mj_holiday

Monday April 8, Busan South Korea Today we decided just to ride the shuttle bus to town and do some shopping. Well, we headed out, went immigration and found the shuttle bus was on lunch break. So we got a cab. The driver took us on a small tour of the city. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom the previous day, so they were still beautiful. We also saw a UN monument and a beautiful beach in the center of the city. We got to the shopping area, looked around and decided we were thirsty. We found a little sushi restaurant and had a nice break. Not finding any thing we wanted to buy we headed back to the ship. Busan is a very large and modern city. Driving back to the ship I saw one of their artificial “police”. It was a blowup image waving an orange traffic flashlight warning traffic of road work. (I wasn’t fast enough to get a pic). We made it back for Trivia, short one team player, but still placed third. Had a lovely dinner with new server, many came on board this morning.

We were in an Explorer G for a transatlantic. The Queen bed size did not bother us. At that time (the first year) they were changing the name quite a bit. So I think it is a bit larger than a US queen. The thing that bothered us about the size was the coffee table. Since it is low like a coffee table and has a rim around the top (Explorer had more of a cage around the lower part) it really seems to make the table wasted space and we felt the smallness of the cabin. We have moved up to F levels.

The trip to the excursions was very interesting. The last spring we went to had a place that people could soak their feet in. Back in port we had to go through Japanese immigration and customs since we were leaving Japan and heading to South Korea. We made it to Trivia, we had a complete team. We managed to place third place. Dinner in Compass Rose was again very good. I had Mizo Glazed Sea Bass and really enjoyed it.

Beppu continued We next went to another spring that has a red pond. The garden around the spring was just beautiful. The spring is red because of the iron content. The last spring we visited, had a blue pond and even prettier gardens. All of the shops that we visited also had gift shops with items made from their mineral Springs snacks, and one had a sake tasting.

April 7 Sun I finally got down to the Coffee Connection this morning and got a Cronut, delicious, I am going to have to control myself with these. Our tour in Beppu was to several hot springs. As the bus was approaching the area you could see “vents” of steam rising from many places on top of the horizon. Our first stop was to a place with several small thatched buildings. It was explained that minerals were produced by letting the steam in the huts become liquid and then condenses and crystallized into the mineral, There was a basin of water from the spring to dip our hands in. Different springs contain different minerals.

We also went by the area that had been Hiroshima Castle and was destroyed in 1945, the moat still exists. Recently, they had rebuilt part of the castle. Artur ended after trivia had started so we just came up to our room and relax with a drink and got ready for dinner. Dinner again was excellent, we both had the destination dinner, which was Mizo glazed monkfish, wonderful.

April 6 today we were stopping in Hiroshima. Our tour was a panoramic tour of Hiroshima, which included the atomic bomb dome. The city itself is very large, very clean, has six rivers like 200 bridges. our guy told us that the cherry blossoms were at the peak of their blooming. It’s just beautiful cherry blossom trees all over the place. As we approached the garden and the atomic bomb dome, our guide gave us a brief history of that day in 1945 when an atomic bomb exploded above the dome. The dome was the only structure in the area that was still standing. They have since created a memorial garden to remind people, the importance of peace. There is also a mound, with the door, being from Oklahoma I thought tornado shelter, but no, this is the place where they put the ashes of over 70,000 people who were not identified who died because of the bomb. The entire part is very beautiful and lots of people were enjoying the beautiful weather and we’re out in the park.

As the ship pulled away from Port that evening, again, we had people from the village on the dock, waving goodbye to us and wishing us bon voyage.

After our time at the bridge, we headed back to the craft village to pick up our paper and then back to the ship. At the port, several small shops were set up, so we went shopping and then back on board for trivia. We had a complete team this time and we were able to finish in first place.

Our next stop is a submersible bridge. I’m not sure how it’s submerges in the water, but there are several of these types of bridges in Japan. Several people walked across the bridge. I decided I just stand and watch since it’s a one lane bridge and traffic is still going across it.

The paper is set to dry. We then move on to a bridge to look at while our paper dries. We will come back to the craft village after it has dried to pick up our paper

When we got to the craft village, we were all ushered inside and stood around a wooden vat of water and some kind of wood pulp. The pulp is from a special tree, but I forgot the name. They demonstrated making the paper and with instructions in Japanese and pointing, and a few English words, we got the idea. One by one, we got to make our own paper in a mold that they had for us to use. With great coaching from the attendants there we each got our own paper made and stacked up to dry.

The cherry blossoms are really in bloom, and looks so pretty among the hills and valleys, and along the roads.

Our excursion today was to go to a craft village and learn how to make paper. As we took the bus away from the port, I started noticing many squares of gray water, which looked like some kind of a treatment plant. But there were way too many of these, and so I asked our tour guide about them. He calmly said they were rice patties. What else could they be? We saw many of these squares of water under the overpasses, and along the road as we drove. A picture from a moving bus does not do it justice but you’ll get an idea

April 5 Kochi I’m getting locked up when I attempt to post more than one photo so I will do this days update in several small submissions As we came into port, we were greeted by a display of people on the dock, waving flags and singing welcoming us to Kochi.

April 4 continued. As we were leaving the museum, we bought some souvenirs and asked the person working there how to get a taxi back to the cruise ship. She gave us several explanations which we did not understand. Then she picked up her translator and spoke to it and the translator told us how to get to the bus station where there were taxis. We got a taxi back to the cruise ship, found our way through the various rooms with helpful signs that said to ship. Our team for trivia was -2 people who were still on an excursion, the four of us still had quite a bit of fun coming up with answers, and we got a third place, when all was said and done. Dinner was in Prime 7. It was a very good meal. We each had 6 ounce fillets and they were delicious. I’m not sure we needed a steak knife. I was sorry to admit, after we finished the steaks, that I was too full to have the caramel popcorn, chocolate ice cream sundae. While we were eating, a group of at least 15 or 16 drums were just off the ship and gave us a drum performance. It was very interesting and you didn’t need to see it or be on a balcony to hear it.

Thursday, April 4 - we overnighted in Kyoto and have no excursion scheduled today because as I looked at the revisions to the descriptions, they all were too strenuous. So we research things to see today and we decided on two museums. As we left the ship and went through customs, we found an information desk and showed them the names of the two museums. The museum that made the most sense to visit was Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum. A person from the information desk took us out to a taxi cab and gave him the address. She also gave us a piece of paper with the name of the port, written in Japanese, for us to give to a taxi to get back. The museum was fascinating. Not only did it have a huge array of wood tools throughout the centuries in Japan. It also had many examples of intricate building methodologies that result in some of the buildings you see around Japan. There were also a few hands on exhibits where we could take something apart and try to put it back together. There was also quite lot of information and displays on a plane, the tool used to smooth surfaces and shave off wood. They had a little bitty planes, large planes, and planes for different types of wood or end result. They also had many displays, and a video explaining how you make one of these planes. They also had examples of various thicknesses of shavings that can be made by a plane. Noticed that the gentleman is holding the wood with his feet. Below are some examples of shavings made by various planes I am by no means a carpenter, but I really appreciated the depth that this museum went to explaining the art of carpentry.

Reusable water bottles are provided and place to fill them up as you leave the ship.

April 3 , we arrived in Kyoto at noon so the morning was like a sea day. We got laundry turned in, got the newspaper set up, and got on a list for a galley tour,. We also exchanged some excursion tickets since they are turning out to be more difficult than the description says. In the morning was a wine tasting in the atrium. The tasting was of several of included wines on the ship. There were eight reds and eight whites to taste from various regions around the world. It was quite popular with people cutting in lines to get a sample. I kept a list so I can ask for other wines at the meals. But I do need to say that the wines offered have been very good. Since we didn’t have an excursion in the afternoon, and it was raining, we made the entire day a seaday. We came up with a couple of places to take a taxi to Thursday. In the afternoon, we headed to trivia. This was our first trivia this cruise (think it is the second of the cruise). And we weren’t part of the team, we needed a team. We sat at a table near the entrance to the observation lounge. I made a sign “Forming a Trivia Team” to show the people coming in. Some tried to ignore me, but one gentleman looked my way and decided to join. He quickly stepped into the role as a recruiter, and we soon were part of the team of six. We had a lot of fun coming up with our answers and finished in second place. Dinner was in Pacific Rim. Wine was offered, but we asked about sake for DH. They brought him some sake. DH had tempura lobster while I had the giant prawns. Both were delicious. We did not last to see the performance that evening.

After lunch, we left the ship to take the shuttle that’s offered. The shuttle took us to the railroad station of Shimizu. We walked around some of the area and decided it was time to stop someplace for refreshments. We then realized most of the establishments closed at 2 PM. We found a small little coffee house that was open and went in. I asked about getting two beers holding up two fingers. The server acknowledged and asked if we wanted two glasses and I said yes. I’m glad she didn’t understand that I wanted two beers. She served up two glasses and a half liter bottle of beer. That was a good size to share. She also brought some small packages of snacks. And a bowl to put them in and some handy wipes. It was a nice break. As we left, outside was the biggest dog I’ve seen and he seemed friendly but I wasn’t taking any chances. We headed back to the shuttle and took the shuttle back to the ship. We again had a lovely dinner in Compass Rose with our server Yuli, and Brad had his second lobster tail of the cruise.

Today we are in the town of Shimizu. Our excursion is a photo op tour for Mount Fuji. Our guide was very informative about the area. He explained information such as the rain on Mount Fuji travels through the volcanic soil, is purified and ends up in a spring for drinking water. It was a hazy day. We were told that yellow sand in the air is coming from China. We were also told that the cedar trees are releasing a lot of pollen, which is the reason so many people are wearing mask. Our first stop to take pictures ended up having a steep incline with lots of steps. DH didn’t attempt it. I did attempt it but only made it half up, but I still got a couple pictures of Mount Fuji. Our second stop was to a pine tree forest. Our guide explained that during World War II, Japan ran out of oil and developed a method to extract oil from burning the pine trees. In the pine tree forest, the trees do not stand tall and erect as the Douglas fir that I am used to. These limbs are all over the place. It was very peaceful setting, and the sand was beautiful. The ocean brought in the sand and gravel from Mount Fuji. After seeing the pine trees, we took another walk to a small kiosk area that sold snacks and some souvenirs. I bought a snack I have no idea what it’s like. We’ll find out back at the cabin.

It was very crowded. Getting up to the shrine to offer your prayers. There was also security enforcing no pictures and no talking. After the shrine, we went to a garden inside Tokyo. DH and I walked in far enough to use a facilities. It looked very nice. We were just exhausted. Their brochures showed what flowered by the month, but their spring has been late this year. The last stop was a walk by the emperors palace, the front gardens and lawns around the palace were beautiful. They do have an interesting way of making benches to sit in. We have seen these several places. We finally made it to Port, check in was a breeze. We soon had a glass of champagne and was escorted to our Muster station. Then we were escorted to our cabin. We dropped our carry-ons and headed to the pool grill for something to eat. I tried the lobster nachos which I have been hearing a lot about. Our luggage was delivered by the time we finished with lunch. We unpacked and made ourselves at home in our home for the next 30 days. Our suite attendant came by to introduce himself and we’re getting our bar set up with what we want. Then, on to dinner in Compass Rose and DH had his first lobster tail of the trip.

The room in Tokyo Hilton did have a kettle and Nescafé along with tea.

Today’s the day we really start our journey. We were up very early, of course. Did I mention we have crossed 11 time zones Breakfast was nice and we packed our carry-ons and we’re ready to head to the meeting place. Our suitcases were picked up last night sometime. Since the ship will not be ready for us as we check out of the hotel, Regent is having our buses due 2 to 3 sightseeing stops Our first stop was to Meiji shrine. The tour guide told us it was a 20 minute walk. Due to this DH stayed on the bus. The 20 minute walk was a fast walk. We went by many barrels filled with saki or beer. These are offerings to the Emporer The Emporer Meiji enjoyed both wine and saki. . I made it to the shrine and went in under a large Torri wooden gate. It is very different style from Christian shrines that you may think of. Entering there was a place to wash your hands which I understand, is part of the ritual. (Sorry for the upside down photo).

Do not know why the previous photo is upside down, I added it the same way I added the first two. We are now getting ready to head to the ship. I will start a new thread just for the cruise. Watch for it in a couple days.