The CC clan in Japan

Today was DisneySea day although unfortunately only Lucie and Ali managed a long stint. Valentina and Mario made it for the open with the rest of the hordes of people, and did Journey to the Centre of the Earth and then the Sinbad ride with Ali and Lucie. Then Valentina began to feel unwell so she and Mario headed back to the hotel. Ali and Lucie arrived at 10am and left at 4.30pm. The highlight was watching people dressed up in furry animal helmets, matching fluffy boots and miniskirts, or giant Mickey Mouse ears. The majority were young adults with a few kids and older people. Among other weird flavours and foods, roast beef and white chocolate popcorn were on offer. A few rides were eligible for Disney passes but after a while none of the big ones were available so the wait times ballooned to 3hrs in some cases! Ali and Lucie managed to do the Journey to the Centre of the Earth (an underwhelming rollercoaster), a small roller coaster for kids, the double-decker carousel (turns out Lucie loves camels), and the Toy Story Mania ride with fairground shooting aided by 3D glasses, which was by far the most fun.

They also ate a set lunch in Arundel castle of pie, potato gratin, salmon salad (first time we ate lettuce in Japan!) and an Olaf-themed marshmallow sponge mousse. Not bad but hardly Japanese.

Sebi and Andrea made it down for a couple of hours and wrapped up warm in the freezing temperatures. Sebi finally recovered and had his usual bounce and smiley energy 😍

Ali and James went back for a nightime walk so James (who was also quite sick at this point) could soak up the kooky atmosphere and do some people watching 👀.

Ali made it to Toyosu fishmarket (the largest in the world) to watch the famed tuna auction at 5.30am. The buyers, in yellow-tagged hats, studiously examine the massive frozen carcasses laid out in rows using torches and a hook. The torch is to check the red hues of the thick medallion of tail flesh resting atop the fish, signalling the freshness of the meat. The hook is to rip a piece to rub between fingers and check for fattiness (the fattier, the better). The auctioneer moves from one batch to another, signalling the start with an old-fashioned bell before stepping onto a crate and chanting the prices. It's all over in 10 minutes. The bought fish is labelled using coloured ribbons and then dragged with the ubiquitous hooks onto a blue tarp for final pickup by the wholesale buyer using a forklift. Some of these fish can go for tens of thousands of dollars, so security is very tight. Visitors have to watch from a windowed gallery on the second floor.

We shared a final supper together at the hotel, and the Coventrys missed the best Disney fireworks ever whilst travelling the extra floors to their room (allegedly).

Mario spent one last evening in the traditional (unisex) public baths where people sit on stools to ablute fully and then use the hot spa, sauna and cold bath to wash, relax and unwind. It's a very calming and pleasant ritual.

Ciao to the Contreras who took the early morning flight home the next day.Read more