Once we got to Legoland the first area we entered had a huge Lego diorama display. I was fascinated and could not get enough of it. I think I saw every inch of the diorama and noticed every detail. Every new detail I noticed I had to show to Mommy, Daddy, Nana and Papa. There were moving cars, characters, and scenery. I think I saw every single vehicle in the diorama and tracked all of their movements. I could have spent the whole day here, but there was a vastness of land to see here at Legoland.
We wandered around Legoland a bit and there were a lot of attractions, but I wasn’t really feeling up to most of them. A lot of them were for bigger kids. But I was having fun just taking in the sights and making plans for all the things that I would do when bigger.
The first attraction that caught my interest was the Jr. Driving School, so we headed over there.
Today is the big day! We are heading to Lego Land! But first we need to start the day right with a good breakfast! We picked up some food from the convenience store and we are all charged up!
We arrived in Nagoya without any problems. After dropping our bags off at the hotel we went out in search of lunch. Nagoya is a very busy city and all the places we found were full with a long line of customers. We finally found a nice little place with outdoor seating which was really comfortable and fun! It was a German pub and I got to try some new food and Mommy and Daddy got some good beer!
After lunch we checked into the hotel. Nana and Papa’s room was next door so I stopped by to see how they were doing and then I went back to our room to relax a bit.
This is how I relax.
We found a popular spot for dinner near the hotel, but it was so popular that we had to wait outside for bit before we were seated. Once we were seated the service was very fast and we ate really well. We could see why it was popular and we enjoyed the local cuisine. We were so focused on eating that we did not take a single picture.
Mommy’s friend lives in Nagoya so she went to meet up with her after dinner. I headed back to the hotel with Daddy and Nana and Papa, but not before picking up some dessert at a convenience store. I went over to Nana and Papa’s hotel room to eat it and had fun playing with them for a bit.
I couldn’t stay long because tomorrow we are heading to Lego Land and I needed a good rest. I said good night to Nana and Papa and then headed back to my hotel room for a bath and bedtime. I was fast asleep in no time.
Today we headed for Nagoya and we went there by Shinkansen. I had ridden the Shinkansen before for short rides, no more than 20 minutes. This was my first real Shinkansen trip and I was very excited. I had been talking about it for days! Ever since we started planning this trip. I would often say, “Tomorrow ride Shinkansen with Nana and Papa.” (I knew it was in future, but I haven’t quite worked out future words other than “tomorrow”)
Riding the Shinkansen was a lot of fun! Not only was I enjoying the ride and scenery, but I also liked that fact that snack rules are kind of out the door and you can pretty much eat and drink whatever you want on the Shinkansen. I enjoyed my snacking freedom.
I also had unlimited iPad time, which is a real treat. It was a three hour ride, but I didn’t mind it too much. Near the end I was getting a bit restless but I didn’t complain.
What a fun way to travel! I can’t wait to do it again! Oh, we’re taking the Shinkansen back as well.
For the rest of the afternoon we just hung out together. We played, we talked, we chatted with my cousins. I showed Nana and Papa all of my toys and showed them all of the things that I could do. A lot they had seen during our FaceTime chats, but it doesn’t compare to seeing it in person.
Papa can’t carry me and Nana can’t hug me during our FaceTime chats. It is so nice having them here. It is also so normal. There was absolutely no adjustment period. I was not hesitant and did not need much warming up as I did during earlier visits.
Papa, Daddy, and I took a three generation Boys’ Day picture a bit early. The weather was so nice and we would not be around my koi nobori on actual Boys’ Day, so we just took it a few days earlier. My tummy was full of ramen and I was in a great mood, so we have some great picture and some really goofy ones.
Nana and Papa really like ramen. We always bring them ramen when we visit them and they always bring ramen home with them after visiting Japan. So we took them to one of our favorite ramen restaurants for lunch.
We had a great meal and they seemed to really enjoy the ramen. But I think I ate more than them. After all, I am a growing boy!
Nana and Papa came over this morning while I was having my breakfast. Apparently they had eaten breakfast hours earlier since they are very early risers.
Nana and Papa reconfirmed what they noticed last night that I had grown a lot since they last saw me over the Christmas holidays. Well, they know how much I eat so I’m only going to get bigger and bigger.
They surprised me with a double-decker bus toy! It was not a birthday gift, or a toy I had left in Hawaii, it was just a chance to spoil their grandson kind of gift. I was so happy and thankful! During our weekly FaceTime chats I had mentioned how much I like buses and that I wanted a double-decker bus.
I noticed that Papa was watching something on his iPad so I went to check it out. He was watching baseball. I don’t know much about baseball so I had him explain it to me. I didn’t really get it. So instead I decided to explain my double-decker bus to him.
Nana and Papa also brought an additional MagnaTiles set that Daddy had ordered for me. I’ve been playing with my MagnaTiles so much lately that he figured I could use more pieces.
This is turning out to be a great visit for me. I’m getting new toys without having to sit on Santa’s lap. Maybe I should have Nana and Papa visit me more often.
Nana and Papa are arrived in Japan today and I was so excited to go to meet them at the airport. I rode a subway and bus to get to the international terminal and I saw a bunch of airplanes while there. But that was not the best part. The best part was that I got to see them as they exited customs and I was so happy!
I had been waiting for their arrival for so long that when they actually got here I was a bit shy. But I was also all smiles!
Another happy note was that they brought me my garbage truck from Hawaii. I had been asking about it for months and now it is here. And a bonus surprise was that Nana and Papa also gave me a couple of cars too! I was so thrilled! I wasn’t going to let that garbage truck out of my sight.
We met up with Daddy and then we all headed to Nana and Papa’s hotel. Once we got there I was feeling more comfortable and less shy, so I started to play with Nana and Papa.
I wanted to keep playing but we had to go eat dinner so we found a nearby restaurant and had a great meal where I could be my goofy self.
After dinner we stopped by back at their hotel and I checked in on my toys and continued to play with Nana and Papa. I was in quite a playful mood.
But it was getting late, Nana and Papa had a long day of traveling, and we would have several days to play together and catch up, so we headed home.
I was still in such a good mood, and talkative. I stopped mid walk and then informed Mommy and Daddy that I had just peed. I felt like sharing.
Even though it was way past my bedtime, I made time to play with my Hawaii cars when we got home.
It was so nice to see Nana and Papa after so many months and I can’t wait to catch up with them tomorrow and over the next few days. So I’d better get to sleep so that I can be well-rested for our time together.
I woke up with a bit of bed head today. It kind of naturally fixed itself, so I had nothing to worry about. I usually never comb or brush my hair. It used to be part of my morning routine, but we found out that it doesn’t make much of a difference.
It was a rainy day, so we spent the day at nursery school indoors.
We started off with a lot of dancing! We had so much fun dancing to our favorite songs and we worked up a sweat and needed to keep hydrated.
After dancing we had calmer crafts activities like painting and working with clay. Even though we can’t go outside for our walk, it doesn’t mean we don’t have a lot of fun at school.
It was a rainy day today so we stayed indoors. We had a lot of things to do. We practice making origami. Our teacher showed us how to fold and then “iron” the crease. We did really well.
We had another gymnastics class today. I did not participate, but I did join everyone in the gymnastics area instead of just watching from the gallery. My teachers invited me to join in, but I again opted to just watch. Baby steps.
I really like my umbrella. I haven’t had too many opportunities to use it. There were a couple rainy days where I had my umbrella with my on my walk home from school, but I found it to be too heavy to carry for very long. I much prefer my rain coat and rain boots on rainy days. But I still like my umbrella and I often play with it at home, even though there is a superstition that opening an umbrella indoors is bad luck. So far it has only brought me smiles and joy.
I don’t really watch that much TV, but I do like my Super Simple Songs shows. It is an app that has songs, videos, games, and they are all educational. It is a little like Sesame Street. I learn a lot of words from my shows, and even valuable lessons. I learn about sharing, feeling angry and sad, and about manners.
After checking out Fukuoka Tower we kept walking and visited the boardwalk. So we took a walk. On our walk we found a few food stands and I spotted a few items that looked good. The weather was so nice and the atmosphere so pleasant, we found a seat and had a few snacks on the boardwalk while looking out over the ocean.
I had such a great time that I was exhausted by the time we left and I passed out once we got on the bus home.
After Mommy’s book reading we went for a walk in the area. Fukuoka Tower was nearby so we went for a visit. And a funny photo shoot.
Gathering some friends to play.
Reading books.
Checking out our garden in my new sandals.
Umbrella practice.
Cooking rice for lunch.
Eating said rice with Daddy. (Mommy had to hustle off to work…on a Saturday)
Mommy organized a book reading for work and Daddy and I went to visit her at the library. I wasn’t too interested in the book reading itself. There were many people and kids that I didn’t know, so instead of sitting to listen to the book reading I took Daddy to look for some books on our own. We found a whole shelf of books all about vehicles. We hunkered down and read a bunch of books.
After reading about half a dozen books, we went to the snack corner to have a bite while waiting for Mommy to finish work. I chose grape juice and a waffle from the vending machine. Both were delicious!
After I finished my snack, Mommy found us and we all headed out.
I am a big fan of eggs. I can eat a lot of them and in a lot of different ways. Today I wanted hardboiled eggs for breakfast so Mommy made some for me. Then I saw that Mommy and Daddy were eating egg on toast, so I wanted that as well. They had fried eggs, but I got scrambled eggs, and that was fine with me. I love eggs.
