Over on Awaji Island in Japan is a brand new Godzilla Zipline that's inside the Nijigen no Mori (anime park). In this episode, Chris shares his experience getting to Awaji Island (near Kobe and Osaka in Kansai) and how not to miss your bus stop cause that'll ruin your day.

This is the perfect day trip if you're spending time in the Kansai area including Universal Studios Japan! We're trying a new format out with having episodes focused on easy day-trips from the major theme parks. Let us know what you think.

Recently, the Japanese government has mentioned plans to reopen the borders to the country in spring 2021. While this is only a trial basis, this week in the podcast we discuss what this means for you and your potential trip in 2021.

For details check out our blog post.

Universal Studios Japan surprised everyone with the announcement of a new Mario cafe and shop. While the Super Nintendo World at the Park doesn't open, now, until spring 2021.

I headed on over to Universal Studios Japan to try all new Mario-themed goodies in the cafe. Trish and I discuss everything you need to know about wanting to experience this at Universal Studios Japan in this week's episode!

Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea reopened the parks on July 1, 2020. Since then there have been so many changes in how things work in the Parks. It's dizzying, confusing, and frankly overwhelming.

Trish and I discuss all these changes and help make sense of them.

• "Entry Request" system for Beauty and the Beast
• Standby Pass
• Less entertainment and more photo ops
• Reservations for restaurants and stores
• Park tickets

Japan is currently boosting domestic travel with their Go To Travel campaign. I take advantage of the discounts and travelled from Chiba to Osaka to visit Universal Studios Japan, Kyoto, Nara, Kobe, and Himeji Castle! We talk about how to get these deals and how cheap I got the hotel rooms. Along with a discussion of how Universal Studios Japan is doing since its reopening in June.

If you live in Japan, book your hotels through Agoda to take advantage of the Go to Travel discounts.

Visit any of the Disney Parks in Tokyo, Hong Kong, or Shanghai, and you'll see Duffy and his friends dominating the Parks. From his fumbled beginnings in Walt Disney World to have a presence in every Park in Asia. Duffy and his furry, and now reptile, friends are here to stay.

In this week's episode, we ask the question "Why are Duffy and friends so popular?" Join us as we tackle this question head-on!

It's no secret that the year 2020 has been, well, I don't think it needs any more rehashing. We know how the year has gone.

Over at Tokyo Disney Resort, there's a lot of confusion with how the merchandise is working now. Some items are only at Tokyo DisneySea, Tokyo Disneyland, or even only at Bon Voyage (which you need a reservation for). Trish and I clear the confusion and discuss what this year means for merchandise at the resort.

An extension of our 200th episode where we dive deep into Tokyo Disney Resort. Trish and I discuss the changes we've personally experienced over the past 10 years at Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. Epic Halloween shows that are a thing of the past to the increase in English within the Parks.

Come and join us and learn more about Tokyo Disney Resort!

We're celebrating 200 episodes of the TDR Now Podcast! We started the podcast over 5 years ago and we cannot thank you all enough for joining us on this journey.

To celebrate, we go over our favourite moments from Tokyo Disney, Hong Kong Disneyland, Shanghai Disneyland, Universal Studios Japan, and other theme parks over the past 5 years.

You can listen to all our past episodes right on our website (iTunes only goes back 100 episodes).

Tokyo Disney Resort reopened both Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea on July 1, 2020. Trish and I talk about how the Parks work now with the new health and safety measures as Japan navigates the COVID-19 pandemic.

We were so close to having this as our 200th episode! Make sure you stay tuned for our upcoming 200th episode in a few weeks.