Amusement park fun with some surprises thrown in

Today we did go to the amusement park we went to during the summer (see here). Of course the outdoor pools weren't open. But there was plenty to keep us busy for about five hours and even though it was chilly, it was much more pleasant than in the summer when the heat threatened to knock you out.

I didn't ride this one, but four of our "kids" did.

I even got bold and tried out three rides I haven't been game to do in the last five times I've been to this park (we have an annual pass and utilised it well). However, I'm a bit dizzy this evening! Our younger two boys loved it and tried out new rides too. Our 12 y.o. inherited my dodgy vestibular system and isn't so much into G-forces, but he was a good sport and tagged along, enjoying what he could.

My two boys on the end and our "adopted" daughters 

next to them.

 While waiting in line at the dodge-em cars, we met two sisters (14 & 11 y.o.) who were there on their own. They chatted a little with me and, after riding on the cars, asked us if we'd mind them tagging along with our family. They said it wasn't much fun with just the two of them. I'm wondering if they were looking for some parent figures? Or maybe our boys were just cute? Not sure, but for few hours we had five kids and our boys had some adopted sisters. They didn't fawn over the boys, but just enjoyed them and it turned out to be a fairly good match. Biggest problem. They didn't speak English and our boys hardly speak Japanese now (much to our regret). But some things don't require words and amusement park rides are one of them.

This isn't the first time this has happened to us in Japan. When we were at Disneyland in July with our Australian friends we met a Taiwanese teenage girl who was there on her own (actually, with her parents, but had gone her separate way for the day). She linked up with us for most of the afternoon. That didn't seem so odd because it was her first day in the country and she didn't speak Japanese.

We stopped and saw a free dog circus act. The dogs were pretty good, but it was the costume of the trainers that caught my attention. They were in thin pastel overalls. It was a strange effect. The surprise was when they brought out a framed certificate to show that this group has made it into the Guinness Book of Records for the number of dogs skipping at one time. We happen to have the 2012 Book on loan from the school library and checked it when we got home. It has a picture and everything there. 13 dogs "skipping" at one time! Record recorded in October 2009.

Mt Fuji, taken through glass, but not a bad view!

We left not long after 4pm when it started to get dim and many of the rides shut. On the train ride home we could occasionally see the western horizon and with it, glimpses of the outline of Mt Fuji surrounded by the changing shades of sunset. Spectactular. Knowing that our "home" station has a Mt Fuji viewing platform, I was willing that train home before we totally lost light. This is what we saw when we got there.

Overall a great day. I'm glad we made to effort to get out (and believe me, it was an effort with some "fireworks" at home before we left).

The P.S. on the day was something totally different. We booked a motorhome to drive to Uluru when we're in Australia in July. We've been thinking and dreaming on this one for a while, so it is awesome to actually book it! You can see the motorhome we've here. Should be an amazing trip. And an amazingly long one too. We can't wait. Now we just need to get to Australia to pick up the vehicle . . .