Coming to you from the centre of the world

A brief recap: last night went to a little backstreet bar and said "Feed us please!" had lots of little taster plates of simple but marvellous food. Sake served in small bowls for ¥500, our meals ¥1000, so very well satisfied for about $20.

The hilarity began when our four vegetarians all decided to sit separately. You'd think it would be clever to clump so that when three "regular" plates and one vegetarian plate came out the omnivores would share with omnivores and the vegies... Obviously this piece of brilliance was rejected and we spent the night saying "This is the vegetarian plate! Pass it on! Have you had enough? No, this has bonito; this is chicken..."

Fortunately the brilliant BJ could see that if I sat next to a particular person only one of us would make it out alive, so she gracefully placed herself in between us and occasionally said random things like "Wow, I love green beans. Don't they just have the best flavor?!"

After a trip to a circle K and brilliant mint choc chip icecream naughtily consumed while walking along the street, my good behavior and tightly leashed (did I say leashed? Sorry, I meant cuffed hand, foot, straitjacketed and locked in isolation in a padded cell) self-control. I too was surprised and impressed.

I let myself be talked into Tokyo Sea Disney. Disappointed?

Well, my rail pass meant it was free to get here and it was only 5800yen ($70). However, I'm finding Disney by committee a little challenging. Instead of splitting up and regrouping, we're all lumped together in the queue, surreptitiously eating lunch or not, being told not to eat because we'll throw up, hearing about what we would have been better off doing and how much faster it is in wintertime. . .

We are afflicted by the presence of some accomplished killjoys. I am saying very little because I may otherwise say something very nasty.

For instance, one member of our party has boycotted this ride and chosen to stay outside to eat and look around and everyone is concerned about her. We're talking about a forty-something woman who has raised two children.

And a bit later... At five thirty, after plummeting from the Tower of Terror, we finally managed to separate from the amorphous blob with eight bickering heads and go on our own sweet way.

Much delight ensued from an excursion Under the Sea complete with nostalgic jaunt on jumping jellyfish, then some more rollercoaster action before... Arabia! Great Aladdin show - live action and 3D, then curry chicken with rice and naan and a live Bonfire Dance show ... Then more rides! I think we covered all the adult rides and a few of the kiddie ones too!

Didn't leave till the park closed and then enjoyed a peaceful ride back to Tokyo. Well, we got on the right train without incident and my arches only got stomped twice. Really, it was a remarkably successful day :)