The McDonald Family Travels

We are going to Japan today! O.M.G. We are going to JAPAN today! It feels surreal that this day is finally here. Why Japan? That’s a question I’ve been asked so many times since we started planning this trip 6 months ago. Originally, Japan was not on my top 10 places to visit… I was thinking more along the lines of Italy, France, England, Ireland, Scotland, Australia… However, Tom has always had Japan at the top of his bucket list. Being the sly, smart man that he is, he slowly started getting the kids interested in “Japany” things. Charlie is obsessed with the anime “One Piece” and has recently started reading the manga as well. Carlynn likes Hello Kitty. They both like Pokemon. One thing led to another, and boom, now we’re going to Japan! Japan also has great, reliable, public transportation, is super clean, and safe. We fly out of Nashville, TN to Dallas, have a 2 hour layover that’s just long enough to enjoy a bite to eat, and then have a 12-13 hour flight to Tokyo! We decided to book premium economy seats and I’m so glad that we did! It would have been a really long flight in standard economy. Premium economy is basically what 1st class is on domestic flights. We had the comfier, roomier seats with the larger trays, and foot rests that come down from the seat in front of you. It was a super nice touch that I appreciated while trying to sleep. Premium economy also comes with a blanket, lumbar pillow, and amenities kit (eye mask, socks, toothbrush), and alcoholic beverages. I felt bad for the people behind us in economy, all smushed together like sardines in their tiny seats…although I’m sure the people in business class could say the same thing about us. Business class tickets would have cost us more than we spent on the entire trip. They sure looked comfy though! In all seriousness though, if you ever find yourself on a 12 hour flight, I think it is 100% worth it for premium economy!

We were given a bottle of water when we boarded the plane. About an hour and a half into our flight, it was time for “dinner”. I had preordered our meals to ensure we’d get what we wanted. Tom and the kids got the beef and rice and I had the pasta. It wasn’t bad. The kids didn’t eat a ton of theirs. Actually, neither did I, because we had gotten CFA during our layover in Dallas. I enjoyed my glass of white wine, and then read and napped. We were also severed a snack and breakfast during our flight. It was super quiet on the plane. There were also a large amount of Asian’s on our flight. It seemed like a lot of families who live in the US were traveling to go visit family for the summer because when it came time to do the immigration cards, most of them were not residents of Japan. Carlynn sat next to me and Tom and Charlie were in the row in front of us. Carlynn did amazing. She’s always been a really good traveler, but I was worried about her sleeping on the plane. She slept the best out of any of us! That girl put on her mask, listened to music, and passed out without any issue! I passed the time by reading on my kindle while listening to meditation music for background noise. I brought a little stand and my wireless page turner. This allowed me to get cozy under my blanket and read hands free! I’d read until I fell asleep. Charlie fought sleep. At one point I was sleeping good and he was playing with an empty ziplock bag of pretzels that he filled with air and was punching with his fingers. It was loud enough that it woke me with my noise-cancelling AirPods in.. Eventually, he took a little nap. I never did go back to sleep though.

Finally, we landed in Tokyo! Before the trip, Tom and I had both used an app, Ubigi, to buy e-sims. This allowed our phones to have data while in Japan and worked as soon as we landed. Before we were off the plane, we could use our phones. We paid roughly $100 for the two of us for 2 weeks.. totally 1000% worth it. We went with the unlimited data plan, but definitely could have gotten by with a 5-10GB plan. When we got off the plane, we started our normal hunt for a bathroom. I think we were in shock. It was so clean. Also, I knew bidets were common here but I didn’t realize just how common.. The airport restrooms had bidets.. Like what?! I’m no stranger to a bidet, we have one at home. But this, in a public restroom, I was not expecting.. After the restroom break, we went through customs and immigration, and then had to find an ATM to get some yen for spending.

Taxi drivers dress a lot nicer here…our’s had on a suit! When we went to the taxi area, I thought he was a businessman catching a cab and was offering to help us get one. It totally blew my mind that he was a taxi driver. We got loaded up and had about an hour ride to the house we rented. The kids passed out. I wanted to because I was so tired, but I wanted to take in my surroundings. Not to mention, the driver being on the right side of the car and driving on the left side of the road was kind of throwing me off. I remember thinking how clean it was. No litter on the roads. No honking. And surprisingly no traffic.

When we got to our Airbnb, we could finally relax. We had made it! Right inside the door to our house, the flooring was concrete for stepping in with your shoes on, then you step up into the rest of the house where you walk with slippers. Absolutely, under no circumstances, do you wear shoes in a house here. We got our bags carried upstairs and made ourselves comfy on the couch. I was exhausted. I would have been content if I had just gone to bed without dinner. We were so tired from traveling and the time change (Japan is 14 hours ahead of Nashville). My brother-in-law’s friend, who lives in Tokyo, ended up inviting us to dinner with his daughter. I didn’t want to go, it was rainy and cool, and I was tired..but Tom said it would be good for us. So, we went. Luckily, there were umbrellas for us to use. Carlynn really wanted her own, but the wind tried to take her away, so I took over her umbrella and she walked with me. The sidewalks were basically just the edge of the road and I kept freaking out that the kids would step in front of someone on a bike or car. The walk to where we were going was supposed to be about 20 minutes. It felt like it took 40 though.. We were in a residential area and the streets weren’t all straight. Tom was using google maps to guide us, but I think he was a little out of practice, lol.

Finally, we made it to where we were going. The Tokyo Skytree! It was cool to get to see it up close at night. It was right in the middle of the busy dinner time, so we had to wait for a table. While we were waiting, we walked around and looked at some shops in the sky tree.

We ate at a sushi restaurant where some things come around on a conveyer bet. You can also order specific items on a tablet and it comes to your table on the top conveyer belt. I was so tired I couldn’t process the menu. I just wanted to sleep lol. We finally found something that each of us would eat (the kids and I aren’t really sushi eaters…). For every 5 plates you order and then insert into the plate return, a game video gets triggered on the tablet. If you win the “game” you get a prize capsule. We ended up getting two capsules that Charlie and Carlynn got to have. After dinner, we debated walking or taking a taxi, but decided to just do the walk and get the exercise. It was still drizzling rain and was cool outside (I was FREEZING). When we finally made it back to our house, we got ready for bed and passed out. Our first day was done! We had made it to Japan, had our first meal, now it was time to relax and sleep for 12 hours…