Disneyana From Japan: Pins

If you love all things Disney, like me, you'll find that Japan is a gold mine of Disneyana. For those who might not already be familiar with the term Disneyana are collectable products produced by the Walt Disney Company. There is a wide range of products which fall into this description but for the sake of this post we're talking about pins.

Unlike in the theme parks around the United States the concept of Disney Pin Trading didn't really take off here in Japan. However, that doesn't mean that there aren't a bunch of Disney collectable pins out there for you to enjoy and collect. Throughout the time that I have been here in Japan I have searched diligently to find some of these pins because I figure that even though they are not your typical Disney Trading type pin they are still fun to have in my collection.



 

One of the great things about being in Japan is that the Japanese people really seem to embrace things that are cute and therefore Disney is pretty much everywhere. That being said there have been a number of Disney pins which have been released over the years. The sets come in all shapes, sizes and can be obtained in any number of ways. Some may be prizes in UFO Prize grab games where as others may come with the purchase of a drink or candy.



 

Don't let the fact that these come with a drink of the purchase of a candy bar fool you either, these are collectors items and are usually part of a set. For example the Pluto pin above featuring Pluto in Egypt is part of a 26 pin set which features the Fab 5 in various countries around the world dressed in iconic wear from the area. Much like other collectors sets some are more common where as others are harder to find.



 

Although these pins might not be eligible for trade at the Disney theme parks as part of Pin Trading they are certainly something interesting to add to your collection, especially if you are a fan of Disneyana. So how do you get your hands on something like this? If you're here in Japan keep a keen eye out while you are shopping especially at convenience stores. you never know what you might find. If you're outside of Japan there are various sellers on ebay who sell some of these items.

 

 

Around the Area: Ikspiari Shopping Center

 

We started off the day with some coffee which I had packed for the trip. This turned out to be a very useful thing especially the "blendy sticks" that I had also taken along with me which gave the coffee that gourmet taste without the gourmet price. If you are into paying over $10.00 for your coffee there are a number of places in the local shopping center known as Ikspiari where you can find a variety of places that serve up almost anything you can think of but more about that later. The Ambassador Hotel did offer up a few different types of hot drinks such as instant stir and go coffee as well as tea but I am glad that I had brought along my drip coffee especially with the amount of coffee that we drank.



 

 

It was a long flight for my mom who was coming from Boston so we decided to start the day off at Chef Mickey's and then spend some time in the area at Ikspiari seeing as it was very close to the hotel, in fact it was about a 5 minute walk from the elevator to Ikspiari itself. We had actually planned on going to various other places in Tokyo to explore, however, the sheer size of Ikspiari coupled with the amount of food, shopping and entertainment offered ended up keeping us entertained for most of the day.

 

To be completely honest although it would have been fun to go from place to place as I had originally planned I was actually blown away by the variety of what was offered at Ikspiari. If you are familiar with the Disney Resorts around the world, mainly Walt Disney World, I would compare Ikspiari to Down Town Disney. There is a movie theater, live shows, food and various shopping all with the high quality Disney customer service that you would expect from the company. There are, however, some main differences. Although there is a Disney Store there are very few Disney themed shops in Ikspiari which was nice. There were also a lot of places which were more practical rather than novelty. For example they don't have places like the magnet store which only sells magnets but they do have various clothing stores, cosmetic stores as well as some familiar brands like Coach and Lush.

 



If you do not want to shop there are various other areas you can explore like the large court yard with a stage in the center where there are various acts for everyone to enjoy. Although we did not sit down to watch any of the shows in particular we did see a bit of one where a man was doing tricks on the stage with the help from the audience. It seemed silly to me but the crowd seemed to like it and were very involved. These shows seemed to happen every night although we did not see a schedule nor did we watch every night so we took it as more of something to see if you happened to be in the area. The rest of the area is just beautiful though, there are flowers which were just fantastic and the sights and sounds were very enjoyable.

 

I do, however, think that it is important to note that although it is a nice place to stroll this is still a high traffic area. Although it is not as high traffic as some areas in Tokyo might be it is still Tokyo and you will experience the hustle and bustle of the city so be aware of that. If you have children strollers will be just fine but I would think twice about having young ones walking freely because of the amount of people and the slightly confusing layout of the area.



So you want to save all of your money for Disney merchandise, I understand, but everyone's got to eat! I was incredibly pleased with the food options which were available at Ikspiari. No matter what you are looking for or what type of food you enjoy you can find it here. . . somewhere. And you can even find those places that you otherwise would have searched all over Tokyo to find, right here, at your fingertips. Rainforest Cafe was no surprise but I was pleased to see that there was a Sweets Paradise which I had been searching all over for. Other restaurant options included Yakiniku, Italian, Sushi, Traditional Japanese, Tempaura and more. If you wanted to grab something for your room there are various places like a grocery store where you can pick up various international favorites. The prices were a little steep compared to what I am used to but according to Mom they weren't that bad and were rather affordable in many cases. There were also other places where you could get fresh foods such as sushi, rice balls and various other favorites. This was in my opinion much more affordable and I wish I would have seen this sooner. There are also places where you can get hotdogs and sandwiches if you are not in the mood to try some different Japanese style foods although I should warn you that many of the American foods are a bit overpriced because they are a special treat.

Overall this is a fantastic area and certainly worth the trip if you are in the Tokyo Disney Resort Area. It's also a little taste of Japan Shopping even if you are not out in the city and stay in the Tokyo Disney Resort.

Here are some more photos from Ikspiari including some of the foods that we got from the grocery store:

[slideshow]

 

 

 

 

Katventures Tokyo Issue 1: Chef Mickey's Character Breakfast

There is no better way to start off your trip with a nice filling breakfast and we did just that at the Tokyo Disney Resort Ambassador Hotel's restaurant "Chef Micky's". Like the Chef Mickey's located at different Disney Resorts around the world this restaurant offers a nice dining location for families as well as adult groups/couples to enjoy a hearty breakfast no matter what you enjoy eating. From steamed Japanese veggies and dumplings to jelly beans trust me when I say there is something for everybody.

The breakfast was very affordable at 3300 yen per adult for an all you can eat buffet. There was no posted time limits on the buffet although I assume it would be the standard 90 minutes the they have at other all you can eat places in Japan. The selection was HUGE and in fact I didn't even scrape the surface with what I ate. I also made the mistake of having two Micky pancakes which were very heavy and filling although they were amazingly delicious. There was fresh fruit, veggies, pastries, meats, pancakes, cereals, rice, curry, and so much more! The down side is that for two people it felt a little bit cramped. The table we were at was small and in a corner which made it hard to get in and out to see the characters without disturbing the two girls that were along side of us. Of course it's Disney and everyone was very understanding of what was going on because that is the nature of the restaurant but still I think it is worth mentioning if you are planning on going with just yourself and one other person.

The cast members were very helpful and most spoke either English or would alter the way they spoke Japanese to a more understandable vocabulary. If there was a misunderstanding then they would quickly either get someone to assist or they would find out how to ask the question in English before returning to the table. That made everything very helpful and less stressful especially for my mom who wasn't sure how to communicate what she wanted. I should also mentioned that regardless the fact that I could have assisted my mom before I had the chance to even explain that Japanese was ok for me the cast member would have already rushed away to get a statement translated. . . it was that quick.



The main dish, as far as my mother was concerned that is, were jelly beans. There were 4 different containers of jelly beans of mixed flavors for you to enjoy. They were also Jelly Belly brand which was surprising to me because usually Chef Micky's has candy for breakfast but not high quality beans like this. Everything was good and high quality though so I really can't say anything bad. There were also only 4 characters which was fine with me but I understand how some people may not have been pleased with that. The characters came around much more quickly than they do at Chef Mickey's in Walt Disney World but nonetheless it was still fine with me.



All of the characters were very "physical" in that they would shake your hand, give you a kiss or whatever else. For me I am tall so they pulled me down so I would be at their level. I had a great time taking photos with the characters and it was a good chance to get my photos in without having to wait in the lines that there at at the parks. If you want to really have a different variety of characters though, you can go to various character dining options that are around the resort. This is a great chance for you to see everyone but for those who you do not see you can check them out a the parks. They have a TON of characters (even the ones that you haven't seen for years and years) for you to meet and greet. They also have them out for long periods of time so that almost everyone has the chance to see them if they want to.

The Bottom Line:

RATING: 7 out of 10

If you are staying at the Ambassador Hotel then this is a great way to start your Disney trip. The price is right at 3300 yen for an all you can eat buffet with character meet and greet. If you are not at the restaurant early you may find yourself having to use something called "priority seating" which means you can get a ticket to come back to the restaurant at a later designated time rather than having to wait. This is common at other Disney Resorts also and I find it extremely useful.

So why 7 out of 10? The table was just a bit too small in my opinion and just a bit too close to the one next to us especially for a restaurant where you are up and down taking photos with characters. I also would have liked to see maybe just 2 more characters and have them a bit more spread out because it felt just a bit rushed.

Other than those things everything else was GREAT! Definitely something I would recommend.

Katventures Begins!

It's the time that we've all been waiting for. It's time to kick off Katventures!

Since I said that we are kicking off Katventures you know what that means. . . I am on my way to Tokyo. Over the next week I will be exploring the sights and sounds of Tokyo and unfortunately this means that I will be unable to post my regularly scheduled videos over on the OkiNinjaKitty Youtube Channel. What? You're not subscribed to my Youtube Channel yet? In that case you had better to get over there and hit that subscribe button because there are some extremely exciting videos which are going to be posted there in the coming weeks. I intend to post some teaser videos up that are taken on the fly while I am exploring which will also be broadcasted live on my UStream Chanel. Either way you can find yourself updated with everything that is going on.

So when are the high quality videos and photos going to be posted? Because I don't have the ability to edit and upload (and because I want to have a lot of fun which will lead me to getting YOU the best possible videos) you will be seeing the videos after I return to Okinawa. I know it's a lot of time to wait but I promise it will be worth the wait.

Also don't worry that you won't have something to read over here on the OkiNinjaKitty blog because I have scheduled some fantastically interesting blog posts for you to enjoy during the time that I am gone. They are going to be as closely related to the trip as I can make them. Don't forget to keep shooting me messages and comments because I will answer them all upon my return to Okinawa. That's right. It's going to be a Fan Mail Extravaganza.

There are other ways that you can keep track of my trip. Want to know how:

Check me out on Twitter by looking up @Okininjakitty

Don't forget to check me out on Facebook.

I also now have a new Tumblr.