Tokyo Disneyland Adventure
Long ago, a long layover in Tokyo persuaded
my flying partner and I to venture out to
visit Disneylando, as the locals called it.
We started out early in the fog about 8 a.m.
We had our map that was printed in mostly
Japanese, and we asked a worker at the train
station the train stop where we should depart
from. He told us to depart the train at Funabashi.
Figuring out how to purchase a token for
the train was an adventure in its self as
the instructions were only in Japanese which
neither one of us were able to comprehend.
We finally asked a student who was a stranger,
but was willing to help us get the correct token.
We had been told that the train station was very
near Disneylando and we thought we would not
have a problem finding it as every taxi knew how
to get us there. Soon we were on our way feeling
excited to experience the fun in Tokyo Disneyland.
We kept a careful eye on the train stops and in
just a little while we saw Funabashi. We gathered
our things and quickly departed. We found ourselves
on a small island with several train tracks on both
sides all alone. We looked at each other with dismay
and decided we would board any train, no matter
where it was headed. At this point we said a little
prayer that we would find someone, anyone, who
could understand English who might be willing to
help us. We boarded the next train that arrived in
about 15 minutes. There was standing room only,
but there were many students who were eager to
show off their English skills.
This particular train made many, many stops... we
didn't care as long as it got us there! We were only
on the train for a short time before seeing Funabashi
again.
This time before we departed we asked our friendly
Japanese students "is this the stop for Disneylando?"
They said "no," so we trusted them. We were a little
worried they might be having some fun with us, but
soon there was another train stop that said Funabashi.
We felt sure this was our destination, but again we
asked "Disneylando?" and we were told "no." This was
becoming to be a bit of a comical fiasco for us.
Many students had departed by this time and we were
able to find a seat. After several more stops there was
another Funabashi, the fourth in all, and we were told
by several young students "Disneylando!"
We were so relieved to leave that train behind us. We
found a taxi and soon arrived to Disneylando about
two hours longer than it should have taken us. It was
noon! We thought there would be a lot of international
visitors. We were wrong, we seemed to be the main
attraction with our blonde and strawberry colored hair.
We were stared at with amazement by all the little
children and some adults too. We saw no other light
haired people there the entire day. Ruth and I both
had to laugh at how cute Mickey Mouse sounded
speaking Japanese.
One of the most popular rides at our California
Disneyland is 'It's a small world' but we were
delighted to see no long line for that ride at
Disneylando, and our feet were so tired we rode
it four times in a row. It lasted for twenty minutes.
If I remember correctly, there were no Cups and
Saucer ride and no Bear Jamboree there. We
also noticed that every bit of grass and flowers
had a fence around it. We thought it best to leave
before dusk, tired and hungry. We were determined
to find a fast train back, and we did! It was an
adventure we still look back on and laugh at.
5-17-20
~Second Place Premiere Contest~
Action Adventure Poetry Contest
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Copyright ©
Connie Marcum Wong
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