Best of Japan - Millennium 5/2 - 5/15

[DaKahuna]

Our second tour stop was at the Kiyomizudera Temple, another World Heritage site.  This temple is famous for the three “water falls” that are said to bring one luck in three different areas depending on which of the waterfalls you drink from.   The line was too long so we did not try any of the waters.  From comments of others who at least went to see, they are more springs flowing from the rocks rather than ‘waterfalls.’ 

 

As much as I could I have removed people from my photographs but as you will see in a couple that I am going to post, it was almost impossible to do.  This location was extremely crowded despite the fact that it is a long uphill walk from the parking area to the temple and then there are a whole lot of steps to visit the various levels of the temple.  

 

Here are some of the photo’s I took. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we were walking back down the crowded street going back to the bus, we stopped in a couple of stores.  In one I noticed these two young ladies taking selfies and thought might as well —- 

 

 

The kimono rental shops were doing a bang up business this week.  Lots of ladies, and some men as well, in kimono;s. 

 

[DaKahuna]

Our third and final tour stop is probably the one most recognized by non-Japanese of the three we visited. This is the Shinto Shrine Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, the shrine of 1000 Tori Gates.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of the pictures I took 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DaKahuna]

Oh, I missed posting this for the first two tours — 

 

This is the information pamphlet that we were given for Ryoanji Temple

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this was our ‘ticket’ to get into Kiyomizu Temple 

 

 

[DaKahuna]

We had breakfast in Luminae this morning.

 

My DW had the ham and cheese omellete 

 

 

Being adventurous I decided to give the grits a try.  There were actually very good, of course I ordered them without cheese.  Just give me some thick grits.  I had them with my eggs over easy, corned beef hash, and English back bacon. 

 

 

 

It was delicious. 

 

After breakfast we made ready and went ashore to the facility here at the Osaka dock. LeIt was strange to see so many American fast food outlets - Subway, Wendy’s, KFC, etc.  According to my wife the Japanese are turning more and more to fast food restaurants over traditional restaurants.  After shopping for an hour or so in various stores, we walked down the street a couple of block and stopped for lunch in a small restaurant on the Main Street.  We both had tempura soba. 

 

 

After lunch we came back aboard, stopped in the Retreat Lounge for  a quick drink, and now have been relaxing in the room and catching up with yesteday’s activites on here as the 10 hour toor took it’s toll on us. 

 

 

[StopTheWorld]

Thank you so much for your great review. I’ve enjoyed learning some new Japanese words 😁 

[elaine5]

8 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

Thank you for the recommendation.  We made the reservation at the Westin using Marriott points but I’ll talk with my wife and see if she wants to do that. 

Sheraton is part of Marriott now. We used M points for our S stay. We also wanted to jump on the Disney bus as the station, so that was the deciding factor-and it worked great! But, if you're flying out the next day from HND, the airport bus might stop at W. For S, you do need to walk thru the interior of the train station (with your luggage) to get the YCAT direct bus. The concierge showed us with a map of the station. We easily did it with 2 very large (heavy bags)+ in 10-15 minutes--but for some, this might not work. 

[DaKahuna]

31 minutes ago, elaine5 said:

But, if you're flying out the next day from HND, the airport bus might stop at W. For S, you do need to walk thru the interior of the train station (with your luggage) to get the YCAT direct bus.

 

We are not flying out until Saturday the 18th but the deciding factor for us was that we can catch the bus to HND right at the hotel.  I looked at the Sheraton and booking for our dates with points did not appear to be available.  Wife had decided that getting from the Westin to Yokohama station is not an issue so it looks like we are going to stay in the Westin.  

 

 Our plan is to go from the ship to the hotel, see if early check in is available and if not, no big deal, we’ll leave our bags with the bell service and then head to China Town for the day.  

 

 

[DaKahuna]

 This afternoon was totally uneventful,  I took a nice nap and when I woke up it was time to get ready for dinner.  

 

The amuse-busche tonight was what we affectionately called “baby food” - a split pea purée with some crab meat  — it’s my least favorite one of all. 

 

For her appetizer, she went with her favorite dish - French Onion Soup

 

 

And I started with the Caesar salad 

 

 

For her main course she chose the grilled guinea hen

 

 

and I ordered the Roasted Lamb Loin — I experienced a first.  When my food was delivered, I took a bite of the lamb and with was cold — I had the waiter take it back and they brought me a second plate which was much better.  Everyone was very apologetic about the temperature of the dish being wrong. 

 

 

Our sommelier paired the lamb with a very nice wine.  I have had the 2018 version of this wine before and enjoyed this one as well. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Georgia_Peaches]

Really enjoying all of your photos!  I was just sitting here with my morning coffee, as per usual, discussing your itin with my DH.  I asked if he would consider cruising Japan.  He initially turned up his nose at the prospect, largely due to the flight it would take to pull it off.  Question...and please forgive me if you have already addressed it, what was your original embarkation point and also what was the total flight time to get there?

[Georgia_Peaches]

23 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

I looked at the Sheraton and booking for our dates with points did not appear to be available.  Wife had decided that getting from the Westin to Yokohama station is not an issue so it looks like we are going to stay in the Westin.  

Great decision, IMO.  I would not pivot to different accommodations in the midst of a vacation.  But great info. offered by others on places to stay!

[DaKahuna]

We decided we wanted to see the Takio performance in the main theater this evening so after dinner we proceeded to the Retreat lounge.  My wife had a small glass of hot sake and I had a spicy margarita in honor of cinco de mayo.  

 

We then proceeded to the theater about 15 minutes before the performance started.  I took a lot of short video segments and a few pictures of the group.  They were fantastic for having only been together for 1 year.  Let’s hope some of the video’s will upload. 

 

 

 

 

I’ll post more video’s later —

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[hcat]

9 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

Thank you for the recommendation.  We made the reservation at the Westin using Marriott points but I’ll talk with my wife and see if she wants to do that. 

I  figured points might have come into it.. either for booking or earning them..

[DaKahuna]

16 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Really enjoying all of your photos!  I was just sitting here with my morning coffee, as per usual, discussing your itin with my DH.  I asked if he would consider cruising Japan.  He initially turned up his nose at the prospect, largely due to the flight it would take to pull it off.  Question...and please forgive me if you have already addressed it, what was your original embarkation point and also what was the total flight time to get there?

 

 Thank you. 

 

 We embarked in Yokohama and will disembark there at the end of the cruise. 

 

 Our flight was non-stop Washington Dulles to Haneda and was about 13 and a half hours flight time.   Going home will be a little faster as I believe the winds are more favorable going west to east.  

 

 

[DaKahuna]

Got an invitation and a very information letter this evening.  

 

We’ve been invited to the Helipad for tomorrow’s sail away from Osaka.  

 

 

And a very comprehensive and detailed letter explaining the immigration process that we will be undergoing in Hiroshima.  

 

 

 

 

 

[hcat]

8 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

Oh, I missed posting this for the first two tours — 

 

This is the information pamphlet that we were given for Ryoanji Temple

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this was our ‘ticket’ to get into Kiyomizu Temple 

 

 

very nice pamphlet and the ticket itelf has nice artwork of the temple.

.

I enjoyed your pics abd posts about the three diff stops on your tour and also a post by your cruismate Scorfman.  It does seem that yoyr thirs stop was very crowded....same for other places you visited.

Here are my favs:  ( then I have to go back to catch up to your other posts)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 5 by hcat

[rinshin]

On 4/29/2024 at 6:03 AM, DaKahuna said:

I think any post about Japan would be remiss without the following, taken during our approach to Haneda this afternoon

 

 

 

 

 

Very nice look of Fujisan.

[rinshin]

On 4/30/2024 at 5:50 AM, DaKahuna said:

 We took a nice nap after our busy morning.  Fortunately we had planned for this and had purchased bento’s for this evening’s meal in the room.  

 

Outside:

 

 

Inside:  For a prepared meal you normally cannot go wrong with a nice bento box

 

.

 

 

So after waking up from our afternoon nap, we made a pot of hot water for some green tea and had our bento’s.  We are now relaxing and watching YouTube videos while planning for our visit to Yokosuka tomorrow.  

 

I am going to go to the Navy base, where I was stationed on three occasions, just to look around while my DW is going to be meeting with her sister for lunch and shopping.   It’s going to be interesting to see how much the base has changed in 34 years. 

I lived in Yokohama as a child for few years and even then their well-known food offering was packaged shumai.  Still is and always get their shumai which can now be found at most major train stations in Tokyo like Tokyo and Shinagawa Stations at bento shops. 

[rinshin]

On 4/30/2024 at 6:39 AM, MustBCruzn said:

 

I was stationed on Okinawa 76 - 77, and at NH Yokosuka from 77 - 79. Yup, it was a long time ago. 😅

 

On 4/30/2024 at 6:39 AM, MustBCruzn said:

 

I was stationed on Okinawa 76 - 77, and at NH Yokosuka from 77 - 79. Yup, it was a long time ago. 😅

 

On 5/1/2024 at 12:23 AM, DaKahuna said:

 

 Thank you for your service and yes, that was a long time ago. 

 

 Unfortunately the weather prevented me from taking the pictures I had in mind as any plans I had to walk from the main gate to the NEX, via the road that goes past the hospital were blown away in the wind and the rain.  I did try to walk from the exchange up to the skeet and trap pits beyond the baseball field but by the time I got to the field the wind had become unbearable so i turned around.  

 

 Here are the few photo’s I did capture .. 

 

 This use to be the field house for the gym.  I don’t think it is used today. 

 The new gym/field house is in back to the Benny Decker Theater to the left of the baseball diamonds.

 

 

 

 These anchors have been there for as long as I can remember. 

 

 

Home of the Yokosuka Seahawks.  Watched a lot of softball at this place. 

 

 

 The thrift shop 

 

 

 The base theater — showing its

 

 

Our daughter started middle school here .

 

 

Another part of the school 

 

 

The food court — There is also a Baskin Robin, an American Cafe, and a Pizza Hut in the main Exchange building. 

 

I attended my first American English school through Tachikawa too when my father was at Tachikawa AFB. 

[rinshin]

On 5/2/2024 at 6:02 AM, DaKahuna said:

 I know that the majority of passengers on Celebrity do not travel in the Retreat and I hope that some of you that are on this cruise are willing to share your observations as I am sure they are different than mine.  However, I will continue to report on my experiences both with the Retreat and outside the Retreat.  

 

 After dinner, my DW was feeling the effects of a long day and we came back to the room.  After making sure she was settled for the evening I went down to the Retreat Lounge for a night cap.  With the exception of one or two folks who stopped by, I was the only customer so I stood at the bar and made friends with the night time bartender. 

 

 Since our last sailing on Millennium, a year ago, they have instituted a “menu” in the Retreat Lounge.  Here it is. 

 

 

 

On our last sailing, there were no liquors on display at the bar — that has certainly changed and I am really surprised at the offerings.  Unlike last year, Ron Zacapa seems to be everywhere.  They even had my “go to” Zacapa Solario 23 as well as Zacapa XO at the Sunset bar.  Also some rare finds are Woodford Double Oaked, Eagle Rare, Angels Envy, Whistle Pig, etc..  Quite a nice selection if I do say so myself.  

 

 

In any case, my pillow is calling my name so I am going to sign off for the evening.  

 

 

 

Awesome -  the wine list really helped me.  Thank you  so much! My husband is much easier to please as he normally likes beer (preferably Asahi Dry for mid range beer), some sparkling wines and sake I choose for us. 

[rinshin]

18 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

  5 am is usually much too early for me.   Today is the first day that I’ve slept past 0430.  I was completely worn out from putting in 12,000 steps yesterday — half of which were up hill/stairs. 

 

 

 

Fernando was out Maitre’d on our Panama Canal transit cruise last year on Millennium and he is also our Maitre’d on this cruse.  Apparently he and two assistant waiters all took vacation after the Panama Canal trip and came back in November.  He’s a great guy and well know for his flashy clothes. 

 

 

 This is great advise.  My experience has been that Japan is a lot like the eastern seaboard of the US.  The fall colors are spectacular especially in the mountainous regions.  Personally, the most spectacular fall colors I have experienced in Japan was when one of my wife’s cousins and I took a weekend trip in fall to Oze National Park.  The only way in and out was to hike.  There was no road in or out.  Provisions for the people and businesses were brought in by a cable car system and no passengers were allowed to ride with the goods.  It’s an amazing site that you hear very little about. 

 

 

Haha, we return to Japan annually and few months before our trip, my husband urges me to walk with him in preparation as walking 5-7 miles through crowds in Tokyo is the norm on daily basis.  It is very brutal in July through August in the heat with all the trapped in heat from concrete jungle.

 

 He walks everywhere here at home.  To doctors’ appointments, Post office, stores, downtown area etc.   So walking 10 miles up and down in Japan is second nature to him.  Unfortunately, I no longer walk everywhere for daily to day activities  - just on walks. ☺️

[rinshin]

8 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 This afternoon was totally uneventful,  I took a nice nap and when I woke up it was time to get ready for dinner.  

 

The amuse-busche tonight was what we affectionately called “baby food” - a split pea purée with some crab meat  — it’s my least favorite one of all. 

 

For her appetizer, she went with her favorite dish - French Onion Soup

 

 

And I started with the Caesar salad 

 

 

For her main course she chose the grilled guinea hen

 

 

and I ordered the Roasted Lamb Loin — I experienced a first.  When my food was delivered, I took a bite of the lamb and with was cold — I had the waiter take it back and they brought me a second plate which was much better.  Everyone was very apologetic about the temperature of the dish being wrong. 

 

 

Our sommelier paired the lamb with a very nice wine.  I have had the 2018 version of this wine before and enjoyed this one as well. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your wife has pretty hands.  Although we did not grow up eating grits we really like various styles now.  We especially like Cajun shrimp over grits for lunch or dinner.  I even appreciate the Waffle House’s grits with their simple offering.  No Waffle House around here. 

[Pushka]

7 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

Got an invitation and a very information letter this evening.  

 

We’ve been invited to the Helipad for tomorrow’s sail away from Osaka.  

 

 

And a very comprehensive and detailed letter explaining the immigration process that we will be undergoing in Hiroshima.  

 

 

 

 

 

Can I just check about the procedures in Hiroshima? Does this mean you arrive into Hiroshima earlier in the day and proceed to port tours as normal, then face exit immigration on return to the ship? Or do you not arrive into Hiroshima until lunchtime and can't do any touring until after 2.30pm plus, and then tour Hisroshima but then what time do you need to be back onboard?   I'm trying to sort our day there. 
 

That red wine - Grant Burge - is my home territory. We live around 40 minutes from the Barossa Valley. Except. I really don't like Shiraz!

 

And grits. I've heard of them on TV. But what are they? 😂

Edited May 5 by Pushka

[DaKahuna]

43 minutes ago, Pushka said:

Can I just check about the procedures in Hiroshima? Does this mean you arrive into Hiroshima earlier in the day and proceed to port tours as normal, then face exit immigration on return to the ship? Or do you not arrive into Hiroshima until lunchtime and can't do any touring until after 2.30pm plus, and then tour Hisroshima but then what time do you need to be back onboard?   I'm trying to sort our day there. 

we arrive in Hiroshima at 1:00 pm.  As soon as we are cleared passengers can start leaving the ship but all passengers must be off the ship by 2:30 pm.  We have a shore excursion scheduled for 2 pm so we will clear immigration when we return from our tour.

 

the ship is scheduled to depart at 10 pm.

 

Grits are ground hominy and are a staple in the southern US.  It’s similar to farina but oh so much more delicious.

 

[DaKahuna]

More Taiko Drums 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[rinshin]

2 hours ago, Pushka said:

Can I just check about the procedures in Hiroshima? Does this mean you arrive into Hiroshima earlier in the day and proceed to port tours as normal, then face exit immigration on return to the ship? Or do you not arrive into Hiroshima until lunchtime and can't do any touring until after 2.30pm plus, and then tour Hisroshima but then what time do you need to be back onboard?   I'm trying to sort our day there. 
 

That red wine - Grant Burge - is my home territory. We live around 40 minutes from the Barossa Valley. Except. I really don't like Shiraz!

 

And grits. I've heard of them on TV. But what are they? 😂

Very much like polenta but the grains are bigger making them more coarse.  I like them served in many ways including very creamyand rich  with cheese and milk and simpler with water and butter only.