A Chaotic Tokyo Stroll Part 3

Thank you for reading the ayamo family's chaotic outing series this far.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my scribbles and for all your likes and comments 🥹

Today is the final installment. It's the Tokyo Day 2 edition♡

1. I'm going to Joypolis

Going back 8 months, we had already visited Joypolis once as a family.

However, my eldest son, who has ASD, couldn't handle the dark, loud, thumping atmosphere of Joypolis.
We have a slightly bitter memory of regretting the 15,000 yen ticket cost while leaving having done almost nothing.

That same eldest son said he wanted to try Joypolis again.

Oh my.
Looking at how he's been doing lately, I felt like he might actually be able to do it!

So, this time, we introduced a secret weapon.

Ta-da!

Earplugs!!!

We got them at the FamilyMart near that Sukiya where we bought dinner last night. (My husband did)

Well then, what will happen at Joypolis?
Can you do it, eldest son!
Even though it's dark and thumping!

Let's start with the result.

Triggered by something, my eldest son awakened, and from there, he rode attractions like it was unbelievable.

“This is fun!”

With his usual cute smile, he even took off his earplugs halfway through.

It was my husband who played a role in my eldest son's revival.

When I left the younger child with my husband and was wandering around the venue with my eldest son who was in a 'no-go' mode,
I asked, 'If you want to do shooting, wouldn't it be more fun with Dad than with me?' and he said,“I'll go with Dad.”

Until now, I was the only one who could handle my eldest son when he wasn't feeling well.

Or rather, it might be more accurate to say that 'my eldest son' insisted it had to be me.

After he stopped going to school, there was a time when he would openly avoid my husband, saying things like 'It's a bit... when Dad is home on his day off,' and he wouldn't even sit at the same dining table.

I have always watched how my husband has faced our son in his own way, and how he works hard from morning till night to support our family.
Seeing the two of them together, with a bond between men being formed and enjoying the same things, made me so, so happy.

And look at this.
The height-based stickers he hated so much last time!

He refused to wear them when we entered this time too, but a staff member said, 'It's okay if you show it to us when you ride,' and he kept it with him carefully the whole time.

At the very last second, I stuck it on my chest myself‼️Sob


With that, our revenge trip to Joypolis was a huge success.
Whew, that was great! My eldest son, you did great!!!
My husband, who has a super weak inner ear, also tried his best for his son! Good job!! You're the best!!!

2. Degawa, Summoned

And so, we ended up spending more time at Joypolis than we expected.
Before we knew it, it was 5:00 PM. Why does this happen every time!!
Oh no, oh no, my husband has work the next day, and if we don't head home soon, we're in trouble!

However, when we stepped out of Joypolis, what awaited us was the Odaiba sea shining in the sunset.

“I want to go to the sea!”

Oh no—well, of course that would happen!!!
But I also had a desire to let my second son, who probably didn't enjoy himself as much as his older brother due to the height restrictions at Joypolis, have some fun.

And so, to the evening sea

At first, he was playing modestly and shyly, saying things like, “My hands got dirty.”
If you are a parent raising boys, you already know what happens next.

Soaking wet and covered in grit.

Oh no, oh no! I thought this might happen, but still!!!

With that, after spending a lot of time cleaning up the kids who were covered in grit from head to toe, they started calling out that they wanted ice cream, wanted to buy souvenirs, and wanted to eat dinner in Tokyo before heading home.

You guys. Your mother and father have their own circumstances, you know? Your father? He has work early tomorrow morning. This is really not the time for all that. It's a disaster!!!


But it is true that we haven't really had a proper meal despite coming all the way to Tokyo. ←

So, we headed to an Italian restaurant

It was very delicious, but at this restaurant,a major incident occurred at the very last second.

CRASH

My eldest son's elbow accidentally hit a glass, and it fell to the floor and shattered into pieces.

Of course, it was a time of day when there were many other customers in the restaurant.


My eldest son, who had been in great spirits until now, immediately went into shutdown mode, which is his least favorite situation: “making a mistake and standing out in a bad way.”

I tried soothing him, giving him space, and occasionally talking to him. I tried trial and error, but he couldn't recover, and my eldest son couldn't eat his meal at all.

Furthermore, although we had wanted to leave Tokyo by 5:00 PM, it was already past 8:00 PM by this time.

I'm panicking.

But alas, there was nothing more to be done.
Oh no, oh no, what should I do


In the end, I forgot what the timing was (← my memory is failing from exhaustion... lol), but my eldest son successfully recovered, was able to eat his meal, and managed to get his mood back, so I'll just say all's well that ends well.

On the way home.

We crossed the Rainbow Bridge while being super excited by the glittering night view of the city, and halfway through, I took over for my exhausted husband and kept speeding down the highway.

It was a night I learned that driving a 35-year-old car on a hilly highway is so tough, as I was flooring the accelerator until it felt like I'd put a hole in the floor, yet it wouldn't even go 80 km/h.


And so, we finally made it back to our home in the middle of nowhere at 1:00 AM.

FKJ / Go Back Home

If I go to Tokyo next time, I want to make sure I ask Kanto-based Noters for their recommendations first. Actually, I thought about going to teamLab instead of Joypolis, but it was already too late even though I thought of it the day before. It was so popular that I couldn't even make a reservation. I wish I had a dedicated tour guide for the ayamo family 🥹