Just when I thought I've been to the happiest place on earth, here comes Sanrio Puroland to provide more happiness! This seriously comes close to being the happiest place on earth. Okay, maybe the most kawaii place on earth.
I wanted to go to the park the last time we were in Japan but we ran out of time. So this time, there's no turning back. Especially since we plan on hoarding a couple of Meiji Milk Cream spreads in the grocery store nearby. Haha Daddy had to pass though since he badly needed a day off to rest his aching feet. Note: boat shoes are not walking shoes. :p
Stocking up on Meiji goodness.
First stop: grocery store at Tama Center. Nee-chan studied for a year in Chuo University as a foreign exchange student and she used to do her grocery shopping here. This is where she discovered our oh-so-favorite Meiji Milk Cream spread. It goes with absolutely everything. You can even eat it on its own! Before my Peanut Butter & Co./Cookie Butter/Biscoff spread addiction, there was Meiji Milk Cream. We bought four tubs each of milk and chocolate variety. Why only four each you ask? Well, those were the only ones remaining on the shelf that's why! Haha We also bought some chocolate and custard-filled bread (which became another favorite) and some KitKat green tea.
Welcome to the cutest place on earth!
Then we started walking towards Sanrio Puroland. I love how Kitty-chan can be seen on every street sign. Too adorable! It's like living in a fantasy town. And we haven't even gotten inside the park yet. Since Sanrio Puroland is targeted towards a younger audience, we didn't bother buying Passport Tickets and just opted for the Welcome Tickets (good for entrance and all shows).
With Pokopon
Upon entering the gates, you will immediately feel the warmth of the place. All the staff are smiling and there are characters already waiting to welcome you. We immediately went up to them to get our pictures taken. I love how Pokopon acted a bit alarmed after seeing the faux fur on my jacket. Haha He kept stroking it as if it were alive.
Sugarbunnies
Since we were still lugging our groceries around, we decided to go to the lockers first before going back for more pictures. Luckily, the characters were still there mingling with the visitors when we got back. I especially love these two - Kirousa and Shirousa. Aren't they the cutest? I wonder how the people inside manage to move around in these costumes though. How can they see?? Or are they midgets?
With Kuromi
Here we are with Kuromi before going inside the park. Who says Sanrio Puroland is only for kids and girls? Look how Karly and Ayel seemed more excited than Nee-chan and I in these photos!
Inside Sanrio Puroland
We were having so much fun already even though we're still at the lobby! Haha When we got inside, the park looked like something that came straight out of a storybook. Very Hundred Acre Wood ang feel!
Last night was one of the best concerts I've been to in my life and I've been to quite a lot. Seeing The Piano Guys perform live is definitely one of the highlights of my 2013. And who knew they had a great sense of humor? They should consider changing their name to The Funny Guys. Okay, seriously though, I was alternating between laughter and tears the entire time.
I've seen a couple videos on their YouTube channel before but it wasn't until recently that I was reminded of their awesomeness thanks to Erin's obsession with them. And then suddenly, we were hearing news that they're coming to Manila. Wow agad-agad! Of course, I'm always game for a night of good music so I was just waiting for my concert buddies to buy tickets and I'll just pay whenever. In the end though, it was just me and my ultimate concert buddy, Mabel, who got to catch the show. I feel bad for the others really because The Piano Guys put on a great show. Thank goodness, Mabel and I pushed through with the plan. We ain't no Pocahontases that's for sure.
Aia de Leon of Imago opened up the show. She was so nervous, she messed up the group's name but that's alright. Haha It's been years since I last saw her perform live so it was nostalgic when she sang a few Imago hits. I especially love that she chose Rainsongas her last song which is my favorite Imago song of all time. And probably the only Imago song I know the lyrics to by heart because I'm a sucker for anything that has a cultural feel to it. And come on, who could resist such creative and witty lyrics? Funny how Karly and I were even singing Rainsongon the way to MOA hoping that Aia would sing it. The chances were slim but hey, she did perform it and I was one happy girl. Trivia: It's been 15 years since she wrote the song. Gah, I feel old!
Then The Piano Guys
came on stage starting with Adele's Rolling in the Deep and the crowd
came alive. They performed covers of other several hits like Coldplay's Viva la
Vida (which gave me goosebumps), Taylor Swift's Love Story (which made the crowd sing), and Christina Perri's A Thousand Years (which made Mabel and I cry. Crying buddies for life!). I
have to say that it was after seeing their A Thousand Years cover on YouTube that I fell in love with their music. But hearing it live was something else. #mycreys
They also performed their popular mash-ups of classical and modern music like David Guetta's Titanium vs Faure's Pavane, Code Name Vivaldi (Bourne Soundtrack vs Vivaldi's Double Cello Concerto), Beethoven's 5 Secrets (OneRepublic's Secrets vs Beethoven's 5th Symphony) and Michael Meets Mozart which has 1 piano track and 100 cello tracks. How cool is that?! Steve (yes, I know their names na haha) even showed us how he does multiple cello tracks at once by recording himself and then playing that track later on throughout the song. With all that musical complexities, who would've thought it'll be just the two of them making all that sweet music on stage? I at least expected to see some touring members but no, all they need are their piano and cello. AMA-ZING!
Steve even introduced his cellos to us. Would you believe the guy owns fifteen (15) cellos?? Crazy! He only brought three (3) with him though - Boris, Carmen F-something (who is a Carbon Fiber cello) and Bruce Lee (who is a badass-looking custom-made cello). Oh and he has another cello that looks similar to Bruce Lee, only it's painted white and he named it Chuck Norris. According to Steve, Chuck Norris is so badass, he plays him. Haha
The Piano Guys may be famous for their covers and mixes but they also compose original tunes. Jon performed Waterfall, an original composition he wrote when he was 17 that got him the cutest girl in school. Aww. ♥ It only lasted two weeks though. Haha The piece was so beautifully played, it brought me to tears. Seeing Jon play the piano with such passion made me miss playing the piano. I loved the classes and the music but I hated the constant need to practice over and over again before I get to play a piece flawlessly. But I must say, the joy that comes from playing the piano is priceless. Hay my naive HS self, why did you give it up??
They even did a little improv on U2's With or Without You and it was awesome. I love Bono but in this case, words are optional when you have the cello singing for you.
Remember how I said they could change their name to The Funny Guys? Well, Steve demonstrated his cello prowess by imitating animal sounds and it was just too funny as they used it to attract some cows during a video shoot. They even played a silly song by combining The Phantom of the Opera and one happy song that I forgot because I was too busy laughing from the weird combination that could pass for a psycho-thriller theme.
They also performed their amazing remixes like Charlie Brown Medley (which was really fun to watch as the video of old people dancing played), Rockelbel's Canon (which was hilarious as Steve pretended to doze off while playing the same 8 notes over and over again. I couldn't help but laugh as he reminded me so much of Mr. Bean! Oh not to mention Jon's weird dance moves as they upped the tempo), Peponi (which gave a cultural twist to Coldplay's Paradise and gave me chills), and One Direction's What Makes You Beautiful. They brought out the rest of The Piano Guys to help them out on their last song and it was pure entertainment.
As they left the stage, the people started shouting a mix of "Encore!" and "We want more!" and I couldn't blame them. I want to hear more! So Jon came out first and told a lame joke but we laughed anyway as we waited for Steve to come back from the bathroom. Haha They performed Can't Help Falling in Love as they expressed their love for the Manila crowd. I especially love how they made the crowd sing along and it would've been a great end to a great night. But the Manila crowd was insatiable and started asking for another encore. To our surprise, they came back out again!
I was actually clueless as to what they're going to perform this time when Jon suddenly announced that they're going to play a piece from Les Mis and I just completely lost it. Define spoiled! First, Rainsong now this?? You see, I went through a Les Mis phase (actually I'm not even sure if I'm over it haha) and Bring Him Home is hands down my favorite Les Mis song after watching the 25th anniversary special where 4 Valjeans came together to sing the very emotional piece. I was singing and crying the entire time. Too beautiful. When the song ended, everyone was just clapping and standing. No more encore calls. That was simply enough. Or maybe everyone was just too emotional to even speak.
I went home that night feeling inspired and blessed by their music. How often is it that you get to enjoy music as it is without having to jump up and down or dance around? I don't think I'll get over this soon enough. So here, I'll leave you with Ramin Karimloo singing Bring Him Home beautifully. Wait, did I just post 3 consecutive Bring Him Home renditions?? Whatever. You're more than welcome to cry again anyway. :)
A trip to Japan would not be complete without visiting one of the Disney Parks. We've already been to Tokyo Disneyland so it's about time we visit DisneySea whose attractions are for older kids if I may say. It was a warm and sunny day so it's a perfect time to stroll around the park.
Unlike Tokyo Disneyland, you need to take the Disney monorail to get to DisneySea. So the Disney experience starts even before you reach the park. Being Disney babies, we were all ecstatic upon hopping on the mouse-themed train. Everything was so cute, I wanted to take the whole thing back home with me! Well, you actually can. At least the mouse-shaped handholds as they are available at the souvenir shop. Why not buy one so you will never have to worry about hygiene when taking the MRT or bus? Haha
All aboard!
After buying our park tickets, we went straight to the newest and obviously the most popular attraction in the park - Toy Story Mania! at American Waterfront. The queue was already crazy when we got there. And it's only for the fast pass! You see, Disney Parks offer fast passes to the most popular attractions so you don't have to waste your time waiting in line. It's like an advance booking to your preferred ride. Once you get a fast pass with a time schedule on it, you can try other rides and then go back to your scheduled time so as to avoid long queues. Pretty brilliant, eh?
While Nee-chan, Ayel and Daddy were waiting in line, Karly and I decided to go queue up for the StormRider at Port Discovery to save time. On our way there, Karly and I noticed that almost everyone had a particular teddybear hanging on their bags or clothes. There's even one whole store dedicated to this bear. Crazy! But more on that later.
Upon reaching the StormRider, we were surprised that there was no line at all so we decided to go back out to wait for the others. It was a funny scene since we didn't want to look like we chickened out so we asked for the nearest bathroom as an excuse to get out of there. Haha
With Mr. Incredible
When we got outside, we saw some people gathering around so we decided to check out what's going on. To our surprise, it was Mr. Incredible! Of course, I had to take a picture with him. I love how we didn't have to fight off other people just to get a decent photo. That's the Japanese for you. They'll patiently wait for their turn without photo-bombing other people.
After meeting up with the rest of the group, we went in to try out the StormRider. It was an Atlantis-themed ride so expect to get a little wet. We realized that a little too late. So in short, we got wet on our first ride in the park. Haha
