Panorama Transpacific 08/22/24 - 09/10/24 - Live-ish 'cause that's how I roll

[CoffeeGoddess]

It is officially debark day and it is a hot and humid one. The CD is now on the PA and calling group A, B, and tags 1-4 to start debarkation. I'm in Group 6 so will have a little time to wait.

 

 

Here's the cumulative Funtimes I had to take a picture of.

 

[CoffeeGoddess]

It really didn't take long to get through the ship and exit once my group was called.  The line basically kept moving except for short stops. Same with getting into the building, finding luggage, then going through customs.  The next wait began in the port building since the buses for the Tokyo Station transfers had not yet arrived.  I took the opportunity to use the facilities which were blessedly opposite of the one in Otaru. I really do not want to run into a squat toilet again.

 

 

 

Let me tell you it was very moist in that building and just a little better waiting outside under a shade tent.  Finally though the buses arrived and they started loading us in for about an hour ride. They were nice buses and pretty comfortable for the length of the ride. Best part was the air conditioning with the vents blasting out cool air.

 

 

Once we got to the bus parking lot that was right next to the station they quickly unloaded the luggage and we were then on our own. It was once again into the heat and the humidity and the station itself wasn't much better. It took me a bit to get my bearings and figure out where to find my train which turned out to be in the subway station not the train station. That was a walk along with needing to get my luggage up a flight of stairs. While there was an elevator to get down to the station, and one to get up to the main area of my destination station there were more stairs waiting for me. There must have been some way to get to the exit Google Maps was telling me to use but I couldn't quite figure out the map. So I decided to go up the one closet to it. Now there was a up escalator for this one which I thought, great, but it fools you! It went up halfway and then you had a large flight of stairs. After getting up those stairs and over to my hotel the long way I was a sweaty mess.

 

Check in was at 3pm so with it being 12:30 there was a bit of time to kill. They did store my luggage so after sitting in the air conditioned lobby for a bit I decided to head to the 7-11 in the next building over. It was small but it did me good with a filling lunch.

 

 

I found a little area I could sit and eat outside which also was close to an entry to the Hie Shrine. After lunch I figured I might as well check it out so started climbing the many, many stairs. Almost to the top I could see people through the trees coming up another way, with escalators. The things I said are not allowed on this site but you can use your imagination. It was really a great place though.

 

 

 

 

That last picture has the back of my hotel in it. That's how close this Shrine is to it.

 

I decided to go down a flagged staircase when leaving and it had a little gate off it to a Moutain Tea Room. I thought about going down there but wasn't exactly sure where I would come out so went back to the main walk.

 

 

 

Turns out the main entry to the Tea Room was right by where the path I took eventually came out.

 

 

About that time I was done and it was now 2pm so I headed back towards the hotel to wait in the lobby until registration opened. A lot of other people had the same idea.

[CoffeeGoddess]

A little before 3pm they opened registration which was done by a touch screen. The machine then gave you straps for your room and info, breakfast tickets, and your room card. I headed up to the 13th floor were my room was right off the elevator. It was sweltering in the hall so I was looking forward to a cool room.

 

Well that was not the case since, much like the cabin, you need your card in the slot to turn everything on. I also got another shock at the room because it is literally the width of the bed length. I was not expecting such a small room

 

 

 

 

The TV is right on the wall at the foot of the bed.

 

 

There are certain amenities like the baths at the top floor that I took advantage of but this was not what I was expecting. It'll do for two nights the first of which I'm turning in right now for because I am wiped.

 

 

[jimbo5544]

Fascinating, I am loving the the whole journey but so want to here more about your time after the cruise.  Enjoy!

[CoffeeGoddess]

That was a much needed sleep, I tell you what. I did get up at 7am since I wanted to do breakfast before it got busy. It was a pretty decent spread for their buffet so I'm glad I bought that option.

 

 

When I left off yesterday it was about the surprise of the room size. Now that I've been in it a while it actually is fine for one person. It did cool down pretty quickly as well being so small. I took advantage of the baths at the top floor to wash all the sweat of the day off and soak a bit. While you can't show tattoos in there the front desk had stickers to cover smaller ones like I had.

 

 

The give you yukata and slippers to wear up to the bath. Of course it isn't made for larger people but I was able to keep it decent. There was only one other person in the women's bath so I was able to soak in both the open air bath while she was in the indoor and then swapped. They provided all the soaps so you just needed to bring your towels and you put your robe and room key in a locker. It was nice. 

 

Then I wound up getting all sweaty again but less so when I went out in the evening. I've got to get my luggage down to the front desk for transfer to my Kyoto hotel now then head out to do touristy things.

[CoastalCatharine]

17 hours ago, CoffeeGoddess said:

I took advantage of the baths at the top floor to wash all the sweat of the day off and soak a bit. While you can't show tattoos in there the front desk had stickers to cover smaller ones like I had.

 

 

The give you yukata and slippers to wear up to the bath. Of course it isn't made for larger people but I was able to keep it decent. There was only one other person in the women's bath so I was able to soak in both the open air bath while she was in the indoor and then swapped. They provided all the soaps so you just needed to bring your towels and you put your robe and room key in a locker. It was nice. 

 

 

I am planning on getting over myself on my upcoming trip and doing the communal bath.  Did they have the rules laid out for you on the proper sequence of bathing (like posted in the room)?  I'm good a screwing up on things like that, and I don't want to be THAT foreigner. 🙂 

[pe4all]

I was all in for this hotel/part of the trip - but you just lost me with the communal bath. Nope - not happening!

[CoffeeGoddess]

5 hours ago, CoastalCatharine said:

 

I am planning on getting over myself on my upcoming trip and doing the communal bath.  Did they have the rules laid out for you on the proper sequence of bathing (like posted in the room)?  I'm good a screwing up on things like that, and I don't want to be THAT foreigner. 🙂 

 

They had basics on the website for the particular bath like they provided the soap and you just need ectopic bring towels. But you can find numerous online guides for etiquette on using public baths and onsen that can prepare you.

[CoffeeGoddess]

4 hours ago, pe4all said:

I was all in for this hotel/part of the trip - but you just lost me with the communal bath. Nope - not happening!

 

Hey if an old fat lady can do it just about anyone can.

[CoffeeGoddess]

First off, I'm not dead just very tired. I just haven't found anytime to sit down and write since I'm either doing something or exhausted. Since I'm waiting on my Shinkansen to Kyoto, have a 2.5 hour trip, and will have the wifis the entire time, I figured now would be a good time.

 

 

My train is the 11:30am one but I'm up on the platform waiting because it's much nicer outside than in that sweltering station and I'm wearing a mask whenever I'm inside the station. The weather isn't actually bad this morning and there is a nice continual breeze up on the platform.  I did spring for the Green car which is first class on this train but it doesn't have a lot of amenities since it is a short trip. However, it has larger more comfortable seats in a 2x2 configuration and I'm all about that.

 

 

We left off with me making use of the baths and after chilling (literally because I had that A/C kicking) I decided to head back out and procure some dinner. The Hei Shrine also has a thousand tori stairs that was on the opposite side where I came up so I checked what was around there for dinner and found a larger 7-11. So I headed on over that way and let me tell you I had a steep climb as I walked around the shrine hill. When I got to thetori steps they didn't start until you went up a first flight to landing and then they started. But climbed it and waited on a couple of people to climb down to take some pictures.

 

 

 

 

No, I did not walk all the way up because I am not a masochist. I just went up enough for a decent picture looking down. I then crossed the street and went down to the 7-11. I know what you're thinking, why not go to a restaurant when you're in a country known for good food? Well, because I'm tired and want to be a little gremlin scarfing down my food, without having to wear pants, in my room with the A/C on full. It wasn't a bad haul either with a cucumber salad this time to supplement the onigiri.

 

 

On my way back I grabbed some shots of the main shrine signage.

 

 

The tea house entry was also lit up more so I grabbed a picture of right inside of it as well.

 

[rrraydon]

On 9/10/2024 at 4:06 AM, CoffeeGoddess said:

It really didn't take long to get through the ship and exit once my group was called.  The line basically kept moving except for short stops. Same with getting into the building, finding luggage, then going through customs.  The next wait began in the port building since the buses for the Tokyo Station transfers had not yet arrived.  I took the opportunity to use the facilities which were blessedly opposite of the one in Otaru. I really do not want to run into a squat toilet again.

 

 

 

Let me tell you it was very moist in that building and just a little better waiting outside under a shade tent.  Finally though the buses arrived and they started loading us in for about an hour ride. They were nice buses and pretty comfortable for the length of the ride. Best part was the air conditioning with the vents blasting out cool air.

 

 

Once we got to the bus parking lot that was right next to the station they quickly unloaded the luggage and we were then on our own. It was once again into the heat and the humidity and the station itself wasn't much better. It took me a bit to get my bearings and figure out where to find my train which turned out to be in the subway station not the train station. That was a walk along with needing to get my luggage up a flight of stairs. While there was an elevator to get down to the station, and one to get up to the main area of my destination station there were more stairs waiting for me. There must have been some way to get to the exit Google Maps was telling me to use but I couldn't quite figure out the map. So I decided to go up the one closet to it. Now there was a up escalator for this one which I thought, great, but it fools you! It went up halfway and then you had a large flight of stairs. After getting up those stairs and over to my hotel the long way I was a sweaty mess.

 

Check in was at 3pm so with it being 12:30 there was a bit of time to kill. They did store my luggage so after sitting in the air conditioned lobby for a bit I decided to head to the 7-11 in the next building over. It was small but it did me good with a filling lunch.

 

 

I found a little area I could sit and eat outside which also was close to an entry to the Hie Shrine. After lunch I figured I might as well check it out so started climbing the many, many stairs. Almost to the top I could see people through the trees coming up another way, with escalators. The things I said are not allowed on this site but you can use your imagination. It was really a great place though.

 

 

 

 

That last picture has the back of my hotel in it. That's how close this Shrine is to it.

 

I decided to go down a flagged staircase when leaving and it had a little gate off it to a Moutain Tea Room. I thought about going down there but wasn't exactly sure where I would come out so went back to the main walk.

 

 

 

Turns out the main entry to the Tea Room was right by where the path I took eventually came out.

 

 

About that time I was done and it was now 2pm so I headed back towards the hotel to wait in the lobby until registration opened. A lot of other people had the same idea.

 

Happy to see you're taking us along!!

 

I had to crack up when I saw the squat toilet. It took me back to my trip to China where our squat toilets were the hole in the ground! lol

Fun times!!

Edited September 12 by rrraydon

[CoffeeGoddess]

The hotel buffet  breakfast was from 7am -9am so I figured I'd get up at 7 and get down there before the rush then come back up and nap. While I did get to breakfast, which was really good, by the time I was done I was actually feeling rested and awake.

 

 

The first thing I needed to do after breakfast is get my luggage forwarding set up since there was no way I was wrangling that big bag back through the subway then onto the train.  So I went down to the front desk to get the form filled out properly.  Turns out they needed a booking number for my hotel in Kyoto and the reservation I'd in my email wasn't going to work. He tried calling the hotel but got a message that they weren't open for calls until 10:30am. So I decided to come back but asked what the latest time was to drop it off to make sure it was at the hotel by the next day. He said noon so that was good I asked.

 

 

We did get everything filled out properly and they weighed and measured my luggage to get a cost and it was only about 3,200 yen so not even $30 to ship that hefty boy. A bargain at twice the price, really.

 

Finally I was free to go about my day until I needed to be ready for my whiskey bar event that evening. So wherever I went I needed to be back to the hotel by 5pm to freshen up. Shibuya was pretty close so I figured I'd head over there to see what kind of shopping was around.

 

 

 

 

I went to Shibuya 109 with a lot of independent shops and browsed for the most part. Being fat I knew there wouldn't be any clothing for me but did enjoy looking at accessories and shoes. There were several neat stores and a machine one with a lot of different types available.

 

 

 

 

 

A few cute headbands and some makeup got bought and then I wanted to have some lunch. As I made my way out to the street there was a bunch of people in costumes on go carts waiting at a light.  I'm guessing that was some kind of tour you can book somewhere.

 

 

I walked around for a bit but being back in the heat made me less hungry so figured I'd try to find a coffee shop. After getting turned around a bit I decided to head back to the subway entrance and go from there.

[CoffeeGoddess]

Did not get as much writing done on the train as I thought I would. Then I've once again been on the go or completely wiped since arriving in Kyoto. I'm waiting on my sushi for dinner right now and then I'm off to the covered market area our guide took us through last night during our Local Bar and Izakaya Crawl. I'm looking for a cheap little carry-on since the expandable bag I brought is too big and unstructured for my purposes.

 

Then I want to back to the last bar we visited where it super small but the owner was great and immediately brought but the Sphere when he heard I was from Las Vegas.

 

Dinner is here so I'll leave you with a picture.

 

[pe4all]

1 hour ago, CoffeeGoddess said:

Did not get as much writing done on the train as I thought I would. Then I've once again been on the go or completely wiped since arriving in Kyoto. I'm waiting on my sushi for dinner right now and then I'm off to the covered market area our guide took us through last night during our Local Bar and Izakaya Crawl. I'm looking for a cheap little carry-on since the expandable bag I brought is too big and unstructured for my purposes.

 

Then I want to back to the last bar we visited where it super small but the owner was great and immediately brought but the Sphere when he heard I was from Las Vegas.

 

Dinner is here so I'll leave you with a picture.

 

Yum!

[wrightkj]

On 9/10/2024 at 8:58 PM, CoffeeGoddess said:

That was a much needed sleep, I tell you what. I did get up at 7am since I wanted to do breakfast before it got busy. It was a pretty decent spread for their buffet so I'm glad I bought that option.

 

 

When I left off yesterday it was about the surprise of the room size. Now that I've been in it a while it actually is fine for one person. It did cool down pretty quickly as well being so small. I took advantage of the baths at the top floor to wash all the sweat of the day off and soak a bit. While you can't show tattoos in there the front desk had stickers to cover smaller ones like I had.

 

 

The give you yukata and slippers to wear up to the bath. Of course it isn't made for larger people but I was able to keep it decent. There was only one other person in the women's bath so I was able to soak in both the open air bath while she was in the indoor and then swapped. They provided all the soaps so you just needed to bring your towels and you put your robe and room key in a locker. It was nice. 

 

Then I wound up getting all sweaty again but less so when I went out in the evening. I've got to get my luggage down to the front desk for transfer to my Kyoto hotel now then head out to do touristy things.

No tattoos in the baths is so interesting to this Westerner!

[CoffeeGoddess]

Gotta admit I've had better sushi in the states. The udon, tempura, and whatever the mushroom custard was in that little cover cup was were all good.

 

 

 

However, I was kicking myself for stopping there because I thought I'd check out the small mall under Kyoto Station while I was there and found that not only did they have a restaurants there but they had a food hall with different kinds of stands. They were selling everything from pre-made bento boxes to tonkatsu to pre-made salads. And it must have been close to closing because a lot of shelves were close to empty and a whole bunch of places had discounted their wares. I was kicking myself for not coming down here first.

 

The best part though was right at the back was a small grocery store. But not a normal grocery store, I could tell it was a gourmet grocery store because of packaging and the amount of fresh meat and fish there. I was able to pick up some really nice smoked soy sauce and Kansi honey as a gift for my work friend who is checking on my house for me. They were all wrapped up with foam at the cashier counter so I'll have to get pics when I get home. Sadly I just realized that I did not get any pictures of this area. I probably thought I did because I was using Google Translate and it felt like I was taking pictures.

 

I did pick up a few treats from the store and a couple of food stalls though because I did not realize how long I had been wandering around there. It was already 8pm by the time I got back to my room. I did pick up a little suitcase in one of the shops. Not the cheapest thing but it fit my needs and was actual pretty nice. It also is in a size I don't have a hard case for so paying about $60 with the exchange rate for it wasn't too bad actually.

 

 

 

I'm now on the express train to Kansai International Airport on a Hello Kitty train so that's why I'm catching up here.

 

 

 

 

[pe4all]

7 hours ago, CoffeeGoddess said:

Gotta admit I've had better sushi in the states. The udon, tempura, and whatever the mushroom custard was in that little cover cup was were all good.

 

 

 

However, I was kicking myself for stopping there because I thought I'd check out the small mall under Kyoto Station while I was there and found that not only did they have a restaurants there but they had a food hall with different kinds of stands. They were selling everything from pre-made bento boxes to tonkatsu to pre-made salads. And it must have been close to closing because a lot of shelves were close to empty and a whole bunch of places had discounted their wares. I was kicking myself for not coming down here first.

 

The best part though was right at the back was a small grocery store. But not a normal grocery store, I could tell it was a gourmet grocery store because of packaging and the amount of fresh meat and fish there. I was able to pick up some really nice smoked soy sauce and Kansi honey as a gift for my work friend who is checking on my house for me. They were all wrapped up with foam at the cashier counter so I'll have to get pics when I get home. Sadly I just realized that I did not get any pictures of this area. I probably thought I did because I was using Google Translate and it felt like I was taking pictures.

 

I did pick up a few treats from the store and a couple of food stalls though because I did not realize how long I had been wandering around there. It was already 8pm by the time I got back to my room. I did pick up a little suitcase in one of the shops. Not the cheapest thing but it fit my needs and was actual pretty nice. It also is in a size I don't have a hard case for so paying about $60 with the exchange rate for it wasn't too bad actually.

 

 

 

I'm now on the express train to Kansai International Airport on a Hello Kitty train so that's why I'm catching up here.

 

 

 

 

Are masks required on the train?  Or just precautionary for you?

[CoffeeGoddess]

7 hours ago, pe4all said:

Are masks required on the train?  Or just precautionary for you?

 

I wear masks in airports, planes, and trains because people.

[CoffeeGoddess]

My first time using Global Entry and I LOVE IT! We were right at the gate that is next to customs and there was already a line out of the amusement park ride long switchbacks for regular but no one at Global Entry. I went up to the machine, looked into the camera, it told me I was good to proceed, went right up to an officer and they asked for my passport.  As I'm pulling it out he goes, "K, right?" yep. He asked me where I was coming from and if I had anything to declare. After I answered he handed me my passport back and I was on my way.

 

Baggage came out not too long after I got there and it was quick to recheck because they had tagged them all the way through so I just went to the recheck station that was right off the exit for connections. The thing that took the longest for this connection out of San Francisco is walking from the baggage claim at International arrivals to my gate which was in another terminal on the opposite side of the airport. Thankfully going through security again was easy since I have pre-check plus it wasn't too busy otherwise. While there is no United Lounge in this terminal it doesn't really matter since it was only an hour until boarding by the time I got to my gate. The flight to Vegas is a little under 2 hours and I am looking forward to getting home.

 

Here's some pictures from my flight. Dinner was short ribs and was pretty tasty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breakfast was a cheese sandwich with celery root soup. It wasn't bad at all, I just wish I had been able to get more sleep but I just couldn't get my feet comfortable.  Ah well, I plan to shower as soon as I get home then pass out in my wonderfully comfortable bed.

[nwcruiselover]

I loved your pictures of your business or first class seat.  It looks luxurious!  Thanks for all the pictures and commentary.  I’m leaving in just over 3 weeks to go to Singapore to bring the Panorama back to Long Beach.

[VIFP1987]

Thanks so much for your great review! 

[rrraydon]

Thanks for a great review!

[rwest898]

Enjoyed your review,  thank you for taking us along 😊 

[pe4all]

15 hours ago, CoffeeGoddess said:

 

I wear masks in airports, planes, and trains because people.

We do the same.  Especially on cruise ships.  Don't want to bring home any "souvenirs."  Great review and pictures.  Enjoy the first sleep back in your bed.

[Bill Miller]

Nicely done. Thank You Goddess.