Amusement park in the city

It took us about an hour to get there via a couple
of trains. Our place is just to the top left of this map.
A, of course, marks the park.

Yesterday, instead of sitting home with our two younger boys and bemoaning the absence of our eldest (who's in Guam until Tuesday), we decided to do something that the two younger ones like and he doesn't: amusement park with rides.

We explored one we've not been to before, Tokyo Dome City or, more correctly Tokyo Dome City Attractions (which doesn't seem that attractive in English, really). I've never been to an amusement park like it.

First, it is in the middle of the city. Next to roads, high rise; indeed the roller coaster goes through a building and through the core-less ferris wheel.

Crazy mix of amusement park and city.

Second, it doesn't have clear boundaries. People can walk right through the property, without paying a thing. To ride the rides, of course, you have to pay. We bought a one day pass that was a paper bracelet with a bar code that they scanned at every ride.

It was fun, even though my motion-sickness head didn't allow me to ride some of the more daring rides. The boys also ended up not trying the Thunder Dolphin roller coaster, it just looked too scary (goes up to 130km/hr). Maybe next time!

The big swing. Not the biggest we've tried
in Tokyo, but still fun.

We found a nice frozen yoghurt shop, "Golden Spoon" that satisfied us yoghurt lovers, as well as our non-yoghurt lover (the chocolate yoghurt tasted very close to chocolate ice cream).

It was fun being out with our two younger boys. They got along well and it was rather novel being a family of four. You notice how many things are geared for groups of twos and fours! It was a good choice for spending the day (a shadow of the future when we'll be split as a family more and more).

Actually, it is the way we choose to live our lives in a country that isn't our own. We often choose to enjoy things that we couldn't enjoy in our home country. It works the same when we're in Australia and missing Japan, we choose to enjoy what we can there, while we're there. I guess it really is living in the moment.

On the swing: love the face, David!

Right next to Tokyo Dome, the world's largest roofed
baseball stadium. Which is today hosting the All Japan
Open Karate Championships.

View from the ferris wheel: the Big O.

The Thunder Dolphin's through-building course from
the ferris wheel.