Celebrity Millennium Japan - 10/24/2023 - Live(ish) Report

[vickykay]

Looking forward to another wonderful live review!

[Miaminice]

2023 – Japan – Celebrity Millennium – Day 4 – Osaka/Kyoto 1

In the morning we had breakfast at Blu and took our time, eagerly waiting for the ship‘s arrival in Osaka. We were looking forward to this day because we had planned a tour with Koichi san, a guide we had toured with on a previous cruise. So we were happy to find him waiting for us at the port exit when we left the ship shortly after noon.

 

 

 

First we took the local train to Osaka Station where we changed to Japans marvelous Shinkansen Bullet Train. Smoothly soaring along the track at 265 kmh or 165 mph we reached Kyoto in no time. 

 

 

 

In Kyoto station, Koichi san guided us up to the rooftop terrace of the imposing and modern building first. From up there we had a great view over the city and all the way back to Osaka.

 

 

 

 

We took an elevator down to the basement of the station and walked through a huge and luxurious food department. It was hard to resist the temptation of all the delicious looking offers, and the mouth watering scents didn’t make it easier. Koichi bought us some local pastry filled with either red or white bean paste - yummy.

 

[Miaminice]

Then we headed to our next stop - the famous Fushimi Inari Shinto shrine in southern Kyoto. It is famous for its thousands of torii gates, which straddle a network of tunnels behind its main buildings. Walking through the orange red tunnels is something every visitor to Kyoto should have experienced. Maybe you‘d even be enticed to donate a torii gate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Miaminice]

Next on our tight program was Sanjusangendo Temple, known for its 1001 statues of Kannon, the goddess of mercy. Measuring 120 meters, the temple hall is Japan's longest wooden structure. In the center of the main hall sits a large, wooden statue of a 1000-armed Kannon that is flanked on each side by 500 statues of human sized 1000-armed Kannon statues standing in ten rows. Together they make for an awesome sight.

Unfortunately photography is not allowed in the hall.
 

 

 

 

 

 

[Miaminice]

Last but not least we visited Kiyomizudera Temple by walking through the Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka historical preserved area. The over 1250 year old temple is nestled into the mountainside of Mt. Otowa. Seeing it in the light of the setting sun was an unforgettable experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Miaminice]

A 15 minute walk past the 46m high pagoda of Hokan-ji Temple brought us to the Geisha district of Gion where Birgit and the rest of our group had tickets for a show at the Gion Corner Theater.

While the others enjoyed the show, I accompanied Koichi san on his way to the station and had the privilege of him showing me an interesting way back through the Pontoncho area of Kyoto.

Domo Arigato Gozaimasu, Koichi san for an incredible day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 27, 2023 by Miaminice

[DaKahuna]

 @Miaminice  What camera are you using to take all these beautiful pictures?

 

[Scottishclover]

Just wanted to say this review is amazing. So informative and the photography is top class. It’s clear you have a real love and respect for Japan and its traditions. 
 

 We had a cruise booked to Japan in March 2024 with Celebrity but had to cancel as one of our daughters is on her year abroad in Germany  and the other one couldn’t go either due to commitments with her studies. We decided it wouldn’t be the same without them but after reading your review I’m wishing me and my husband were still going! 
 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise. I can’t wait to see more of your travels.
 

 

[Miaminice]

8 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 @Miaminice  What camera are you using to take all these beautiful pictures?

 

😌 Iphone 13 Pro. Didn’t bring anything else this time.

Edited October 27, 2023 by Miaminice

[villauk]

Enjoying your wonderful review. Do you have a contact email address or link for your guide, Koichi, please? It looks like he provided the perfect day for you.

[Norwaylady]

Oh, this brings back great memories from our Japan adventure❤️ 

Love your pictures🥰 

[Miaminice]

6 hours ago, villauk said:

Enjoying your wonderful review. Do you have a contact email address or link for your guide, Koichi, please? It looks like he provided the perfect day for you.

Koichi (Koichi Wasa) from Toursbylocals. com.
Just note that you should be able to walk swiftly and manage many steps for the tours. 🙂

[hcat]

Beauitiful Review continues!

I looked up Goddess of Mercy ..very interesting entries!

 

Boy that's  one fast train

Edited October 27, 2023 by hcat

[bjahil47]

Never been to Japan and I find your pictures and commentary captivating!  Thank you!  Enjoy your cruise, I am leaning a lot!

[DaKahuna]

9 hours ago, Miaminice said:

😌 Iphone 13 Pro. Didn’t bring anything else this time.

 

 Thank you.  I recently upgraded my 13 ProMax for the 15 ProMax and was intending to use that for my camera as well. 

 

[Miaminice]

4 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 Thank you.  I recently upgraded my 13 ProMax for the 15 ProMax and was intending to use that for my camera as well. 

 

used to take big Canon EOS, but not any more. The Iphones take great pictures in almost any situation.

[dock]

Love your writing style.

I feel the Serenity and calmness of the shrines through your descriptions.

 

We’re looking for options for an O ,Athens - Istanbul which could be a no go for next July , if things continue or escalate in the region. 
 

So now looking at Japan or moving our 2025 Iceland/ Norway to 2024 but off course I’d be paying way more for it now. 
Any insights appreciated. 
Thank you. 

[cinnamon]

Thanks very much for the this wonderful Live(ish) review. I’ll be on Millie next September and this is really whetting the appetite. 

My question is this. We are two friends in our early 70s and neither of us has visited Japan before. Whilst we don’t have mobility problems as such, I think the tour you described may be a bit too taxing for us. Do Tours by Locals offer something a little easier or do you think we’d miss out a lot?

[Miaminice]

9 minutes ago, cinnamon said:

Thanks very much for the this wonderful Live(ish) review. I’ll be on Millie next September and this is really whetting the appetite. 

My question is this. We are two friends in our early 70s and neither of us has visited Japan before. Whilst we don’t have mobility problems as such, I think the tour you described may be a bit too taxing for us. Do Tours by Locals offer something a little easier or do you think we’d miss out a lot?

They customize tours, so you could let them know in advance.

However, we found tour guides in Japan to be generally fast walkers because they feel obligated to exactly stick to the times of the tour itinerary. It’s like their train system 😁

Tours involve fast walking and steps in the temples and stations.

 

[cinnamon]

Just now, Miaminice said:

They customize tours, so you could let them know in advance.

However, we found tour guides in Japan to be generally fast walkers because they feel obligated to exactly stick to the times of the tour itinerary. It’s like their train system 😁

Tours involve fast walking and steps in the temples and stations.

 

Eek!

Thanks for the heads up. I guess we’ll try to work on our fitness for the next 11 months. 😉

[Miaminice]

2023 – Japan – Celebrity Millennium – Day 5 – Osaka 2

 

We quite enjoyed not having to get up early after the eventful day before. Because of the beautiful sunshine we gave Blu a pass and had breakfast outside at the Oceanview Cafe.

 

 

Invigorated by all our favorite goodies we left Millennium around 10am and took the train to Osaka Castle.

Just like the Torii gates of Fushimi Inari, the image of Osaka castle is probably shown on every documentary about Japan. And rightly so… although today’s castle is only a reconstruction of the original structure, it’s simply magnificent. We didn’t go into the castle this time, but I wanted to at least take some photos. The weather was perfect - so I apologize for the many images. You can tell, I really like the castle.

 

 

 

 

We rounded the castle and enjoyed the many Japanese kids happily waving at us Gai-Jin and rewarding us with smiles and laughter when we waved back and said “Ohayō gozaimasu”, meaning Good Morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Miaminice]

Many photos later we walked to the nearest subway station and rode to Osaka’s Dotonbori District.

 

 

 

The Dotonbori District is known for its eccentric and extremely lively atmosphere and also for the countless restaurants and stalls for Osaka’s many local specialties like Takoyaki Octopus Balls, Udon Noodles, Buns filled with crab meat and so on. The restaurants are trying to lure in the customers with huge billboards and statues but you can easily find the most popular ones. They have long lines in front of them.

 

 

 

 

[Miaminice]

We walked around a bit and took pictures of the world’s only oval shaped ferris wheel on the side of Ebisu Tower and then stumbled upon the small Buddhist Hozenji Temple hidden in the middle of the chaotic shopping area. 
 

 

It’s supposed to bring luck to splash water on the Fudo Myoo statue of this temple. You'll notice the statue is covered head to toe in moss, the result of many thousands of visitors pouring water over it.

 

 

Seeing all the area’s enticing food offers had made us hungry, so we had a good (and spicy) Ramen before we tried some other local dishes.

 

 

 

 

 

[Miaminice]

We headed back to the subway station through the shopping arcade and took the train back to the port. Birgit went back on board and I explored the Tempozan Market under the Giant Tempozan Ferris Wheel for a bit.

 

 

 

 

I even found the twin sister of Copenhagen‘s Little Mermaid.

 

 

Just before we were supposed to sail, the sky turned black and the wind started howling through the spokes of the Ferris wheel, blowing over signs and some barriers. So the Captain waited until the thunderstorm was over before we pushed away from the pier.

 

Although it didn’t impact our cruise, it was still kind of sad. As always in Japan, they had arranged a show to say goodbye. And there was a soprano singing „Time to say goodbye“ with a wonderful voice. Unfortunately now there weren’t many passengers on their balconies in the rain. She sang so beautifully that we - again - had tears in our eyes. Did I mention already that we love Japan? 😉

 

Sailing into a now beautiful sunset we were already sure that this third visit to Japan will most likely not be our last.

 

[LouChamp]

Aloha. Enjoying your reports and pictures. Our daughter and her husband just returned from three weeks in Japan and sent us so many pictures from different sites as you have lol. Sorry about the typeset I hit  the wrong button.  Enjoy!