On the Ship, 1st leg of cruise

 We are circumnavigating Japan onboard the Crystal Symphony cruise ship.  In selecting cruises, I pick the itinerary first, then see which cruise company has the best match.  In this case, Crystal had the best schedule: 21 nights onboard, 18 April to May 9.  It is a small company currently with only two ships but an excellent reputation and devoted passengers.  Most people we talk to have been on previous cruises with Crystal.

First stop was Kobe with a bus excursion to a castle near there.  Second stop, Kochi, was a smaller port on a smaller island; we were told 84% forested and a mainly agricultural economy.  Many rice fields; also, vegetables, and paper products.  The visit was less formal; they didn’t bother checking passports.  We visited a cave, a castle, and a beach, all close by with less time spent on a bus and more active walking.

Next up was a visit to Hiroshima on a day of steady all-day rain. At ground zero of the atomic bomb blast, the remain of one building has been let stand, and nearby is a peace museum. We visited a garden area and a hillside Buddhist complex until the substantial rain finally won out and we returned to our ship.

A smaller town, Moji, is located on the island of Kyushu.  There our excursion took us to a railway museum and an observatory on a nearby low mountain (about 2100’ altitude).  Trains are not one of my interests; Dawn and I left early.  We had lunch at the observatory after riding a cable car to the top.  Great view of the city and across the ocean channel to Honshu Island.

(more to be added)

A Visit to Japan

 We have arraigned a longer visit to Japan.  Last year, we were here for a few days, but this visit will be 25 days; first a stay in Tokyo and then a circumnavigating cruise.  Arrival went well.  The immigration-customs- baggage lines at Narita were much shorter this time.  A free upgrade to business class made our flight enjoyable.  Finding a limousine bus to our hotel was easier than anticipated.

Moat, bridge, and Imperial palace in the background.  This is all in the center of Tokyo, yet it is very private due to forest, fortress walls, and hills.

Hibiya Park was close to our hotel.  It was wonderful that we had green walking space while being close to major attractions.

Our stay at Dai-ichi Hotel Tokyo was very comfortable.  I looked forward to their buffet breakfast to try an extensive variety of Japanese dishes.  We were swept away by the crowds at the Shimbashi train station when we went there (at rush hour!) to buy tickets.  Fortunately, our hotel was close to the Ginza shopping district and a short walk to Hibiya Park and the Gardens and Imperial Palace beyond it.  We detected no smog and enjoyed our walks.

This is the night-time view from our hotel room.  Multiple train tracks in the foreground.  Ginza district off to the right.  Shimbashi rail station just outside the picture to the lower right.

Where the park land ends downtown Tokyo immediately starts.

As an added bonus, Belgian Beer Weekend was taking place, and we enjoyed two outdoor dinners of beer and bratwurst.  Ginza was impressive: very high-end stores featuring the best of world products.  We just observed but noted that some serious shoppers had hired a Japanese guide to lead them to the finest stores.

Belgian Beer Weekend in Tokyo!  How lucky was that!  You would purchase a stack of 'chips' and then use them at the booths to pay for food and beer.

We took a ‘hop on, hop off’ bus tour of a section of Tokyo; not really impressive.  But when you consider that it was totally destroyed in WWII and is the second largest metropolitan area on earth, the fact that is functions so well is impressive in itself.

On the day we boarded our cruise ship, there was a large, and busy, shopping mall nearby.  We could hear a loud drumming noise coming from the adjacent park, which attracted us.  The route to the mall/park was circuitous, but we were looking for an exercise walk, and this was worthwhile.  

Busy mall in Tokyo, Japan.  Apparently, Amazon has not yet taken over here.

We are currently very busy, but I will be publishing more entries from our recent trip in the near future.