Kate Chandler

chandlerkazoku

Kate Chandler

Chandler kazoku is a family of surf life savers from South Australia, Australia.



Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Sydney October 9th 2013

The 5am wakeup call for breaky was a challenge! We quickly had our ham and eggs and then off to the bathroom before landing at Sydney airport. Customs was quick considering the lineup. And then onto the last leg of our trip, a domestic flight to Adelaide. We all slept to Adelaide and met the family waiting to pick us up! By 1pm we were at home, unpacking and doing the washing....life resumes, except now we have some amazing memories and stories to tell. Japan - definitely a great place to take your family! Learning and knowing the language sure helps...Lori and Riley definitely used their skills and Andrew learnt a few helpful phrases too! Arigatou Nihon!... read more

Asia » Japan » Chiba » Urayasu October 8th 2013

We had a well deserved sleep in and went down for a buffet breaky. After breaky we found the demand swimming pool, indoor and heated too! We did 600 laps in the 15m pool, had some fun towing each other and then off to the changerooms. Back in the hotel room it was time to do one final pack and check out! The hotel looked after our luggage while we went over to do some last minute shopping and souvenir buying at the nearby shopping mall. On the way back from shopping we took 3 loop rides around the monorail . We could easily see the other park,Disney Sea, which looks like great fun, a definite for next time. The crowds were a lot smaller too,so we recommend going on a Tuesday. Back at the hotel ... read more
Hotel view, Hilton Tokyo bay
Sleeping beauty's after Disneyland
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Asia » Japan » Chiba » Urayasu October 7th 2013

Disneyland, here we come! Early start for breakfast in the Hilton's dinning room with a full buffet to fill up for the busy day ahead. The hotels bus picked us up at 7:50 for the 5 minute ride to the Disneland entrance, and have a look at the size of the crowd. Huge crowds were lining up ready for the 0800 gate opening, luckily Kate has good Japanese skills so we could move straight to a shorter line to purchase tickets. Right on 0800 the gates opened and within 5 minutes we had our 1st fast pass and were lining up for our 1st ride of the day. Tomorrowland - Star Tours, Captain EO , Space Mountain. Toon Town - Gadget Coaster, Roger Rabbit .. Critter County - Beaver Canoes where we also last saw Koala ... read more
Gadget Coaster
Canoe Ride
Princess Castle

Asia » Japan » Tokyo » Kokubunji October 6th 2013

Leaving the Coopers house in Himeji we boarded the shinkansen for our last long journey across Japan to Tokyo and Kokubunji. From Tokyo we took a local train to Kokubunji to visit our Japanese friends. Kate's old host family and the teachers that were at Kokubunji HS when Kate was at Hallett Cove R-12. Celebrated the teachers10 year relationship with a beautiful meal made by Mayumi and Toshi. The party, in true Japanese style , included gift exchanges , Japanese sake and fresh sashimi . We left there late in the evening and still had a 2 hour train trip to Tokyo Disneyland and the Hilton Tokyo Bay Hotel. From Tokyo station we took the train to Maihama station, about 20 minutes. We noticed the big crowds all coming back to Tokyo station with their Disneyland ... read more
JR Train station at Disney
Just hanging on the monorail
Riley ordering a snack on the shinkansen

Asia » Japan » Hyogo » Himeji October 5th 2013

The first half of the day was a rest day with alight lunch at home. Then we took the bikes for a 30minute bike ride through the suburbs to the ropeway for Mount Shosha. It cost about $5 each for the ropeway up and another $5 each to enter the temple walk at the top of the mountain. This is certainly a must see...we had no idea how magnificent this temple was going to be! The buildings were built around 966 but all have been rebuilt or restored over the years. There were many beautiful Buddha statues along the way but the most significant surprise was the 1000 or more tiny jizo statues along the way. These statues are said to be the protectors of children. We spent a few hours wandering in and out of ... read more
Gardens at Mt Shosa
Koala  in yukuta

Asia » Japan » Hyogo » Himeji October 4th 2013

We started the day with a well earned sleep in and slow bike ride to the shops. It was great to be away from the tourist hype. We rode our bikes from home to the busy shopping streets and malls, each mall branched off the main street withmore shops and more malls as far as your eye could see. We went to a large honya , book shop, where we bought a series of basic bilingual manga to bring home. Kate bought Doraemon, Riley bought the Tale of Genji and Lori bought a manga about a kuruta game we have played the last few nights. We rode to the shops to buy ingredients for a home cooked meal of bolognese and rice, yummy ! The girls watched a movie and ate chocolates and chips while the ... read more
Reading manga
Amane  wine bar
Sanyo building lunch

Asia » Japan » Kyoto » Kyoto » Gion October 3rd 2013

An early start on the rapid express train to Fushimi Inari to see the many tori gates. We estimated 5,000 gates lining the hill . From the temple in front of the station you walk along 3km of pathways lined with tori gates. Each gate is labelled and dated. Many were bought by companies and groups. It was an incredible site but we were saddened to see the termite damage, reminding us of home! Back on the train to Kyoto, only two stops, and then on the raku bus. This bus line takes you all around Kyoto to the major sites. Kinkakuji, the golden temple first, then on to Kiyamizudera the temple on the hill. A great place for souvenir shopping along the paved streets of Kyoto. We saw young ladies dressed in Yukata, the traditional ... read more
Torii  gates at inari
Sunset at kiyamizudera
Souvenir streets in Kyoto

Asia » Japan » Hyogo » Himeji October 2nd 2013

Arrived late last night just in time for the Coopers local shared dinner party. They live in an apartment style accommodation with 22 other families and singles. We were graciously given the lounge room to live in for a few days. Today Peter and Julie were our guides by bicycle around Himeji. First stop breaky at their local kisaten (coffee shop) and then off to the museum to see a large floor map of Hyogo prefecture ,West Japan. Then on to Himeji Jo. Unfortunately for us the castle is under repair and hidden inside a giant box the size of Seacliff Schools two story building! Except this one was 8 stories high! We went up inside by a lift to the top level where we could see the restoration in progress. Amazing to be here seeing ... read more
Coopers  hill (otokoyama ) in Himeji
Himeji Fire Station (shoubosha )
Himeji Jo 021013

Asia » Japan » Hiroshima » Miyajima October 1st 2013

After a well earned sleep in our futon we went down stairs for a western breaky . Then packed our backpack for a hike around Miyajima island. The weather was brilliant, we had 27 degrees with slight humidity and clear blue skies. We walked along the beach and took photos with the deer infront of the giant tori gate. Then up the ropeway to the top of Mount Misen. It was great to see Hiroshima and the many surrounding islands, we could also see the clear blue water lapping on the sandy beaches...we just wanted to go for a swim! We took the 2.5km walk down through the forest and came across many waterfalls and a large wild monkey, a Japanese Macaque. He didn't stay long enough for a photo and blended in well with the ... read more
Our tradition ryokan on Miyajima
Hiking down from Mt Misen
View from Mt Misen toward Hiroshima

Asia » Japan » Hiroshima » Hiroshima September 30th 2013

Early start with our luggage. We took the local train to Tokyo station to catch the shinkansen to Hiroshima. A four hour trip including change of trains at Shin-Osaka station. Travelling at almost 200kmh we passed Fujiyama on our right...a clear view of Japan's highest mountain. Once in Hiroshima we put our luggage in the station lockers and caught the romendensha (tram) to the Peace Park . Finally we were able to hang our 1000 paper cranes made by Seacliff PS. students . Another train ride and ferry over to Miyajima island . We arrived after check-in and walked 20 minutes with luggage now with two flat tyres ! We arrived at the Miyajima Seaside Hotel to be greeted in true Japanese style. Aussie thongs at the entrance and Andrew's giant feet squished into hotel slippers! ... read more
Sadako monument Hiroshima 300913
Riley and Kate hanging cranes 300913
Peace flame and park




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