Harlow Goes to Tokyo

I am always amazed when i get off a flight and still have both eardrums in tact. My child has yet to be like that annoying baby that made me buy my noise cancelling earbuds in the first place. I'll give it a couple more months...I'm sure i'll be writing a blog in by then letting you know how awful our trip was because my kid wanted to crawl in the aisles the whole time and scream during take off and landing.

Like most of our trips, we weren't too sure where we planned on going until a couple days before. Greece was our top choice but opted for a cruise out of Yokohama, Japan that took us to three different islands, one being in South Korea and the other two in Japan.

I say "we" lightly in this part of the story...we love cutting it very close getting to the airport on time for flights. It was a lot easier pushing the envelope when it was just us two. Now that we have added some additional luggage, it gets to be very tricky. This flight situation was no different. We parked the car as our flight began boarding. Went through security, got chosen for a random search. They had to test my hands, which apparently tested positive for the explosive scheisse they were looking for. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, the supervisor came over, ran an additional test, gave me a smooth, yummy pat-down and we were good to rock and roll. We hopped on the train at Denver International and got off at the B concourse. The amazing race began! I had Harlow in the baby chest holder with her stroller, Jeremy with our bags. He took off like a bat out of hell running to the gate before it closed. If being late wasn't bad enough, Our gate was of course at the far end of the concourse. Trying to keep Harlow from bouncing with one hand and pushing the stroller with the other, the guy with the golf cart yells "get in!" Dude saved the day! I got to the gate the same time Jeremy did, but with a lot less sweat. We boarded and made it to San Fran, where we had a few hour layover then boarded our flight to Tokyo.

Same drill, but a lot longer flight. We made sure to have a bottle ready for takeoff to avoid her ears from popping and had formula ready to go in individual bags for this 13 hr flight. The flight attendants were so kind and helpful during this long segment. They gave us a bassinet for Harlow to sleep in as well as nice blankets / pillows and champagne for this mama! Cocomelon was on the playlist of Harlow's tv while I opted for the traditional Friends episodes. In order to keep the kid busy, we took walks around the plane, played with different toys, read books, took naps and had our bottles and snacks. Har was very occupied the whole time and loved making friends with the other passengers as well.

When we arrived in Tokyo, our little 6 month old acquired her first passport stamp. Jeremy and I were so proud of our little traveler! When we left it was 10am in Denver, and we arrived to Tokyo in the early afternoon. We were exhausted but knew we needed to keep ourselves

up if we were going to get on a good sleep schedule for this trip. We took the public bus from the airport to the stop 2 blocks from our hotel, walked the rest of the way and checked into the Hyatt Regency, Yokohama. The hotel altogether was gorgeous and the lobby really grabbed your attention with this fabulous crystal chandelier in the shape of a huge globe. It was very modern with a twist of traditional Japanese accents. Our room was so chic with a crib already in the room and the BEST FREAKIN TOILET I'VE EVER USED. My ass has never been as clean as it was in Asia. They do not play - when it comes to the bidet! The Hyatt also had amazing room amenities which included DHC skincare. I ordered the olive virgin cleansing oil right when I got home! It's the bomb!!

To keep ourselves awake, we walked the downtown looking for something to do. We stumbled upon Cosmo World, an amusement park open to the public. Just walk in and pay for the rides a la carte. We all went on this massive ferris wheel, Cosmos Clock. The carts had AC in them which made the long ride so comfortable considering it was in the 90's during our whole trip. Our kid decided it was a great idea to destroy her diaper whilst riding the wheel so that was a bucket list item I wasn't aware I had - changing an explosive shit on a ferris wheel. Check! We then stopped for some bibimbap at a little local eatery and had some ice cream following. After, we began our walk back to the hotel. I have never felt as safe as I did walking the streets at night in Asia. And everywhere was so clean!

The next morning we had a couple hours to kill before boarding our cruise ship at 2:30pm. Chinatown was a couple blocks from our hotel, so we ventured on foot yet again. We kept Har in her Stroller with the detachable fan, which was more than necessary with the heat. This bomb @$$ pancake spot had those soufflé pancakes that you see all over tiktok so we had to stop and check them out. They lived up to the hype and expectations! SO DELICIOUS!! After breakfast, we found this cute shop selling traditional Chinese gowns in Chinatown. Obvi we had to hook the kid up with one! The ladies in the shop were the absolute best! This was the start of the concept "it takes a village to raise a child" to appear. One of the ladies took Harlow right out of her stroller, walked over to the mirror and began making funny faces and getting the biggest laughs from our girl.

Sidenote: Throughout the whole course of our trip, people would come up to us and start playing with Harlow. Some/most would take her out of our hands and show her off to the group of people they were with. We were super weirded out the first couple of times but then it became normal and we realized people just wanted to help and play with a baby. I had so much video content of people doing this that I turned it into a tik tok. We got a good laugh at the comments and how rude some people can be. Gotta love the Karens!

It was about noon and we decided to go to the hotel, grab our bags, get in a taxi and head to the port. We figured worst case scenario we wait until 2:30, best case - we get in line early and board a little bit before we were supposed to. We did not think there was going to be an option c of better scenarios! MSC Cruise Ship Bellisima was what we were on. This was the smoothest boarding ever! We arrived and were given Priority boarding stickers thanks to Harlow Marlow. We went from one station to the next in a jiffy! Altogether the boarding process including customs took about 15 minutes to get all the way through. 25 minutes if you count the 10 we spent in the family bathroom changing a diaper and over thinking what was a sink and what was potentially a urinal - these bathrooms were wild!

We got on the ship (which was freaking huge) got lost getting to our room and then boom, found it. This room was the best room we have had thus far on a ship. We chose a balcony room for the intention that Harlow would need to nap and we definitely did not want to be stuck staring at only walls. The idea behind this paid off considering we had two days at sea which meant at minimum, two hours of napping each day. Jeremy and I were able to have good conversation over a nice views of the waves crashing in front of us.

The following day was our first day at sea. It was also my birthday which was kind of fun! I woke up, got breakfast and walked along the outer pool decks. An outdoor workout was taking place (which was pure entertainment) so I had to join in. Jeremy mocked me hardcore then proceeded to sit on a lounge chair with Harlow while I finished my morning stretch. We then got changed and went to the pool for a little. All morning Jeremy kept asking me what time I want my birthday gift. I thought he was just being a weirdo so I didn't give him a time. He rushed me out of the pool after about 20 minutes and let me know that I had a massage appointment at the spa in 15 minutes. I made it on time and had a nice relaxing hour of my own thoughts for the first time in 6 months. No baby, no husband. Just me and fully knotted back that I had no clue about. I wanted to cry from Violet viciously goin' ham on my back but that was per my request.

I was a noodle after and made my way to find my crew. I thought I saw Jeremy in a crowd of people and children surrounding him but thought there ain't no way...Sure enough it was him and my best girl! She had made a gang of friends and they were all around her playing, hanging and chatting it up! The cutest sight to see! They stuck around for a little then went on to their next activity. We ventured around the ship, went to shows and grabbed dinner later before hitting the sheets. We setup a sleep area for Harlow on the couch next to our bed. We then used the leg rests to work as a safety bar on the side of the couch so she wouldn't roll off. They offered to bring a crib in but we would rather the extra space and the couch scenario worked well for the full 6 nights we were on the ship.

Docking in Jeju Island, South Korea at 8am came early the next morning. We took our time getting off the ship as we were there until 7pm. The sticky buns at breakfast were fuego. Getting off the ship was as efficient as getting on. We took the stroller and backpack for the day keeping it light. Jeju Island was very small but packed a lot of charm. Friendly people, good coffee shops and lets be real, the Korean BBQ. KBBQ is my jam. Top three fav food groups. We went into a restaurant and asked to see a menu as best as we could. The lady held up two fingers for two people then prompted us to the nearest table. We had the intention of just looking at the menu (with google translate) but it turned into a full meal after they brought a load of sides and meat out to our table. The commitment was official now. Let me just say, this was not your regular DTLA KBBQ. WHICH I WOULD MUCH RATHER HAVE. I don't know wtf we ate but Jeremy and I read that the island was known for horse meat and seafood. We swore we weren't going to pry on the meat selection but rather just eat it and be grateful for the meal. It wasn't the best and it wasn't the worst.

The Dongmun Fish Market was a known stop in Jeju Island so we had to go! If I'm being honest, we had no freakin clue. We were walking and managed to walk right into it. This place was freakin rad. It was what you would expect to see our your visit to Asia. The smell was rank, the people were out and it was pure chaos. Right away, this sweet lady walks up to us and takes Harlow to go meet her friends. We again asked ourselves wtf is going on? as we crept behind this lady v closely. After that friendly visit we made our way through the chaotic scene of food with big fires everywhere, dead fish staring you in the face and people constantly stopping us to see the baby.

Casual Liv fashion, we found a craft brewery and obvi had to give it a go. There was a line out the door. We waited about 15 minutes then ordered 2 rosehips wheat lagers and lemme tell ya, them thangs was dangerous! After that, we stopped at a convenient store to grab snacks and a Guinness for the Irish man before heading back to the ship. Sidenote: Personal space does not exist anywhere in Asia.

Next day was Hakata, Japan. This day was filled with such traditional elements of Japanese culture. First we went to the Fukuoka Castle Ruins. The acreage was filled with ponds of lily pads, Cherry Blossom Trees and remains of Castle ruins that were white buildings with black traditional Asian style shingles.

We then caught a taxi to the Kushida Shrine. What a presence this place had! From the moment we stepped out of the taxi, our attention was fully hooked on this place. Gorgeous bright red, yellow and accents of the rainbow. Black details outlined the exquisite characters of the Japanese gods and festival floats. Different buildings within the same structured area representing different gods to pray to along with largest otafuku mask in Japan and a fountain where people pray for eternal youth. The history goes back as early as 757.

While taking it all in, we hear someone say "Hi Harlow!" it was her friends she made on the ship the day before. We had a good laugh thinking "only this kid would run into a friend in a different country". A drum circle begins to play traditional music and people gather around to watch the show. Along with Harlow, we were so amazed and excited to watch this take place. What a memory to be in this sweet shrine with the traditions of Japan banging in the drums and ringing through the city. While we took videos of the sites, people kept asking to take pictures of Harlow. I swear there are more than 100 random photos of my child surfing through Asia at the moment. She was a huge hit and while we think she is the coolest kid ever, we are still confused why people acted like she was famous. So many asked for a picture with her or if they could take one of her. Weird. but whatever.

Once the music came to a stop, we walked aimlessly around the city looking to find a spot to get mani and pedis. Instead, we spent $16 and got a 30 minute massage. I had just had one two days ago and someone had to hang with Harlow so Jeremy gave it a go. His summary was "weird but felt good". I thought he got a happy ending but he claimed the strange face was because he fell asleep and just woke up before walking back to the lobby. Time to head back to the ship, get a good night's rest then up again for the next stop - Yatsushiro, Japan.

(this was not the place he got his massage...but i had to act like it was)

There was no plan in place at this stop. We had accomplished what we set out to see at the

shrine the day before. Only thing we wanted to do was try and find a spot for nails and toes. After walking to a place that couldn't take two walkins, we found a small cafe on a second floor of a building that shared a veterinary clinic on the first floor. Cafe AgreAble was the bees knees! We had no clue what we were doing and it showed! The owner came down to the front door and greeted us outside with frozen water bottles. We were drenched in sweat! She welcomed us up and had a back and forth conversation via google translate to get coffees ordered along with the best tiramisu I have had in my life! She picked up Harlow, played peekaboo and rocked her around the cafe.

We then tried to ask the owner if she knew any place nearby that offered massages. She asked what time we needed to be back to the ship then asked us to hang on a sec while she

checked something. She had called a massage place, booked two 1hr massages for each of us and called to request a taxi for pickup. When no taxi was available she let us know that she "had kindness in her heart for us and would drive us to the massages". We did not know this woman but judging by the rest of our trip and how kind people were, we took the ride and thanked her tremendously when we arrived to our destination. She then walked us inside to check us in for our appointments and requested that the front desk call us a taxi back to the city center when finished, where we would then get back to the boat in time.

The appointment time worked out perfectly as it was Harlow's nap time. She stayed in the stroller for the duration of the massage and woke up towards the end. The lady let me grab her and place her on my stomach as she finished working on my arms one at a time so I could help balance her. We finished the day by going to dinner on the ship and catching a show.

Our last day was at sea. There was a Typhoon taking places in Japan which cause horrific 17ft waves!!! We rocked so hard for the majority of our cruise but it strangely did not affect any of us. We occupied our time on the boat by catching some shows, singing karaoke and eating like the fatass Americans that we are. Harlow was such a big hit with the MSC Cruise staff, that they gave her a t-shirt, little toy boat and a stuffed MSC character. The next day we disembarked the ship and debated staying an additional day in Tokyo to take Harlow to Tokyo Disney. We decided to save that for another time and headed for the airport. We took a taxi from the port to the train terminal in Yokohama where we caught a super nice train to the Narita airport.

Although our trip had to come to an end at some point, it gave us a totally different perspective on Asia as a whole. We went not knowing what to expect, but left feeling overwhelmed with happiness towards the culture, food and cleanliness of the cities we went to. Normally when we travel, we always opt for a European getaway but after this excursion, we both said that we enjoyed the experiences that came with Asia a lot and would be adding more countries in Asia to the must-see list! As always, my advice with a little one is to book the trip, make the mems and get you a travel proof stroller!

"Live through love, learn through patience, and accept kindness with gratitude"

:Liv