My first official post covers a topic that is near and dear to my heart...Disney parks! While Disneyland in Anaheim will always hold a special place above the others, I have to say that the Tokyo parks in Japan are in another league all together (as I'm sure many Disney fans will attest to). I've been blessed with having visited Tokyo Disneyland and Disneysea twice in my life, once in 2002 and the 2nd time in 2008. I'll cover the 2008 trip in a later post, but for now, let me talk a little about my first visit to the Japan parks. My job sent me to Okinawa to help set up a retail store on the marine base, and I could not pass up this opportunity to stop off in Japan on the way back home to visit the parks.
One thing you'll notice immediately upon entering is the immaculate condition and overall cleanliness. We're talking a major upgrade compared to the USA and the level of service sets a high bar that I've yet to see exceeded.
Things are also smaller in Japan. Hotel rooms, cars, and most importantly, serving portions! Although I'm of Japanese/Okinawan descent, I was born and raised with American standards of eating. We're talking super size, big gulps, and unlimited refills of coffee. The Japanese take on food is this...incredibly delicious meals with strong emphasis on presentation, but in very small amounts. Fountain drinks generally come in two sizes...small and large. Their large is equivalent to a medium drink here, and that is being generous. No such thing as free refills and that includes coffee (although some establishments will give you one extra cup of joe). The coffee cups are about 2/3 the size of a USA counterpart, so every drop counts. Their sugar comes in these long straws that remind me of those Pixy Straws filled with sugared powder. The cream there is so rich that it bubbles up when pouring it into the hot beverage...sort of like mixing oil with water. And the taste? Pretty darn good if you ask me (I don't care for Starbucks...the coffee tastes burnt to me, so take my view with a grain of salt). I always ordered two drinks with my food when eating at the parks, because I'd be half finished with the first one before finding a place to sit. And ordering an extra portion or side can be quite a challenge. I loved having breakfast at The Coffee House on Main Street where they served a very creamy and smooth strawberry yogurt as part of the meal. It was so good that I wanted to order an extra cup. My waitress looked totally confused by my very un-Japanese like request. She literally had a meeting with several managers trying to figure out how they would charge me. By the time they brought me my extra helping, I was ready to slide under the table and eat it there in silence and shame.
"Omiyage" is a big thing for the Japanese. It's a cultural tradition that involves bringing home gifts to relatives and friends when going on a trip. Thus packaging and presentation are of the utmost importance, and Tokyo Disney does not skimp in this area. Most of their edible products such as cookies and candies are packaged in artistically extravagant tins, each morsel individually wrapped in cellophane. The designs are rotated out constantly, so you never see the same product on the shelves for very long (compared to the USA parks with their generic packaging that is neither unique or exclusive to either Disneyland or Walt Disney World...boo!). And while the cost of living in Japan is extremely high, I found the tins quite reasonable...almost a bargain. It's only when you realize how you're going to get all these bulky items back that restraint and selective choice kick in.
More thoughts and observation about the Tokyo parks later. The true purpose of this entry is to share some visually interesting images from a magazine series I encountered while visiting some bookstores up there. I came across the first issue of "Disney Resort Story" while combing through millions of periodicals on display (okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but most Americans would be flabbergasted by the sheer amount of publications available on just about every subject imaginable). There are a number of regularly published magazines in Japan (Disneyland Fan is one) devoted to the parks, but this one was a limited series spanning 30 issues. I found issue #1 (dated 09/15/2002) and #2 in the store and was blown away by the layout and overall presentation. There is something about Japanese printing that produces an overall better product. Brighter, richer colors, and the traditionally high level of photography comes to mind immediately. But what really set this series of magazines apart from others, were the fold out panoramic shots of the parks and the "piece de resistance"...a reproduction of an attraction poster printed on a heavy plastic/acetate type of material. It's semi-transparent finish allows light to shine through which would make for an effective light box presentation. Each poster was placed in its own sealed plastic bag and located towards the back of the magazine (I have this crazy thought of having a matte board specially cut to accommodate all 30 posters into one gigantic backlit frame). The magazine even toots its own horn by exclaiming that collecting all 30 posters will prove to be a rare and valuable collectible. I don't buy into marketing hyperbole much (being a collector, I tend to have a quick aversion to any type of collectible that markets itself as a...."collectible"). But in this instance, I don't think that claim was far off course.
I can also deduce that this special publication was due to the debut of Disneysea a year or so earlier. While the series does cover Tokyo Disneyland and some of the USA parks, the clear emphasis here is on Japan's newest and brightest jewel. It's been stated countless times in other blogs and all over the web, but it bears repeating. Disneysea is, without a doubt, the most beautiful and imaginative park every created by Disney Imagineers.
After finding the first two issues, I went up to a sales associate and inquired about obtaining future releases. Japan bookstores will readily offer customers subscription services, but unfortunately only to local residents (they will not ship to foreign countries). Somewhat disheartened, I was thankful enough to at least come across these two copies.
Without further ado, here is a gallery of all 30 front covers from the Disney Resort Story (I'll post the 30 posters in a future entry)...
