Kobe/Osaka, Japan

Here we are in Kobe. We had a bus tour around Kobe then we took the train to Osaka for a look-around. Kobe and Osaka are really one big city. There are lots of people, cars, and bicycles. Bikes are parked by the thousands with only minimal locking. There are some nice parks, shrines, and temples mixed in among the masses of tall buildings. There is a big bowling center with a sign that says " You can do it".

After our day ashore there was a program of local musicians in the theater on the ship

Miyako, Japan

Another impressive Taiko drum welcome awaited us at Miyako. There were two school groups of drummers. On was high school girls who were outstanding. The other was actually kindergarteners who did quite a good job considering that the drums were bigger than they were. 

We toured to two different beach areas with dramatic rock formations and pine trees. The area is a national park except for a few waterfront towns.

When it was time to leave a different group of drummers arrived to give us a send-off. Unfortunately, after a beautiful sunny day it started to rain just before the drumming was to start. They played anyway, in the pouring rain. Then, just as we were pulling away from the dock the sunset broke through on the horizon and we had a brilliant yellow/red sun shinning and rain coming down and the drummers drumming all at the same time. I am told there was a great rainbow behind the ship but I didn't see it.

Aomori, Japan

The boat was greeted by an impressive drum concert as we docked in Aomori. We didn't have an organized tour there so we just walked into town and looked around. We found an interesting temple and a large shopping street and interesting sights in general around a Japanese small town.

Back at the dock there were many workers cleaning and painting the ship. Then the drummers played again as we pulled away from the dock.

Hakodate, Japan

Our first stop, Hakodate Japan. We were met by two ambulances for two passengers who needed medical help. Then a bunch of busses came for the shore tours. We took a tour and saw a local fish market and rode a cable tramway to the top of a peak overlooking the city. That night a Japanese folk music group came on board and put on a show for us. It's funny to be on land again after eight days at sea.

Pictures

Here are the pictures I tried to put in the last post. Now that things are working better I'll work on a new update soon.

Day 8

We have spent the last eight days at sea. At first it was pretty calm but the last two days have been pretty rough with swells of 10 feet and possibly more. We had a tour of the bridge and have been to talks on the land tours we will be taking. Each evening our room is made up with a chocolate on the bed and sometimes a "towel art" animal shows up as well.

I have more pictures but something has gone wrong with trying to upload of pictures so I will just have to leave it at this for now.

The Cruise Begins

I'm writing this on Monday, September 22, Day 4 of our 65 day trip. I'm including some pictures of our adventures so far. [Sorry, there seems to be no way in this program to put the pictures in order]

Before the ship even left the dock in Seattle we had a lifeboat drill. Everyone was required to put on a lifejacket and assemble on deck by their assigned lifeboat. They even took roll to see that no one skipped the drill. Our boat is B07. I hope it's a good one. I looks like it might be watertight.

I have a picture of us leaving Seattle with the Space Needle in the background and another one of us leaving civilization behind, literally, in our wake. The next picture is our stateroom, Number 6151.

We were eating our first dinner in the dining room as we left Seattle. You can see Alki Point in the background. On Sunday it was a "Formal Night" were we got dressed up for dinner. There are only five or six Formal Nights so we can be comfortable the rest of the time.

We were only one day out when someone had a medical emergency bad enough to require a helicopter rescue. It was very dramatic as a Canadian military helicopter came in and hovered over the bow of the ship. They let down two men and a stretcher then hovered nearby while the patient was strapped in. Then they came back, pulled the men and the patient in the stretcher up a wire to the helicopter and flew off. After that it was back to normal life on the ship, from extravaganza stage shows to tai chi sessions.

The Weather is cloudy, about 50 degrees and surprisingly calm seas. We have about five more days at sea before we reach Japan. (The stop in Russia has been cancelled.) 

I'll post some more when I find the time in our busy days.

PS: No pirates so far.