Tokyo Disneyland

This last weekend Simone and I visited Disneyland on Saturday as well as Disney Sea on Sunday.
We had a blast!!!
It was scheduled to pour all weekend, but it only drizzled every now and then.

This is Cinderella's Castle! Not Sleeping Beauty's Castle like at Disneyland in the US

TOMORROW LAND

First ride of the day.

Space Mountain:
Experience an exciting rocket journey to the far reaches of the galaxy. From launch to landing, you'll find out what it's like to travel "faster than light" through the cosmos.


Micro Adventure:
When Professor Wayne Szalinski from the Disney movies Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Honey, I Blew Up the Kid arrives to receive the "Inventor of the Year" award from the Imagination Institute, the audience gets caught up in a "little" adventure...

Also at Tomorrow Land we rode-
Space Tours:Experience space travel firsthand when you board this flight to a distant moon, piloted by a comical robot captain! Star Tours is the ultimate thrill adventure from the creative forces of Disney and George Lucas.

TOON TOWN

The kids and I playing in Toon Town.

Chip 'n Dale and a pack of "kawaii" Japanese girls. Just had to take a pic as well!

I'm breaking' out!

Yeah!
Sporting' my new Minnie Mouse ears. They're there...it's just dark.
The crowds forming for the daily parades. It had a Hawaiian theme since Stich is HUGE here, so the crowd is practicing a Hawaiian dance move for the show.
Simone sportin' her new Tiger tail, she's so cute with it!

FANTASY LAND

Muhahaha....the Haunted Mansion. My favorite ride at Disneyland.

Haunted Mansion:
Take a ride on a "doom buggy" through an eerie Gothic mansion where 999 ghosts, goblins and ghouls are just "dying" to meet you and make their number an even 1,000. Be sure to watch out for hitch-hiking ghosts as well.
Simone showing she can handle even fake spiders...maybe!
If you weren't happy with just the ears, you could also get Mickey or Minnie gloves or other character hands to complete the Character look. They kind of freaked me out though!
The classic Dumbo-elephant ride!

Other rides ridden at Fantasy land-
Peter Pan's Flight:
With a little bit of pixie dust, your pirate ship will fly you through the night skies over London, past the second star to the right and on to Never Land. You'll see Peter Pan, Wendy, Captain Hook and other characters in scenes from this popular tale.

Pinocchio's Daring Journey:
Travel on a mine car as you follow Pinocchio on his long, treacherous journey from wooden puppet to real boy. Favorite scenes from the Disney classic film, Pinocchio, are recreated here.

It's a Small World:
Take part in the "happiest cruise that ever sailed." Here you can enjoy the colorful scenes and the merry figures of children from around the world singing and dancing to the cheerful anthem "it's a small world."

ADVENTURE LAND




Pirates of the Caribbean:
During the Golden Age of Piracy, a band of merry buccaneers, known as the Pirates of the Caribbean, ruled the seas and ports... If you dare, embark on pirate boat and take a thrilling voyage back to the Old World of adventure and romance.
Jungle Cruise:
Are you ready for the excitement of wild animals, hostile tribes and unpredictable river perils? Entrust yourself to our experienced Jungle Cruise skippers and venture deep into mysterious, danger-filled jungles on a tramp steamer.



Other attractions seen in Adventure land:

The Enchanted Tiki Room, Now playing "Get the Fever!":
The Polynesian tiki gods have fallen asleep! Clap you hands and help a quartet of hip birds from Las Vegas to wake up the tikis, as the fine-feathered company presents a powerful vocal performance of tropical beats with the glamor of the Las Vegas nightclub scene.

WESTERNLAND

Big Thunder Mountain:
For years now, there have been stories about supernatural forces at work in Big Thunder Mountain. When one mining company didn't heed the rumors and blasted out all sorts of mine shafts and tunnels, unexplained and dangerous events started occurring. Some of the old hands even say they can hear Tommy knockers, the spirits of long dead miners, tapping from somewhere inside the mines...For the wildest ride in the west, no daredevil or thrill-seeker should miss a ride aboard one of the company's mine trains that roar down the tracks without an engineer!



Tokyo Disney Electric Parade- Dream lights:
Featuring Disney characters and over one million lights, the night parade is filled with scenes inspired by popular Disney animated films. Following the appearance of Mickey and Minnie near the front of the 700-meter parade, Guests are treated to spectacular sights based on scenes from Alice in Wonderland, A Bug's Life, and Beauty and the Beast.



CRITTER COUNTRY
Our last ride of the day was Splash Mountain:
Formerly called Chick-A-Pin Hill, Splash Mountain was renamed after an accident caused the Beaver Brothers' dam to explode and flood the whole mountain.
Now Guests have a chance to ride in one of the Beaver Brothers' hollowed-out boats and follow the cartoon antics of Brier Rabbit on a hair-raising flume adventure with the steepest, highest and wettest drop in the Park!
Disney Magic in the Sky!
The parks kind of spooky walking through at night.
Got my Churros - GOOD DAY!!!

Sammy Soba (NOT Sammy Sosa all you baseball fans)

How to make Soba noodles:

Soba noodles are native Japanese noodles made of buckwheat flour (soba-ko) and wheat flour (komugi-ko). They are roughly as thick as spaghetti, and prepared in various hot and cold dishes. The most basic soba dish is zaru soba in which boiled, cold soba noodles are eaten with a soya based dipping sauce (tsuyu).






The first step, mixing the flour with water into a dough, is considered the most important and difficult part of making soba noodles. The correct amount of water is added step by step to the flower and mixed for several minutes until the flour becomes moist enough to be formed into a dough. The dough is then pressed until it becomes very smooth and contains no more air.





This is our baby Sammy Soba somethin' somethin' (forgot the whole name, but it went on and on...)

The dough is then rolled into a thin square by repeatedly rolling it around a wooden rolling stick.






At last, the dough is folded and cut into the noodles.




Bring 2 liters (0.53 gallons) of water to a boil and add the noodles. It usually takes about a minute or less before they're ready, so watch 'em closely!

When the noodles are boiled, rinse them in cold running water and chill them.
Rinse them again, dry off the water, and place them on a bamboo sieve or plate.



Sprinkle flaked nori over the noodles (optional).
Put the sliced spring onions and other seasonings (usually radish) into the broth.

Enjoy your soba with tempora and cold beer!
Yummy!!!

















Zaru soba (serves 4 people)

Dried soba 1 pack (about 400 grams)

For the broth:Stock (Dashi)
1 cup
Soy sauce
1/3 cup (80cc)
Mirin (cooking sake)
1/3 cup (80cc)

Seasonings:Flakes of nori (dried seaweed) 10grams To be sprinkled over the noodles.
A little wasabi , to your taste.
White sesame
4 teaspoons
Spring onion
Sliced finely, washed, and dried 3-4 inches.
A little shichimi togarashi (red-pepper spice mix), to your taste

Tea Ceremony

A tea ceremony the girls and I participated in at the Kamo Community Center.
(Comm. Center - right Ros/Kristi?)

Fun stuff! :)



I actually REALLY enjoy green tea, so this was yummy!

Kamo Karaoke

I couple weeks ago Ros had a pot-luck at her place. After some good food and wine a few of us headed over to the local Kamo Karaoke joint for a good time. Nothing too fancy or crazy...just a few songs, dances, and home by 3'ish.