Leaving the ship and experiencing Japan

Using chopsticks feels like a game, who can pick up the most? Wanna have a chopstick fight? They don't even give you a spoon for the soup - we learned that you use the bowl like a cup and slurp the soup. When there are things in the soup, like a big leaf of seaweed, then you use the chopsticks to scoop it into your mouth. Eating salad is actually easier with sticks than with a fork.

New meaning for "menu". Instead of meaning which of these things (that you know) do you want. It's "what are these things?"

They bring you the entire spread and you eat what you want. Such a dichotomy of flavors: from the powerful vinegar, fish, fermented fruit, to the bland bean curd paste, white rice.

Riding a taxi or train thru Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka is a humbling experience. Wherever I've traveled before in this world, I always felt that I came from the most advanced society. Here I sense that feeling of "I'm not worthy." These are cleaner, more advanced, modern, mega cities than I've ever seen before. New York, Chicago, Los Angeles just don't compare.

Even Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan. It is characterized as the cultural hub of the country rather than the corporate headquarters like Tokyo, Yokohama and Osaka. You think that you will be visiting a quaint historic town, but you find another huge modern city, with a few neighborhoods of history.

Arashiyama Monkey Park on the outskirts of Kyoto - a metropolitan area with nearly 4 million people.

Much of my memories of Japan will be about navigating the train lines and stations. It is so easy people said. The signs are so clear they said. OK, but it takes a few days just to interpret them by stations, lines, and stops. Do no get on the JM line if what you need is the JO! 

I was always happy when I saw an information desk where I could verify that I was picking the right line and gate. At one station (I think it was Osaka) I went up to the information counter and said I wanted to go to Kobe. She smiled and nodded and said, easy - just go to gate 5. Jim and I looked around the corner and there was gate 5 right there! Happy days! We tried to go thru the gate and tapped our IC card (the digital transit ticket that we purchased at the beginning of the week.) Instead of letting us thru, the gate closed and red lights started flashing. We thought maybe our cards were low on money, so we checked by opening the IC app and tapping the card to the back of our phone. Nope, plenty of money left on the card. So I went back to the information counter and asked the agent to help. She tapped the card and said, all OK, just go to gate 5.  We tried again with the same results. This time I took a photo of the message that was displayed:

Oh! She said. Not that gate 5. It's upstairs. 

Well, all-righty then. We go upstairs and find the right gate 5 and were on our way. I was thankful that the system was smart enough to not let us get on the wrong train. 

We were off the ship for 3 days - 2 nights in hotels. First, in Kyoto, the traditional Ryokan called 

Kyoto Arashiyama Onsen Kadensho complete with traditional dinner and breakfast. Take off your shoes at the entrance and wear the provided robes thruought the hotel. So thankful for friends that recommended this spot - we had the full traditional experience and it was it a wonderful location.

The second night was Hotel Lucky in Osaka. We didn't need an experience that night, just a bed after visiting the World Expo. It was only $40 and I wondered if I was going too cheap, but it was great. Bedroom, bathroom, air conditioning, even a kitchenette and a washer/dryer. This would be a great home base for exploring Osaka. 

World Expo 2025

This is something we heard about before we even left Florida - our friend Maurice told us we should go. It should be a geeky place! There were plenty of other folks from the ship that were planning to go and they even scheduled get-togethers months before to discuss how best to see it. I am learning what poor planners we are. Thus - why we love living on this ship! It takes us cool places without any planning on our part. 

Anyway, all that is to say that we only had one evening at the expo (too hot during the day) and we did not have reservations at any of the must-see pavilions. It was still fascinating just to walk around and get the overall experience. The mammoth wooden structure - the Grand Circle - that provided the boundaries. We went up to the top and got great views. 

On top of the Grand Circle was a great place to watch the fireworks. We thought we'd see the drone show from there too, but we didn't.

Back home. 

It's dark outside our window. I see the lights in the distance slowly moving like Stars in the sky we're on our own space ship. It just keeps getting better. I wondered what it would feel like when we left North America ... Feels good. We couldn't be happier.

My First Visit to Japan: The Land of the Rising Sun

After a long stretch of nothing but open ocean between Alaska and here, stepping onto Japanese soil felt like entering a different dimension altogether. It’s been a whirlwind, a blur of sensory overload. Here are a few glimpses from our journey.

Our first stop was Hakodate, and it was a feast for the eyes and the stomach. The city's markets were a riot of sights, sounds, and smells. There were piles and piles of live crabs, crawling all over each other, just waiting to become someone’s dinner. In one memorable restaurant, we got to pick our own crab, which was then whisked away and returned to us as a delicious, steaming, ultra-fresh, meal. 

That crab is still alive, but is destined for our plates. The woman behind me is a fellow resident from the ship who happened to be walking by 🤗

Next, we sailed into Hachinohe, a port that felt a little quieter and more serene. The highlight here was a visit to a picturesque shrine, its vibrant red and gold architecture a stark contrast to the misty green landscape. 

Sendai was a different kind of adventure. We hopped on the "Loople" tour bus and took a grand tour of the city, but the real thrill for Jim was our visit to a mega-store. It was a tech lover's paradise, a multi-story temple to all things electronic. He was in his element, and emerged victorious with a much-needed HDMI cable. It’s the little victories, right?

Then came Tokyo. Just getting there was an adventure! So many trains, lines, and stations. We traveled with friends, Wayne and Donna - and it took all of us to figure it out!

We went to TeamLabs Planet, an immersive art museum where you literally walk through rooms with water almost to your knees, surrounded by projections of blooming flowers and schools of glowing koi that react to your movements. It was a surreal, magical experience.

Coming home (back to the ship) we didn't have Wayne and Donna to help us navigate. We went around in a circle before figuring out the right line to get on!

That night I studied up on the train lines with Gemini A.I.'s help and did much better the next day when we went back to Tokyo and spent the night. We went to a baseball game with 35,000 raving fans. The energy was electric, a roaring wave of cheers and chants. A highlight was getting a beer from a girl who came to your seat with a keg on her back! Afterward, we returned to our hotel, where we wrapped ourselves in the special robes they provided, called yukata, and soaked in the public hot baths. The contrast of the high-energy game and the peaceful, hot soak was just perfect.

The next day in Yokohama gave us a chance to slow down. We rode a giant ferris wheel with a panoramic view of the city and the harbor, a perfect way to take it all in. We even made a stop at the Hard Rock Cafe, where the sales clerk admired Jim's mustache. When I snapped a photo of her with him, she got so excited she asked to take her own! It was a small, sweet interaction that captured the genuine friendliness we’ve encountered here.

Our final stop was Shimizu, a city nestled at the foot of the iconic Mt. Fuji. Sadly, the mountain was shy and stayed hidden behind a blanket of clouds, but that didn't stop us from having a little fun. We went to the local mall to find a sculpture of Mt. Fuji made entirely of sushi! It was a brilliant, creative nod to the country’s most famous landmark.

Every day in Japan has been a fresh wave of discovery, a new story to tell. It's a country that honors its traditions while embracing the future with open arms. I'm already looking forward to what the next ports of call have in store for us. I'd love to hear about it in the comments.