Ruminations from the Silver Muse.

[TLCOhio]

On 10/7/2023 at 7:58 AM, drron29 said:

We flew to NRT on JAL. We really like them.

So now for Terry the food. Rojaan thought her appetiser was excellent and the steak pretty good and much better than she had on Singapore or BA on this trip.

Terry the dining in Tokyo is still not cheap for us but certainly not as expensive  for  Americans.   When we first went to Japan in 1984 we were getting 360 yen for our dollar and $US 1.30. Today it is 90 yen and 62 US cents. But in 1984 we couldn’t afford to eat in any hotel restaurant yet now some are not expensive at all.  30 years of deflation are the cause of this happening. Just look up charts of the Nikkei index or Tokyo land prices. Horrendous falls.

 

Continued great updates, visuals and background from Dr. Ron about JAL and the currency trends for Japan. 

 

As to JAL, we will fly them from Singapore to HND/Tokyo.  When we return to the USA on March 5, we also have JAL to Dallas/Ft. Worth.  Plus, fortunately on that long, long flight, it will be in Business Class though our American Air Frequent Flyer miles.  Good deal!!

 

Keep up the great sharing and good luck for nice weather and smooth sailings. 

 

Nice garden visuals.  Looking calm and tranquil!! 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Sydney to NZ/Auckland Adventure, live/blog 2014 sampling/details with many exciting visuals and key highlights.  On page 23, post #571, see a complete index for all of the pictures, postings.  Now at 245,703 views.
https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1896175-solstice-live-australianzhawaii-many-pix’s-jan-20-feb-3/

[drron29]

Until now I hadn't noticed any large fish but then I saw this. they were in shallow water pushing the sand aside presumably to eat something.

 

 

 

And finally a coloured koi.

 

Walking back the long way to the hotel able to do a little train spotting.

 

 

And the automatic train to Odaiba.

 

Autumn is coming.

 

Some footpaths are beautiful.

 

And at the ferry terminal near our hotel.

.

 

[drron29]

Although we don't do buffets the dinner buffet at the moment is an Autumn Hokkaido menu with a focus on seafood particularly salmon and crab so we decided to give it a go. cost 7000 yen -$A75. But for Americans a steal at $US47. So the selections.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[drron29]

The sushi, sashimi bowls are done as you order and were very good quality.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My sashimi bowl.

 

 

[drron29]

And the rest of my meal. Hokkaido ramen salad and a few appetisers.

 

Tempura.

 

Mains.

 

And my sushi being prepared.

 

 

 

And Rojaan's then my dessert plates.

 

 

I think we got our money's worth.

 

 

[drron29]

And then my first plate for breakfast the next morning.

 

Then I was off to Hama -rikyu Gardens. First via a river cruise terminal.

 

 

 

Next to it was where they started their campaign to clean up the river and bay so ffish would return.

 

They were successful as this school of flathead mullet shoes.

 

 

It was obviously garbage collection day as neatly arranged garbage was out. This lot from one apartment block.

 

 

There was an obvious need for a tree to be removed from the moat walls.

 

Now into the gardens.

 

 

 

Now a 300 + year old pine demonstrating again how the Japanese look after and revere trees.

 

 

 

 

 

[drron29]

 

 

The Flower garden.

 

 

 

An old shrine.

 

 

 

Plum trees and spider lillies.

 

 

 

The water taxi entrance which hasn't reopened.

 

 

 

And one of the major sluice gates.

 

 

 

 

 

[drron29]

Old cherry trees.

 

 

 

Duck hunting blinds.

 

Quite a few tea houses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[drron29]

These gardens were started in the 1600s as an area for falconry for the Shoguns. It was not until 1654 that the new Shogun decided to build his residence here. One building has a display of the falconry times starting with a net they used to catch wild ducks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[drron29]

Once again the care of the trees is inspiring.

 

 

 

Now this tested out my balance.

 

But it was worth it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[drron29]

i love watching these birds. so patient.

 

 

 

 

 

 

More old cherries.

 

 

And that is the finish. I really love Jaanese gardens.

[drron29]

Another example of social distancing at a traffic light. I wondered though why they can be so good at it and then on a train, an elevator or shopping mall when it really counts they try and sqeeze as many in as possible. Just like the mask situation. More common with youngsters and not so much with the elderly. And at least 95% are simple surgical masks.

 

Lower Ginza.

 

 

Another little shrine.

 

Beautiful footpaths.

 

And some more Shinkansen watching before I got back to the hotel.

 

[Stumblefoot]

6 hours ago, drron29 said:

Mrsdrron had 2 glasses of Cloudy Bay

Wait, what?  Who in the devil is that, @rojaan19?

[drron29]

32 minutes ago, Stumblefoot said:

Wait, what?  Who in the devil is that, @rojaan19?

She has several aliases.

 

[Stickman1990]

6 hours ago, drron29 said:

…the dinner buffet at the moment is an Autumn Hokkaido menu with a focus on seafood particularly salmon and crab so we decided to give it a go. cost 7000 yen -$A75

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So is that at the Inter Continental Tokyo Bay?

 

That looks like a nice spread at a reasonable price 

[drron29]

1 hour ago, Stickman1990 said:

So is that at the Inter Continental Tokyo Bay?

 

That looks like a nice spread at a reasonable price 

Indeed it was at the IC Tokyo Bay and it was one of the best buffets we have ever had. The sushi, sashimi and tempura were of very good quality. The roast beef was excellent.

[drron29]

There may be a pause in transmission. Rojaan not very well tonight. Have had the doctor . I feel so useless.

[jpalbny]

Hoping for a speedy recovery for Rojaan!

[zqtchas]

Hope it wasn’t the buffet.

[drron29]

• Definitely not the buffet. A hopefully temporary loss of memory similiar to December last year in Singapore but that was after a fall with a couple of minutes of being unconscious and a fractured shoulder. Nothing like that this time.

Edited October 9, 2023 by drron29

[TLCOhio]

16 minutes ago, drron29 said:

• Definitely not the buffet. A hopefully temporary loss of memory similiar to December last year in Singapore but that was after a fall with a couple of minutes of being unconscious and a fractured shoulder. Nothing like that this time.

 

WOW!!  Good luck with the recovery and smooth sailing.  Keep us posted.

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

[Stumblefoot]

2 hours ago, drron29 said:

There may be a pause in transmission. Rojaan not very well tonight. Have had the doctor . I feel so useless.

See what happens when you leave your pink jacket at home?

 

Hope you get to feeling much better very soon, rojann!

[mysty]

1 hour ago, drron29 said:

• Definitely not the buffet. A hopefully temporary loss of memory similiar to December last year in Singapore but that was after a fall with a couple of minutes of being unconscious and a fractured shoulder. Nothing like that this time.

 

Oh no!  I sincerely hope she is okay!  🥰

[drron29]

Yes she is much better this morning,thinking clearly but upset at the 9 hours where she has no memory of at all.

We called off our going out on excursion and just have a quiet day.

[drron29]

So a little after the last post she complained of a left sided headache and nausea. She has a history of migraine but it had been well controlled for many years by Inderal she was put on for her SVT. The night before then sounds very like an aura with added brain stem symptoms.

She did have the fall in Singapore last december hitting her head and knocked out. Everyone felt the headache she had then and the memory problems then were due to the head injury. As the symptoms when she came to back then are the same now it almost certainly the same problem.

 

We had our usual light lunch in Kaiseki. And for those that said the rolls were all prepared this time I took shots of them being made when ordered.