KATIE: So we were comparing it in terms of the destinations, the distance and food and et cetera.

01:07:54.409 --> 01:07:57.289
KATIE: But yeah, no, their price was, prices weren't bad.

01:07:57.289 --> 01:08:03.349
KATIE: And we thought for one day, and then again, if you travel again, you have to spend time and more money.

01:08:03.349 --> 01:08:10.289
KATIE: If you do it on one day, and most universal parks are not, apart from Florida, but the California is not massive.

01:08:10.289 --> 01:08:15.169
KATIE: Unless you do like a VIP tour, which we've done before, it's not massive.

01:08:15.169 --> 01:08:22.869
KATIE: But one day generally is enough because we managed to do the water show, the water world show, we've done the ride we wanted to do.

01:08:23.189 --> 01:08:30.189
KATIE: We had a lunch at the Jurassic restaurant with their Jurassic named dinosaur burgers, which was quite nice.

01:08:30.209 --> 01:08:35.649
KATIE: Then we sat by the little lake they have inside, just enjoying the weather.

01:08:35.649 --> 01:08:38.889
KATIE: So no, it was really good day.

01:08:38.889 --> 01:08:55.469
KATIE: We had a 620 train from Tokyo to Osaka, and then we just took a little local metro from Osaka to Universal, cos it seemed like a Universal city as everywhere else, to the Universal Studios.

01:08:55.469 --> 01:08:59.449
KATIE: Again, they have a little Universal walk with the shops and restaurants.

01:09:00.769 --> 01:09:01.889
KATIE: If people finish-

01:09:01.889 --> 01:09:03.009
VIRGINIA: Oh, like city walk.

01:09:03.009 --> 01:09:03.969
KATIE: Yeah, the city walk.

01:09:03.969 --> 01:09:06.749
KATIE: So you can go for restaurants, you can go for food.

01:09:06.749 --> 01:09:14.969
KATIE: But yeah, we got to Osaka and they got the metro, which was I think about 15, 20 minutes on the metro, so it wasn't too far.

01:09:15.089 --> 01:09:23.369
KATIE: It's a really short walk from the station into the park, and yeah, we booked our tickets through the Klook App.

01:09:23.369 --> 01:09:30.269
KATIE: We booked all the theme park tickets through it, because I've seen a lot of people recommend it, and it worked.

01:09:30.269 --> 01:09:31.929
KATIE: There was no issues with any tickets.

01:09:31.929 --> 01:09:34.429
KATIE: We clocked straight in and no problem.

01:09:34.429 --> 01:09:36.089
KATIE: Universal Studios as well.

01:09:36.089 --> 01:09:43.489
KATIE: If you buy stuff in the past and you have your passport on you, which you should have, as they say, you get tax free, you get it there and there back.

01:09:43.489 --> 01:09:45.529
KATIE: So yeah, so that was quite good as well.

01:09:45.529 --> 01:09:46.469
KATIE: So we got some money back.

01:09:47.349 --> 01:09:48.369
VIRGINIA: All right.

01:09:48.369 --> 01:09:52.429
VIRGINIA: Well, you had a couple more days before you got over to the Disney portion of your trip.

01:09:52.429 --> 01:09:57.209
VIRGINIA: What did you do with your Wednesday, April 23rd and Thursday, April 24th?

01:09:57.229 --> 01:10:00.209
KATIE: So Wednesday, we did the Kyoto trip.

01:10:00.209 --> 01:10:05.409
KATIE: So we took a bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto.

01:10:05.409 --> 01:10:14.269
KATIE: So we had the travel, the seven-day travel pass which allowed us the metro, the trains and the bullet train travel.

01:10:14.449 --> 01:10:18.629
KATIE: So we reserved our seat for those because it's a long journey, you don't have to.

01:10:18.629 --> 01:10:23.449
KATIE: But if you want to sit together, if you want a specific seat, we reserved the seat.

01:10:23.449 --> 01:10:24.989
KATIE: So we did Kyoto in the morning.

01:10:24.989 --> 01:10:27.709
KATIE: We did one of the oldest shrines.

01:10:27.709 --> 01:10:32.129
KATIE: I think it was when I looked it was 13,000 years old.

01:10:32.129 --> 01:10:36.609
KATIE: It's the Fushimi Inari Shrine.

01:10:36.609 --> 01:10:39.069
KATIE: I can message you the name, but yeah, it is beautiful.

01:10:39.069 --> 01:10:43.149
KATIE: It was worth it because people say it gets very busy past like eight, nine o'clock.

01:10:43.809 --> 01:10:51.969
KATIE: But again, people are sharing tips if you go further down the line and it's not less busy because everybody crowds at the front.

01:10:51.969 --> 01:10:57.849
KATIE: If you go a bit further, you can get a better view without less people, get some nice pictures.

01:10:57.849 --> 01:11:01.489
KATIE: And even my husband, he's not very much into things like that.

01:11:01.489 --> 01:11:03.129
KATIE: He was like, Oh my God, this is amazing.

01:11:03.129 --> 01:11:04.289
KATIE: I'm glad we did it.

01:11:04.289 --> 01:11:05.229
KATIE: And I was proud of it.

01:11:05.229 --> 01:11:09.549
KATIE: He actually liked it because he doesn't often like things like that.

01:11:09.549 --> 01:11:11.109
KATIE: So yeah, so we did that in the morning.

01:11:11.729 --> 01:11:15.429
KATIE: So what the plan was and do the Kyoto in the morning.

01:11:15.429 --> 01:11:20.569
KATIE: And if we cover everything we wanted in Kyoto, then go to Osaka for the afternoon.

01:11:20.569 --> 01:11:23.829
KATIE: If then it overruns in Kyoto, we spend the day.

01:11:23.829 --> 01:11:27.809
KATIE: Then we were going to go to Osaka the following day.

01:11:27.809 --> 01:11:29.889
KATIE: We did everything we wanted in Kyoto.

01:11:29.929 --> 01:11:32.769
KATIE: And about lunchtime, we got the train to Osaka.

01:11:32.769 --> 01:11:40.909
KATIE: Because we, again, we're not, once you've seen one shrine and one castle, to me, I've seen one.

01:11:40.909 --> 01:11:44.149
KATIE: I don't particularly want to just spend another half a day doing the same stuff.

01:11:44.149 --> 01:11:45.709
VIRGINIA: Yeah, I would feel the same way.

01:11:45.709 --> 01:11:55.489
KATIE: So we did Kyoto in the morning, did the shrine, had wandered around just to see what they have, just to explore the area really.

01:11:56.589 --> 01:12:08.149
KATIE: And because they had little local souvenir shops, a little bit of local food, local different parks with different other shrines.

01:12:08.149 --> 01:12:15.609
KATIE: So we just had a little look around, and then we got the train from Kyoto to Osaka in the afternoon.

01:12:15.609 --> 01:12:23.069
KATIE: And again, we wanted to see there was a little dragon shrine that a lot of people have recommended.

01:12:23.109 --> 01:12:26.209
KATIE: We weren't keen on Osaka Castle because we've seen others.

01:12:26.209 --> 01:12:29.209
KATIE: So we were like, you know what, it was quite out of town.

01:12:29.209 --> 01:12:34.329
KATIE: And we didn't want to spend like an hour or so traveling out just to see something we've kind of already seen.

01:12:34.389 --> 01:12:37.989
KATIE: So we just walked around the town.

01:12:37.989 --> 01:12:40.289
KATIE: They had Osaka exhibition this year.

01:12:40.289 --> 01:12:42.949
KATIE: So there's a lot of people going for that.

01:12:42.949 --> 01:12:46.749
KATIE: And you can see it was quite busy for that, like a lot more people travel to Osaka.

01:12:47.289 --> 01:12:56.029
KATIE: We did the main shopping area with all the souvenir shops, all the local food.

01:12:56.029 --> 01:13:04.709
KATIE: And we then walked from there to the Dragon Shrine, which unfortunately shut just before we got there because it was closing at 5.

01:13:04.709 --> 01:13:06.709
KATIE: And we got there at 10 past 5.

01:13:06.709 --> 01:13:08.349
KATIE: I managed to get some pictures of it.

01:13:08.349 --> 01:13:09.269
KATIE: I got to see.

01:13:09.269 --> 01:13:10.209
KATIE: That was fine.

01:13:10.209 --> 01:13:13.129
KATIE: I didn't have a picture in it, but I can photoshop myself on from that.

01:13:13.129 --> 01:13:15.389
KATIE: But if I'm that, you know, worried.

01:13:15.389 --> 01:13:16.149
KATIE: But we got to see.

01:13:16.149 --> 01:13:18.929
KATIE: It was quite nice because it's like a big dragon head.

01:13:18.929 --> 01:13:19.929
KATIE: And it was free to enter.

01:13:19.929 --> 01:13:22.229
KATIE: But unfortunately, it was closed.

01:13:22.229 --> 01:13:26.749
KATIE: And we actually finished earlier than we thought.

01:13:26.749 --> 01:13:34.529
KATIE: So we originally had the last train out of Osaka into Tokyo, which was at 8.45.

01:13:34.529 --> 01:13:40.249
KATIE: But because we finished a bit earlier, we went to the train station and they have kindly moved us to train earlier.

01:13:40.429 --> 01:13:45.489
KATIE: So we left a little bit earlier and managed to get back a little bit earlier as well.

01:13:45.489 --> 01:13:51.009
KATIE: So that was quite nice because it's a three hour journey from Tokyo to Kyoto or Osaka.

01:13:51.009 --> 01:13:53.809
KATIE: So we thought if we'd get back a little bit earlier, that would be nice.

01:13:53.809 --> 01:14:01.589
KATIE: So instead of 8.45, I think we got on the 7 o'clock train, which was quite nice just to be back a little bit earlier.

01:14:01.589 --> 01:14:06.649
KATIE: Because I think two days of three hour journeys has worn us out a little bit.

01:14:06.829 --> 01:14:16.609
KATIE: So yeah, so then that was on the Wednesday and on the Thursday, because we decided to go back to Akihabara, which is the gadget place.

01:14:16.609 --> 01:14:18.749
KATIE: As I said, my husband absolutely loves this sort of thing.

01:14:18.749 --> 01:14:29.129
KATIE: So we went back to see if he wanted to buy any more Gundam models, if there was anything else he didn't get to look in other shops before, because again, it was a lot going on.

01:14:29.129 --> 01:14:33.129
KATIE: He just wanted to make sure he's seen everything he wanted to see.

01:14:33.129 --> 01:14:39.389
KATIE: And then on the Thursday, we finally made it to Shibuya, which is where the Tokyo Drift was filmed.

01:14:39.389 --> 01:14:45.869
KATIE: They have a statue for the Shibuchika, which is the dog that waited for his owner by the train station.

01:14:45.869 --> 01:14:50.189
KATIE: Again, it was so crowded by the statue because everybody wanted to take a picture.

01:14:50.189 --> 01:14:57.409
KATIE: But I was more interested in the crossing, because I think that's what I went for, just to see how cool that looked.

01:14:57.409 --> 01:15:01.229
KATIE: And it was just so much better in real life than it was in the films.

01:15:01.229 --> 01:15:03.669
KATIE: And we then again wandered around the shops.

01:15:03.769 --> 01:15:06.529
KATIE: They had nice little souvenir shops.

01:15:06.529 --> 01:15:09.309
KATIE: We had tried some local food as well.

01:15:09.309 --> 01:15:14.929
KATIE: People recommended, like again, most of the food we found was through Instagram, which was quite good.

01:15:14.929 --> 01:15:24.069
KATIE: And then we made our way back to the hotel, because on the Friday morning, we were checking out and we were going to Disney.

01:15:24.069 --> 01:15:25.069
KATIE: So I had to be ready for that.

01:15:25.069 --> 01:15:27.269
KATIE: I had to be fresh and ready for that.

01:15:28.829 --> 01:15:29.349
VIRGINIA: All right.

01:15:29.349 --> 01:15:31.249
VIRGINIA: Well, let's get to Disney.

01:15:31.629 --> 01:15:37.369
VIRGINIA: So Friday, April 25th, was a Disneyland day for you.

01:15:37.369 --> 01:15:44.729
VIRGINIA: Before we get into your park time, you were staying at a different hotel for this portion of your trip, the Hotel Okura Tokyo Bay.

01:15:44.729 --> 01:15:45.029
KATIE: Correct.

01:15:45.029 --> 01:15:47.009
VIRGINIA: How was the hotel there?

01:15:47.009 --> 01:15:48.549
KATIE: The hotel was fantastic.

01:15:48.549 --> 01:15:52.029
KATIE: We the room was bigger than the Tokyo room.

01:15:52.029 --> 01:15:55.469
KATIE: So in comparison, the Tokyo room was 13 square meters.

01:15:55.469 --> 01:15:57.529
KATIE: This was 42 square meters.

01:15:57.529 --> 01:15:59.329
KATIE: So that's a big difference.

01:15:59.329 --> 01:16:01.109
VIRGINIA: It was a really big room, yes.

01:16:01.109 --> 01:16:02.309
KATIE: It was really lovely.

01:16:02.309 --> 01:16:04.069
KATIE: The hotel was...

01:16:04.069 --> 01:16:08.209
KATIE: So where the hotel was, we were walking distance to the monorail.

01:16:08.209 --> 01:16:14.589
KATIE: So we probably a couple of minutes from the hotel to the monorail and then depending which park you go, you get off at the station.

01:16:14.589 --> 01:16:17.729
KATIE: So in Japan, you have to pay for the monorail.

01:16:17.729 --> 01:16:19.189
KATIE: It's not free.

01:16:19.189 --> 01:16:23.689
KATIE: And you can get a one day pass or two day pass.

01:16:23.689 --> 01:16:25.769
KATIE: It's cheaper to get two day.

01:16:25.769 --> 01:16:28.669
KATIE: They all have different character prints on them.

01:16:28.789 --> 01:16:32.069
KATIE: So I paid for two tickets just to have different prints.

01:16:32.069 --> 01:16:40.509
KATIE: But if you get a day pass, it was 700 yen, which is about four pound, three, four pound.

01:16:40.509 --> 01:16:46.369
KATIE: If you get a two day, you're saving about two pound on on on the on the two day ticket.

01:16:46.369 --> 01:16:51.969
KATIE: But I got to run out and got one, but I got to because I wanted a different print on the campus because they celebrate St.

01:16:51.969 --> 01:16:53.229
KATIE: Donald's birthday.

01:16:53.229 --> 01:16:57.209
KATIE: So I got one with that and I got one with the Mickey Magician, which was quite good as well.

01:16:57.689 --> 01:17:00.729
KATIE: So yes, so we were about five minute walk to the monorail.

01:17:00.729 --> 01:17:12.429
KATIE: We got we did get an uber from the hotel in Tokyo to Disney because again, for the amount of luggage, we didn't want to risk underground.

01:17:12.429 --> 01:17:18.529
KATIE: And also because we had to be there early, we didn't want to get up even earlier than having to travel.

01:17:18.529 --> 01:17:24.149
KATIE: And we paid from Tokyo to Disney.

01:17:24.149 --> 01:17:26.129
KATIE: I think we paid each about 10 pounds.

01:17:26.289 --> 01:17:29.589
KATIE: It was about 30 pounds on an uber.

01:17:29.589 --> 01:17:34.829
KATIE: We used an uber app which we used in America, in Greece before and that worked quite well.

01:17:34.829 --> 01:17:40.229
KATIE: So they came, picked us up in the taxi, took us to the hotel.

01:17:40.229 --> 01:17:42.749
KATIE: We checked in again because we couldn't get in the room.

01:17:42.749 --> 01:17:46.009
KATIE: We left the bags in the hotel.

01:17:46.009 --> 01:17:50.249
KATIE: Went and you could buy the ticket for the monorail at the station.

01:17:50.249 --> 01:17:54.449
KATIE: The only thing I would say, they do not accept card there.

01:17:54.569 --> 01:17:58.029
KATIE: We've not had problem anywhere else, really.

01:17:58.029 --> 01:18:01.349
KATIE: That was the only place is cash only, yeah.

01:18:01.349 --> 01:18:02.249
VIRGINIA: Wow.

01:18:02.249 --> 01:18:03.329
KATIE: Yeah, there's no card.

01:18:03.329 --> 01:18:10.909
KATIE: So we then had to go to the nearby Hilton Hotel, which is the only hotel that had a cash machine.

01:18:12.049 --> 01:18:14.029
KATIE: We had to get cash to go then go back.

01:18:14.029 --> 01:18:19.049
KATIE: So we didn't have to get any cash anywhere else.

01:18:19.049 --> 01:18:21.049
KATIE: We were fine for everything else.

01:18:21.049 --> 01:18:22.509
KATIE: Card was absolutely fine.

01:18:22.829 --> 01:18:36.249
KATIE: That was the only time we really had to get cash out because, yeah, there was no cash machine at the station and they don't accept cards, which was a bit of a disappointment because we didn't have to leave and go back to get the tickets.

01:18:36.249 --> 01:18:36.609
KATIE: Yeah.

01:18:36.609 --> 01:18:38.069
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

01:18:38.069 --> 01:18:40.929
VIRGINIA: That's good to know for anybody else who's planning a trip.

01:18:40.929 --> 01:18:45.089
KATIE: Most of the train stations for the subway, you can use card.

01:18:45.089 --> 01:18:47.989
KATIE: I think it was one station we couldn't read it, but it wasn't a big deal.

01:18:49.069 --> 01:18:57.129
KATIE: Predominantly, they are quite card dominant, but yeah, that was the only place there was no way we could have paid.

01:18:58.689 --> 01:19:00.489
KATIE: So yes, we had to go cash.

01:19:00.489 --> 01:19:09.969
KATIE: There's a Hilton Hotel that was pretty much around the corner from where we were staying, so we went and got some cash from there.

01:19:09.969 --> 01:19:29.269
KATIE: But yeah, we checked in, got the cash, got the ticket, and then yeah, you have got, obviously, stops at different hotels, so you have got Tokyo Disneyland stop, you have Tokyo DisneySea separate stop, and obviously the hotels, there was one stop that was going to the train station, one for a different hotel.

01:19:29.269 --> 01:19:32.589
KATIE: So it's like a little loop, like for all the monorails, they just go around in loop.

01:19:32.689 --> 01:19:36.189
KATIE: It doesn't go in the park, it just gets you to the park.

01:19:36.189 --> 01:19:46.669
KATIE: So we had that, we got the ticket, went to the park, and again, we use our Klook App to book the tickets, so we use that ticket to get in.

01:19:46.669 --> 01:19:49.129
KATIE: Again, we're not a problem, not an issue.

01:19:49.129 --> 01:20:01.789
KATIE: And again, comparing to US, comparing to Disney and Paris, their shop prices are, just to give you a comparison, the Disney is in theme parks in America, it's about $35.

01:20:01.789 --> 01:20:04.689
KATIE: In Japan, they were 10.

01:20:04.689 --> 01:20:08.909
KATIE: So you could buy three pairs for the price of one, and that's how cheap everything was.

01:20:08.909 --> 01:20:13.489
KATIE: Their prices are not tax free, you're paying full price, but at their prices, it wasn't bad too.

01:20:13.649 --> 01:20:14.669
VIRGINIA: It's so low anyway.

01:20:14.669 --> 01:20:15.949
KATIE: You know, it wasn't bad.

01:20:16.749 --> 01:20:22.329
KATIE: So what we did, we went into the park, had some food, because it was quite early, so we had some breakfast.

01:20:22.329 --> 01:20:27.269
KATIE: You can do some restaurants, same as in US, you can do mobile orders, some places you can't.

01:20:27.269 --> 01:20:32.149
KATIE: So we did get some food, did some rides.

01:20:32.149 --> 01:20:39.789
KATIE: Most rides were quite well, considering it was a Friday, we didn't queue more than half an hour for rides, so that was not too bad.

01:20:39.789 --> 01:20:40.789
KATIE: So we did that.

01:20:43.209 --> 01:20:50.489
VIRGINIA: What rides did you experience in the Disneyland Park that were unique to Tokyo?

01:20:50.489 --> 01:20:57.929
KATIE: So unique to Tokyo, they have a Baymax ride, which is very special.

01:20:57.929 --> 01:21:04.889
KATIE: Like it's just unique to the Tokyo Park, and then they also have the Beauty and the Beast ride.

01:21:04.889 --> 01:21:06.709
KATIE: I am a huge Beauty and the Beast fan.

01:21:06.709 --> 01:21:13.729
KATIE: I grew up watching Belle and the Beast, like it was just one of those things, you know, like the original Disney cartoons.

01:21:13.729 --> 01:21:18.389
KATIE: And to be on the ride, I actually felt I was in the cartoon.

01:21:18.389 --> 01:21:22.349
KATIE: It is so, it's crazy how they've done it.

01:21:22.349 --> 01:21:25.369
KATIE: It's just, yeah, they make you part of it.

01:21:25.369 --> 01:21:32.649
KATIE: So the Beauty and the Beast ride, what you can get, so some of their rides, you can get a free standby pass.

01:21:32.649 --> 01:21:38.649
KATIE: You don't have to pay for it, and then you come back at an allocated time slot, but those go quite quick.

01:21:38.749 --> 01:21:44.889
KATIE: So if you're not there early in the morning, because people queue literally like 2, 3 a.m.

01:21:44.889 --> 01:21:48.309
KATIE: in the morning before the park opens at night, they're there.

01:21:48.309 --> 01:21:53.989
KATIE: Like, I couldn't believe it, but we went past the queue, and it was crazy.

01:21:53.989 --> 01:21:59.809
KATIE: So people get in first to get the free ride or get on the ride for free without the queue, et cetera.

01:21:59.809 --> 01:22:07.249
KATIE: So we paid to get on the Beauty and the Beast ride, and that one was only 10 pounds.

01:22:07.489 --> 01:22:08.829
KATIE: That's all we paid.

01:22:08.829 --> 01:22:13.229
KATIE: So that I didn't mind paying because, like, again, we were only there for the day.

01:22:13.229 --> 01:22:14.489
KATIE: It wasn't that much money.

01:22:14.489 --> 01:22:17.409
KATIE: You can't get a day's fast pass ticket.

01:22:17.409 --> 01:22:19.369
KATIE: You only pay for certain rides.

01:22:19.369 --> 01:22:21.189
KATIE: Some we managed to get for free.

01:22:21.189 --> 01:22:23.949
KATIE: So we got the Big Thunder Mountain for free.

01:22:23.949 --> 01:22:26.749
KATIE: We got the Haunted Mansion for free.

01:22:26.749 --> 01:22:33.669
KATIE: Their Haunted Mansion, again, is similar ride, but they have a different story to it, compared to other parks.

01:22:33.669 --> 01:22:37.009
KATIE: So like every ride has its own different story.

01:22:37.009 --> 01:22:37.769
KATIE: So that was different.

01:22:37.769 --> 01:22:43.309
KATIE: But yeah, the Beauty and the Beast is exclusive to Japan, and the Baymax ride was exclusive to Japan.

01:22:43.309 --> 01:22:49.509
KATIE: And we also paid late in the evening for Baymax, which was, again, about 10 pound.

01:22:49.509 --> 01:22:54.029
KATIE: All the other rides we managed to get on for free, without any problem.

01:22:54.029 --> 01:22:59.709
KATIE: They had, their Pirates of the Caribbean ride was sadly shut, so we didn't get to experience that.

01:22:59.709 --> 01:23:05.189
KATIE: But that was shut for a few days, because my friend was there a few days prior and it was already shut.

01:23:05.189 --> 01:23:09.329
KATIE: So they must have had some problem going on for a few days.

01:23:09.329 --> 01:23:10.829
KATIE: But the rest of the rides are similar.

01:23:10.829 --> 01:23:15.049
KATIE: They have obviously Splash Mountain, which is what they used to have in America.

01:23:15.049 --> 01:23:16.909
KATIE: They have the Big Thunder Mountain.

01:23:17.629 --> 01:23:26.149
KATIE: They have haunted mansion and the carousels, all the usual rides that you would see in a Disney park.

01:23:26.149 --> 01:23:31.709
KATIE: But these were the two rides that are exclusive to Japan.

01:23:31.709 --> 01:23:37.289
KATIE: Unfortunately, when we were riding Baymax, someone's ears kept falling off because it goes quite fast.

01:23:37.289 --> 01:23:38.829
KATIE: They said, please take them off.

01:23:38.829 --> 01:23:41.349
KATIE: And they had to stop the ride three times.

01:23:41.349 --> 01:23:42.509
KATIE: Because it starts powering up.

01:23:42.649 --> 01:23:43.489
VIRGINIA: Frustrating.

01:23:43.489 --> 01:23:44.069
KATIE: It was.

01:23:44.069 --> 01:23:46.829
KATIE: And especially if it happened once, you would think, oh, come on.

01:23:46.829 --> 01:23:51.209
KATIE: You've already seen somebody take yours off.

01:23:51.209 --> 01:23:55.509
KATIE: And they did say, if they'll carry on stopping, they'll have to get everybody off.

01:23:55.509 --> 01:23:58.329
KATIE: And I'm like, oh, please, please don't.

01:23:59.889 --> 01:24:08.329
KATIE: And then we finished the evening in Disneyland watching their fireworks display on the castle.

01:24:08.329 --> 01:24:13.769
KATIE: The only thing with their park, because they're so close to the airport, their fireworks don't bang.

01:24:13.769 --> 01:24:15.789
KATIE: Yes, so they can't do the fireworks.

01:24:15.789 --> 01:24:18.009
KATIE: So they light up, but there was no bang.

01:24:18.009 --> 01:24:21.869
KATIE: So you could hear single bang because of the, you could see flames flying over.

01:24:21.869 --> 01:24:25.089
KATIE: So we believe that's why they weren't allowed to do that.

01:24:25.089 --> 01:24:25.809
KATIE: We don't know.

01:24:25.809 --> 01:24:33.949
KATIE: They might have been us presuming it, but we believe because of the airport being so close by, they couldn't do it.

01:24:33.949 --> 01:24:42.029
KATIE: But yeah, but it was still great to see because they put different characters on, and the songs is again, it's different display to any other theme park we've been to.

01:24:42.029 --> 01:24:48.309
KATIE: So it was nice to finish the day with the fireworks display and the castle lit up.

01:24:48.309 --> 01:24:50.709
KATIE: And it was really nice and very pretty.

01:24:50.709 --> 01:24:51.769
VIRGINIA: But it was beautiful.

01:24:51.769 --> 01:24:53.149
KATIE: Yeah, very nice.

01:24:53.149 --> 01:24:54.089
VIRGINIA: All right.

01:24:54.089 --> 01:24:58.489
VIRGINIA: Saturday, April 26 was your Tokyo Disney Sea Day.

01:24:58.489 --> 01:25:02.729
VIRGINIA: And I remember that you told me how much you love The Little Mermaid.

01:25:02.729 --> 01:25:06.349
VIRGINIA: And I believe that they have a Little Mermaid section of that park.

01:25:06.669 --> 01:25:09.309
VIRGINIA: So how was that?

01:25:09.309 --> 01:25:10.369
KATIE: It was fantastic.

01:25:10.369 --> 01:25:12.669
KATIE: I think that was the first place we actually went to.

01:25:13.169 --> 01:25:16.209
KATIE: Because I had a real little Disney bound on.

01:25:16.209 --> 01:25:20.369
KATIE: I was like, I had to go to it because they have like a little mermaid lagoon.

01:25:20.369 --> 01:25:21.969
KATIE: So that was really good.

01:25:21.969 --> 01:25:27.129
KATIE: But I have to say, because we stayed in the evening, it lights up even more pretty than it was in the day.

01:25:27.129 --> 01:25:29.549
KATIE: It was just, just mesmerizing.

01:25:29.549 --> 01:25:35.789
KATIE: Like just because they play the music, you have the little mermaid statue, you have all the little seashell castles.

01:25:35.789 --> 01:25:41.689
KATIE: And then inside, they had like a more like a kids play area with like more like a kids appropriate brides.

01:25:41.689 --> 01:25:45.889
KATIE: But you had, when you walk in, you had King Triton sitting at the front.

01:25:45.889 --> 01:25:51.489
KATIE: And he's like, you know, for him going to, for his celebration as he did in the cartoon.

01:25:51.489 --> 01:25:55.729
KATIE: And then you go in, you have little rides like pufferfish flying around and stuff like that.

01:25:55.729 --> 01:25:57.549
KATIE: So it was quite nice.

01:25:57.609 --> 01:26:05.769
KATIE: And people have recommended a sea salt sea, it's a shell like an ice cream, and that which was sold in the kids area.

01:26:05.769 --> 01:26:07.329
KATIE: So I had to try it.

01:26:07.329 --> 01:26:08.769
KATIE: And it was fantastic.

01:26:08.769 --> 01:26:10.509
KATIE: I was like, and imagine my pink dress.

01:26:10.509 --> 01:26:12.209
KATIE: So it was even better.

01:26:12.209 --> 01:26:16.229
VIRGINIA: I heard that the snacks in Tokyo, Disney Sea are amazing.

01:26:16.229 --> 01:26:19.429
KATIE: I mean, I think, I think the Disneyland as well was nice.

01:26:19.429 --> 01:26:25.049
KATIE: I think their whole food, snacks, everything is just on the different level.

01:26:25.049 --> 01:26:30.749
KATIE: Because before we went, I did a bit of research and we had like these Disney blogs and with food and stuff.

01:26:30.749 --> 01:26:34.749
KATIE: And just looking at the pictures, it's just, it's crazy.

01:26:34.749 --> 01:26:44.829
KATIE: And I got a popcorn bucket, which has a Disney castle that lights up different colors and with all the characters like in the sky.

01:26:44.829 --> 01:26:48.189
KATIE: And I only paid like $15, 15 pounds for it.

01:26:48.189 --> 01:26:49.929
KATIE: I was like, it was crazy.

01:26:49.929 --> 01:26:55.429
KATIE: It was just that their food and snack game was completely, I mean, I thought California did it well.

01:26:55.789 --> 01:26:58.949
KATIE: I have to say, I prefer California food to Florida.

01:26:58.949 --> 01:27:00.609
KATIE: That's my personal opinion.

01:27:00.609 --> 01:27:01.729
KATIE: Don't throw stones at me.

01:27:02.149 --> 01:27:03.909
KATIE: Those people, they love Florida.

01:27:03.909 --> 01:27:06.849
KATIE: I mean, they're good, but I love California.

01:27:06.849 --> 01:27:10.649
KATIE: Like everything they've done for the food and the parks and stuff.

01:27:10.649 --> 01:27:15.949
KATIE: But yet Tokyo, Disney food wise, they, it's a different level.

01:27:15.949 --> 01:27:23.449
KATIE: It's absolutely like, I don't know how they do half the stuff they do when they make an egg yolk Mickey shape, like how?

01:27:24.349 --> 01:27:25.649
KATIE: What science is this?

01:27:25.649 --> 01:27:26.889
KATIE: What was this?

01:27:26.889 --> 01:27:27.909
KATIE: I know it's magic.

01:27:27.909 --> 01:27:29.469
KATIE: I can believe that.

01:27:29.469 --> 01:27:31.609
KATIE: But yeah, no, they're food.

01:27:31.609 --> 01:27:38.009
KATIE: Everything we've had in Disney parks, like snacks, ice cream, lollies, you know, we had like breakfast.

01:27:38.009 --> 01:27:38.489
KATIE: Yeah.

01:27:38.489 --> 01:27:40.249
KATIE: Everything's been great.

01:27:40.249 --> 01:27:46.949
KATIE: And price wise, again, it's comparison to different, other different parks, nowhere near.

01:27:47.349 --> 01:27:50.909
KATIE: You can just easily stuff your face all day.

01:27:52.449 --> 01:27:55.469
KATIE: You won't even feel the dent in your pocket.

01:27:55.469 --> 01:27:56.729
KATIE: It was just, yeah.

01:27:56.729 --> 01:27:57.209
KATIE: So yeah.

01:27:57.209 --> 01:28:01.209
KATIE: So the little mermaid was just great.

01:28:01.209 --> 01:28:01.869
KATIE: It was lovely.

01:28:01.869 --> 01:28:09.249
KATIE: And at the moment, so Duffy Bear is very, very popular in Japan, in Tokyo Disney Seeds.

01:28:09.249 --> 01:28:10.089
KATIE: I think they-

01:28:10.189 --> 01:28:11.449
VIRGINIA: And his friends.

01:28:11.509 --> 01:28:12.289
KATIE: Yeah.

01:28:12.289 --> 01:28:12.729
KATIE: Sorry.

01:28:12.729 --> 01:28:14.769
KATIE: And the friends, yes.

01:28:14.769 --> 01:28:18.769
KATIE: But it's 20 years of Duffy and Friends this year.

01:28:18.769 --> 01:28:25.089
KATIE: And they've had little boat parade for Duffy and the friends going around the park.

01:28:25.089 --> 01:28:27.209
KATIE: There's a lot of artwork.

01:28:27.209 --> 01:28:28.949
KATIE: They were giving out stickers.

01:28:28.949 --> 01:28:29.589
KATIE: We just-

01:28:29.589 --> 01:28:33.289
KATIE: And there's like flower displays for Duffy and friends.

01:28:33.289 --> 01:28:35.109
KATIE: It was just fantastic.

01:28:35.109 --> 01:28:38.409
KATIE: And somebody I know makes Disney clothes.

01:28:38.489 --> 01:28:42.309
KATIE: So she sells Disney merchandise, but she makes her own.

01:28:42.309 --> 01:28:48.069
KATIE: And just before we were going, she has released a pink Duffy bear jumper.

01:28:48.069 --> 01:28:58.029
KATIE: And I was like, well, I'm not, I wasn't sure who Duffy was until I actually decided to go to Tokyo Disney, because that's not the character I was very familiar with.

01:28:58.029 --> 01:29:00.649
KATIE: Quite, quite honestly.

01:29:00.649 --> 01:29:03.129
KATIE: I thought because going to Japan, I thought it will be very appropriate.

01:29:03.169 --> 01:29:04.969
KATIE: It will go nicely with my pink aerial dress.

01:29:04.969 --> 01:29:06.989
KATIE: It will just look like it sits to get down.

01:29:06.989 --> 01:29:10.929
KATIE: And I had a lot of compliments for my jumper, because people kept coming over and saying, oh, that's very pretty.

01:29:10.929 --> 01:29:13.389
KATIE: Well, in Japanese, they say kawaii.

01:29:13.389 --> 01:29:14.949
KATIE: And I first was like, what's this?

01:29:14.949 --> 01:29:17.769
KATIE: And then I soon found out that's what it was.

01:29:17.769 --> 01:29:22.229
KATIE: So it was nice to be part of that Duffy celebration with my jumper.

01:29:22.229 --> 01:29:28.689
KATIE: So ideally, as it was 20 years, but it was just nice when I went and it was just, yeah, it was just pretty because all the display.

01:29:28.689 --> 01:29:31.849
KATIE: So I had some nice, cute pictures with my jumper by all the displays.

01:29:31.849 --> 01:29:33.769
KATIE: So yeah, that was lovely.

01:29:33.769 --> 01:29:37.409
KATIE: And yeah, so we did that.

01:29:37.409 --> 01:29:43.489
KATIE: And we again, the hotel tower is different ride to any other parts we've been to.

01:29:43.489 --> 01:29:56.529
KATIE: They did the Indiana Jones ride is very similar to the California, just a different film is based on, but it's a similar concept of the ride.

01:29:56.529 --> 01:30:01.609
KATIE: And again, it's the ride that we have done, about my brother-in-law Ryan hasn't, so we're very excited to take him on.

01:30:01.609 --> 01:30:07.349
KATIE: That was the only ride we had to queue for quite some time because we couldn't get a free fast bus.

01:30:07.349 --> 01:30:11.329
KATIE: We couldn't pay for it because the ride broke down during the day.

01:30:11.329 --> 01:30:17.549
KATIE: So they said we can't sell at the fast bus because we need to make sure that people that paid already for can get on.

01:30:17.549 --> 01:30:23.829
KATIE: And I think that was the ride we queued probably an hour and a half for, I would say.

01:30:23.829 --> 01:30:28.809
KATIE: But all the others were the same about 20 minutes, half an hour, we managed to get on all the rides.

01:30:28.809 --> 01:30:30.249
KATIE: So we did the hotel tower.

01:30:30.249 --> 01:30:37.969
KATIE: We did the first ride we did in the morning was the journey to the center of the Earth.

01:30:37.969 --> 01:30:39.309
KATIE: Yeah, that was great.

01:30:39.309 --> 01:30:43.389
KATIE: It was really like, before you knew it, like it all started to happen.

01:30:43.589 --> 01:30:45.729
KATIE: Oh, I was like, first I was like, okay, that's fine.

01:30:45.729 --> 01:30:47.789
KATIE: Yeah, there's asmies and then it all happened.

01:30:47.789 --> 01:30:49.669
KATIE: I was like, oh my God.

01:30:49.669 --> 01:30:53.209
KATIE: So that one was the first one we did as well, because that gets busy.

01:30:53.209 --> 01:30:55.409
KATIE: We couldn't get the fast pass for that.

01:30:55.409 --> 01:30:57.649
KATIE: And I think that one we waited about 40 minutes for.

01:30:57.649 --> 01:31:00.329
KATIE: It said over an hour, but we didn't wait that long.

01:31:00.329 --> 01:31:01.949
KATIE: It was actually quite quick.

01:31:01.949 --> 01:31:09.109
KATIE: So, yeah, so the Indira Jones only because he's shut during the day and reopened, that was the longest one.

01:31:09.109 --> 01:31:12.969
KATIE: But we've managed to, again, get on quite a lot of the rides.

01:31:12.969 --> 01:31:15.709
KATIE: Seen the, we see the Duffy and Friends, the River Parade.

01:31:15.709 --> 01:31:17.329
KATIE: We've seen the evening show.

01:31:17.329 --> 01:31:21.169
KATIE: We've done the the rides, had some nice food.

01:31:21.989 --> 01:31:26.549
KATIE: And I think we, so we're the normal Disneyland Park.

01:31:26.549 --> 01:31:28.669
KATIE: I think the day what we had was enough.

01:31:28.669 --> 01:31:30.629
KATIE: We did everything we wanted to do.

01:31:30.629 --> 01:31:41.189
KATIE: I think Tokyo DisneySea, because sometimes you, because there's so much, just in terms of not just the rides, but the areas are so cool.

01:31:41.189 --> 01:31:43.369
KATIE: We just want to explore it.

01:31:43.369 --> 01:31:46.189
KATIE: Probably two days would be better than one day.

01:31:46.189 --> 01:31:49.349
KATIE: We didn't, we didn't know how it was going to be, so we only did a day.

01:31:50.109 --> 01:32:00.069
KATIE: But we, when we left, we were like, you know what, two days would be better, because we didn't spend much time in the Aladdin, like Agrabah type of like set up area.

01:32:00.069 --> 01:32:02.269
KATIE: And then we didn't do much with the Toy Story.

01:32:02.269 --> 01:32:04.829
KATIE: So like we, we could have had with two days.

01:32:04.829 --> 01:32:07.049
KATIE: I think two days would have been better.

01:32:07.049 --> 01:32:13.469
VIRGINIA: Do you think one day at Disneyland and two days at Tokyo DisneySea or two days in each of those?

01:32:13.469 --> 01:32:20.329
KATIE: See, we, because we managed to do everything in Disneyland, I don't think we personally needed to.

01:32:20.329 --> 01:32:29.529
KATIE: However, I think if people, like we used to, like a fast paced holidays, we used to do a lot of things in one day, like kind of thing.

01:32:29.529 --> 01:32:30.929
KATIE: So I was fine with it.

01:32:30.929 --> 01:32:32.309
KATIE: We were okay with it.

01:32:32.309 --> 01:32:34.969
KATIE: But if you want to spend a little bit more time.

01:32:34.969 --> 01:32:38.689
KATIE: So my friends went and they did three and a half days.

01:32:38.689 --> 01:32:40.209
KATIE: They said that was enough.

01:32:40.209 --> 01:32:45.269
KATIE: So they did two days in DisneySea and a day and a half in Disney.

01:32:45.269 --> 01:32:49.309
KATIE: Because in Tokyo Disney, you can buy Monday to Friday.

01:32:49.309 --> 01:32:51.789
KATIE: They sell theme park ticket for half a day.

01:32:51.789 --> 01:32:56.569
KATIE: So you can go in from 5pm and you pay like half a price kind of thing.

01:32:56.569 --> 01:33:07.309
KATIE: So if you want to do that, so maybe like a day and a half, because then you don't, you're only there for like the evening and then like a full day.

01:33:07.309 --> 01:33:08.489
KATIE: But that is an option.

01:33:08.489 --> 01:33:10.769
KATIE: But they only do that Monday to Friday.

01:33:10.769 --> 01:33:12.429
KATIE: So that's only during the work week.

01:33:12.729 --> 01:33:14.749
KATIE: On the weekend, they only full day tickets.

01:33:14.749 --> 01:33:17.989
KATIE: But if people go during the week, there is an option for half day.

01:33:17.989 --> 01:33:20.069
KATIE: So that's why she said that was enough.

01:33:20.209 --> 01:33:23.849
KATIE: But again, see, they wanted to do like a Winnie the Pooh.

01:33:23.849 --> 01:33:27.129
KATIE: And there's obviously how the fantasy springs in Disney Sea.

01:33:27.129 --> 01:33:29.729
KATIE: So they spend a lot more time there.

01:33:29.729 --> 01:33:34.329
KATIE: It wasn't something that we were too keen on because it's not.

01:33:34.769 --> 01:33:39.089
KATIE: We are not like a huge Peter Pan fan or Winnie the Pooh fan.

01:33:39.089 --> 01:33:42.069
KATIE: I don't mind it, but I wouldn't spend like half a day in that area.

01:33:42.309 --> 01:33:46.249
KATIE: Just because where for some people that may be something they wanted to do.

01:33:46.249 --> 01:33:59.709
KATIE: So I think my personal recommendation would be look at the areas and the rides are there and see where what works for you because people might say, well, actually, I may need three days in that park because there's so much more for me personally.

01:33:59.709 --> 01:34:06.489
KATIE: So I think people need to look at what's there because we didn't mind of certain rides, et cetera.

01:34:06.489 --> 01:34:10.569
KATIE: Like, you know, we don't have kids, so we didn't need rides in the fantasy land.

01:34:10.649 --> 01:34:15.649
KATIE: If I didn't get on on all of them, it's fine, you know, you only do whatever you want to do.

01:34:15.649 --> 01:34:24.429
KATIE: So I think it's I think it's basic, Brian, what what you like, what your favorite areas or favorite ride and then go from there.

01:34:24.429 --> 01:34:28.289
VIRGINIA: Because so do your research before you make that long journey.

01:34:28.289 --> 01:34:29.429
KATIE: I would I would say so.

01:34:29.429 --> 01:34:31.749
KATIE: Yeah, because we looked at we looked at the rides.

01:34:31.749 --> 01:34:35.269
KATIE: We looked at what we wanted to do and we based it on that.

01:34:35.269 --> 01:34:42.329
KATIE: So we and like I said, it wasn't we did everything, but a little bit more time probably would be a little bit better.

01:34:42.329 --> 01:34:47.049
KATIE: Because again, if we didn't end up doing so much for Indiana Jones, we would have had more time.

01:34:47.049 --> 01:34:48.669
KATIE: But obviously these things happen.

01:34:48.669 --> 01:34:49.669
KATIE: Rides break down.

01:34:49.929 --> 01:34:54.149
KATIE: It's very common in theme parks, you know, and you never can account for that.

01:34:54.149 --> 01:34:57.089
KATIE: So I think just yeah, just maybe live a little bit more time.

01:34:57.089 --> 01:35:00.629
KATIE: Because if you if you have a bit more, you can just take it easy.

01:35:00.629 --> 01:35:02.069
KATIE: Go around, get some food.

01:35:02.069 --> 01:35:04.369
KATIE: You know, people watch these people do sometimes.

01:35:04.369 --> 01:35:13.789
KATIE: So yes, I would say maybe do a bit of research and allow maybe a little bit of time for things like breaking down of things or anything can happen, you know.

01:35:13.789 --> 01:35:14.809
VIRGINIA: Spontaneity.

01:35:14.809 --> 01:35:15.529
KATIE: Exactly.

01:35:15.529 --> 01:35:15.989
KATIE: Exactly.

01:35:15.989 --> 01:35:17.089
VIRGINIA: Right.

01:35:17.089 --> 01:35:17.489
VIRGINIA: All right.

01:35:17.489 --> 01:35:19.589
VIRGINIA: Well, that brings us to the end here.

01:35:19.589 --> 01:35:29.729
VIRGINIA: So you flew out on April 27th and you had a 1pm flight that put you back on Sunday evening back in the UK.

01:35:29.729 --> 01:35:33.769
VIRGINIA: Did everything go according to plan with your return travel?

01:35:33.769 --> 01:35:35.029
KATIE: Yeah, we had no problem.

01:35:35.189 --> 01:35:47.249
KATIE: We again, we opted for an Uber option from the hotel to the airport again because of the luggage, because if we travel directly, we'd have to get the monorail to the station, then change.

01:35:47.249 --> 01:35:52.789
KATIE: I think I think it was like three, four changes, which is a lot with the luggage.

01:35:52.789 --> 01:36:02.709
KATIE: And it was only about 15 to 20 pounds each on a taxi back because where we stayed in Tokyo, we traveled out, we traveled away from the airport.

01:36:02.809 --> 01:36:08.429
KATIE: So we'd have to go a bit of a longer way back to the airport.

01:36:08.429 --> 01:36:10.669
KATIE: And now we ordered a taxi.

01:36:10.669 --> 01:36:11.549
KATIE: We got there.

01:36:11.549 --> 01:36:20.529
KATIE: We had to post back our Wi-Fi because that was, we had to return it before we went through the airport security.

01:36:20.529 --> 01:36:22.089
KATIE: And we did that.

01:36:22.089 --> 01:36:26.569
KATIE: And yeah, we just, like I said, we went around the airport, had some food.

01:36:26.889 --> 01:36:33.149
KATIE: At Haneda Terminal 3, you don't have to have a boarding pass if somebody likes plane spotting.

01:36:33.149 --> 01:36:37.209
KATIE: And they have a free observation desk upstairs.

01:36:37.209 --> 01:36:38.469
KATIE: You don't need a boarding pass.

01:36:38.469 --> 01:36:41.289
KATIE: It's at the back of the food court.

01:36:41.289 --> 01:36:45.169
KATIE: You can just go and watch the planes without even having to fly from the airport.

01:36:45.169 --> 01:36:46.169
VIRGINIA: Oh wow, Alex would love that.

01:36:46.169 --> 01:36:51.669
KATIE: Very surprising because most airports, it's past the security, so you can't unless you travel.

01:36:52.029 --> 01:36:54.829
KATIE: But yeah, that had a nice observation deck.

01:36:54.829 --> 01:36:56.809
KATIE: You can see all the planes land and take off.

01:36:56.809 --> 01:37:00.569
KATIE: Again, for people that like that sort of things, they can spend a bit of time.

01:37:00.569 --> 01:37:05.469
KATIE: And yeah, we had a very smooth flight back without delays.

01:37:05.469 --> 01:37:07.229
KATIE: It was absolutely fine.

01:37:08.589 --> 01:37:10.029
KATIE: Yeah, no problem at all.

01:37:10.029 --> 01:37:16.329
KATIE: Again, it actually flew, time flew by so quick again, watching the films, having some food.

01:37:16.329 --> 01:37:24.489
KATIE: And I think because we were so tired, we had a little bit more sleep on the plane just to recover from all the walking and stuff we have done.

01:37:24.489 --> 01:37:27.129
KATIE: But no, I think in terms of the travel, it's been fine.

01:37:27.129 --> 01:37:37.309
KATIE: We've had quite smooth travel with the aircraft, with the trains, we've not had touchwood, we've not had any problems which made it a little bit easier.

01:37:37.309 --> 01:37:43.049
KATIE: But yeah, and like I said, traveling with British Airways, we were quite lucky if they didn't let come any bags we had.

01:37:43.049 --> 01:37:44.089
KATIE: So that was fantastic.

01:37:44.089 --> 01:37:45.429
KATIE: I didn't have to worry about that one.

01:37:45.429 --> 01:37:46.689
KATIE: So that was fine.

01:37:46.689 --> 01:37:48.169
KATIE: All the shopping came back with us.

01:37:49.869 --> 01:37:51.029
VIRGINIA: Very good.

01:37:51.029 --> 01:37:54.329
VIRGINIA: Well, this was an amazing adventure.

01:37:54.329 --> 01:38:02.429
VIRGINIA: I know that people who are thinking about a trip to Tokyo will appreciate hearing all of the details from your trip.

01:38:02.429 --> 01:38:05.489
VIRGINIA: I know that you probably have a lot of resources to share.

01:38:05.489 --> 01:38:19.269
VIRGINIA: So when you send me some photos, I'll ask that you also share any of the resources that you were using as you planned your trip that you found particularly helpful so that we can make sure that the listeners have access to that.

01:38:19.269 --> 01:38:22.589
VIRGINIA: So thank you so much for being here.

01:38:22.589 --> 01:38:25.169
VIRGINIA: I really appreciate the chance to talk to you.

01:38:25.169 --> 01:38:26.689
VIRGINIA: Have a wonderful rest of your night.

01:38:26.689 --> 01:38:33.049
VIRGINIA: Thank you so much for being here and for sharing your trip and all the magic and just sharing your time with me.

01:38:33.049 --> 01:38:34.249
KATIE: Thanks for having me, Virginia.

01:38:34.249 --> 01:38:34.909
KATIE: Thanks a lot.

01:38:34.909 --> 01:38:38.709
KATIE: And yeah, I will highly recommend Trip To Japan to anybody who's thinking.

01:38:38.709 --> 01:38:39.769
KATIE: Do not think.

01:38:39.769 --> 01:38:40.609
KATIE: Just book it.

01:38:40.609 --> 01:38:41.769
KATIE: You will not regret it.

01:38:41.929 --> 01:38:45.849
KATIE: It's absolutely an amazing place to visit and so much to do.

01:38:45.849 --> 01:38:48.849
KATIE: So yeah, thank you for having me.

01:38:48.849 --> 01:38:52.269
VIRGINIA: Thank you again to Katie for joining me on the podcast.

01:38:52.269 --> 01:38:59.729
VIRGINIA: When I have guests who are from other parts of the world or even from the other side of the US, the time difference is always a challenge for scheduling.

01:38:59.729 --> 01:39:03.449
VIRGINIA: But Katie was so open and available, it made it so easy.

01:39:03.449 --> 01:39:05.529
VIRGINIA: I really enjoyed chatting with you, Katie.

01:39:05.529 --> 01:39:07.949
VIRGINIA: And please let me know if you ever come to New York.

01:39:07.949 --> 01:39:08.389
VIRGINIA: All right.

01:39:08.389 --> 01:39:13.689
VIRGINIA: I know this was a long episode, so thank you to all of you listeners for getting this far.

01:39:13.689 --> 01:39:16.629
VIRGINIA: I really appreciate you all so very much.

01:39:16.629 --> 01:39:19.809
VIRGINIA: Now it's time to say goodbye until next time.

01:39:19.809 --> 01:39:23.369
VIRGINIA: But as always, keep daydreaming about where you long to be.