Japan was a very pleasant surprise for us.
While our trip expectations were more than met, we had not expected the friendliness and courtesy of absolutely everyone along the way.
While our trip expectations were more than met, we had not expected the friendliness and courtesy of absolutely everyone along the way.
That was the case from our very first day in Tokyo as we bumbled in the subway system trying to get the ticket machine to spit out a ticket. Within minutes, not only had someone come to our aid, they had walked us to the correct platform, bowed and waved us goodbye!
Why were we on the subway you ask? It was our first day in Japan and raining as though it was the end of the world. After a soggy morning on an organized tour to orient ourselves with the capital we decided to spend part of the afternoon dry on the subway system as we ventured to Ginza.
Those who know Doug understand his dislike of all things fish. This was a little challenging as we left Tokyo for smaller communities. At several hostelries, the advertised western-style breakfast turned out to be western in name only with many items difficult to identify. Being a trooper he did join me for a sushi dinner on our final night in Kyoto some days later. We sat at the counter of a small restaurant, the only non-Japanese. Despite the language difficulties, Doug was presented with beautifully wrapped vegetables masking as sushi. The chefs watched as the first bite was taken into their special creation, nodding approvingly as Doug smiled, relieved that no tuna had crept on to his plate.
Much of our travel in Japan was by train, including the Shinkansen (bullet train). On one of our train legs, there was a fault on the line and we were delayed for several hours. In Japanese style an apology was offered by way of a complimentary lunch the next day.
We had timed our trip to meet up with a repositioning cruise back to Vancouver from Kobe and we were hoping that we would not miss the cherry blossom season completely - it was a little late for Honshu as we tracked blossom progress on the website before leaving Vancouver. While the season was over on southern Honshu we were not disappointed as we travelled northwest, and later north to the island of Hokkaido. Cherry blossoms are revered in Japan, with the season viewed as a new beginning. Apparently cherry blossom enthusiasts actually camp out in the larger gardens in anticipation of the first signs of trees breaking bud.
Mount Fuji was another highlight. We were not expecting to be able to get up into the snowline where it was cold, windy and fresh with new snow. Fuji is often cloaked in cloud and while this was the case early in the day of our visit, by afternoon we enjoyed a tremendous view.
Takayama and Shirakawa were highlights of our Japanese adventure. Takayama lies in a valley surrounded by mountains. Untouched by WW2 bombing, examples of original Japanese structures line the picturesque streets. Householders decorate the entranceways to their homes with imagination and colour. The glacial water from the mountains drains into the town through narrow, winding waterways - and apparently - makes excellent sake.
As we drove north west to Shirakawa we saw an interesting site at a small dam. Many years earlier, the power company successfully relocated two 500 year old cherry trees to higher ground when the valley was flooded to create the dam. The trees are regarded as icons by the locals and we were thrilled to seem them in full bloom.
Shirakawa is a world heritage site because of its homes with steeply crested roofs, thatched with pampas grass and designed to deal with the very heavy snowfall each winter. Our first view of the town was from a hillside - it looked like a community of gingerbread houses in a tranquil, lush setting with beautiful mountainous scenery. One of the villagers took us on a tour of her home and explained the various facets of life in her community. Her home had recently been re-thatched at a cost of $US 100,000.
On our trip we visited many Japanese gardens, but our favourite was a 17th century garden in Kanazawa, our next stop. We arrived at the garden early in the morning. It was uncrowded and we felt as though we were the only people there and well outnumbered by koi of every shade of red, orange and yellow.
Our final train journey took us from Kanazawa to Kyoto - the imperial city of Japan. We spent the next few days exploring this beautiful city, enjoying Nijo Castle and the Golden Pavilion, as well as walking through the many shopping arcades and markets.
We also visited the Imperial Palace which required us to venture to an administration office where we showed our passports before being issued with tickets for the official tour. We assumed this was because members of the royal family may be in residence. Not so - the palace has not been used as an official residence for years. Despite the paperwork, the visit was memorable- some, but not all, of the buildings were beautiful and set in such tranquil gardens back dropped by what colour remained of cherry blossom and azalea.
Our land tour of Japan over, we left Kyoto for the port of Kobe via Osaka to join the cruise ship for an 18-day trip back to Vancouver.
Our first port of call was a second visit to Tokyo. We were grateful because it was a sunny day and we enjoyed venturing to some of the places we had not seen the first time, including several fascinating markets. What made it all the more interesting was observing the people going about their daily lives.
Sailing north, we called in at Hakodate and Otaru (for Sapporo) on the island of Hokkaido. Here it was cooler and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. At one of the gardens all you could see was tree after tree of glorious colour against a snowy backdrop.
Our final Japanese port was Aomori on the northern tip of Honshu. While this was another great day of sights, the highlight was the town of Nabuta. Nabuta hosts an annual festival of paper floats each August. The massive structures are beautifully decorated and depict scenes and people from local culture. The floats are enormous and are dragged by the townspeople through the town with revellers who come from all over Japan to dance alongside the floats. We were invited to join a team to try and pull a float in the warehouse where they are displayed. It took about two dozen very strong people to get any movement at all from what looked like a smaller float!
Leaving Japan we enjoyed a six day crossing of the North Pacific which followed the Aleutian chain of islands, finally docking on Kodiak Island in Alaska. Kodiak is the king crab capital and home to the second largest fleet in the United States.
Our next port of call was Homer. Surrounded by glaciers, we had an incredibly scenic sail in as the sun rose in the sky.
As the ship turned south, our next port of call was Sitka. We spent that morning sea kayaking in light rain. Eagles swooped over our kayaks in mild interest and the mountains made a moody reflection in the water.
After many years of cruising we knew we were back in reality when we docked in Ketchikan. While early in the Alaska cruise season, two other ships were docked. Uncharacteristically, the sun shone brightly in Ketchikan and we had an enjoyable day exploring the town beyond the tourist shops.
The final day cruising the inside passage and Seymour Narrows back to Vancouver was absolutely gorgeous, providing an appropriate final chapter to a very enjoyable journey.
Why were we on the subway you ask? It was our first day in Japan and raining as though it was the end of the world. After a soggy morning on an organized tour to orient ourselves with the capital we decided to spend part of the afternoon dry on the subway system as we ventured to Ginza.
Those who know Doug understand his dislike of all things fish. This was a little challenging as we left Tokyo for smaller communities. At several hostelries, the advertised western-style breakfast turned out to be western in name only with many items difficult to identify. Being a trooper he did join me for a sushi dinner on our final night in Kyoto some days later. We sat at the counter of a small restaurant, the only non-Japanese. Despite the language difficulties, Doug was presented with beautifully wrapped vegetables masking as sushi. The chefs watched as the first bite was taken into their special creation, nodding approvingly as Doug smiled, relieved that no tuna had crept on to his plate.
Much of our travel in Japan was by train, including the Shinkansen (bullet train). On one of our train legs, there was a fault on the line and we were delayed for several hours. In Japanese style an apology was offered by way of a complimentary lunch the next day.
We had timed our trip to meet up with a repositioning cruise back to Vancouver from Kobe and we were hoping that we would not miss the cherry blossom season completely - it was a little late for Honshu as we tracked blossom progress on the website before leaving Vancouver. While the season was over on southern Honshu we were not disappointed as we travelled northwest, and later north to the island of Hokkaido. Cherry blossoms are revered in Japan, with the season viewed as a new beginning. Apparently cherry blossom enthusiasts actually camp out in the larger gardens in anticipation of the first signs of trees breaking bud.
Mount Fuji was another highlight. We were not expecting to be able to get up into the snowline where it was cold, windy and fresh with new snow. Fuji is often cloaked in cloud and while this was the case early in the day of our visit, by afternoon we enjoyed a tremendous view.
Takayama and Shirakawa were highlights of our Japanese adventure. Takayama lies in a valley surrounded by mountains. Untouched by WW2 bombing, examples of original Japanese structures line the picturesque streets. Householders decorate the entranceways to their homes with imagination and colour. The glacial water from the mountains drains into the town through narrow, winding waterways - and apparently - makes excellent sake.
As we drove north west to Shirakawa we saw an interesting site at a small dam. Many years earlier, the power company successfully relocated two 500 year old cherry trees to higher ground when the valley was flooded to create the dam. The trees are regarded as icons by the locals and we were thrilled to seem them in full bloom.
Shirakawa is a world heritage site because of its homes with steeply crested roofs, thatched with pampas grass and designed to deal with the very heavy snowfall each winter. Our first view of the town was from a hillside - it looked like a community of gingerbread houses in a tranquil, lush setting with beautiful mountainous scenery. One of the villagers took us on a tour of her home and explained the various facets of life in her community. Her home had recently been re-thatched at a cost of $US 100,000.
On our trip we visited many Japanese gardens, but our favourite was a 17th century garden in Kanazawa, our next stop. We arrived at the garden early in the morning. It was uncrowded and we felt as though we were the only people there and well outnumbered by koi of every shade of red, orange and yellow.
Our final train journey took us from Kanazawa to Kyoto - the imperial city of Japan. We spent the next few days exploring this beautiful city, enjoying Nijo Castle and the Golden Pavilion, as well as walking through the many shopping arcades and markets.
We also visited the Imperial Palace which required us to venture to an administration office where we showed our passports before being issued with tickets for the official tour. We assumed this was because members of the royal family may be in residence. Not so - the palace has not been used as an official residence for years. Despite the paperwork, the visit was memorable- some, but not all, of the buildings were beautiful and set in such tranquil gardens back dropped by what colour remained of cherry blossom and azalea.
Our land tour of Japan over, we left Kyoto for the port of Kobe via Osaka to join the cruise ship for an 18-day trip back to Vancouver.
Our first port of call was a second visit to Tokyo. We were grateful because it was a sunny day and we enjoyed venturing to some of the places we had not seen the first time, including several fascinating markets. What made it all the more interesting was observing the people going about their daily lives.
Sailing north, we called in at Hakodate and Otaru (for Sapporo) on the island of Hokkaido. Here it was cooler and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. At one of the gardens all you could see was tree after tree of glorious colour against a snowy backdrop.
Our final Japanese port was Aomori on the northern tip of Honshu. While this was another great day of sights, the highlight was the town of Nabuta. Nabuta hosts an annual festival of paper floats each August. The massive structures are beautifully decorated and depict scenes and people from local culture. The floats are enormous and are dragged by the townspeople through the town with revellers who come from all over Japan to dance alongside the floats. We were invited to join a team to try and pull a float in the warehouse where they are displayed. It took about two dozen very strong people to get any movement at all from what looked like a smaller float!
Leaving Japan we enjoyed a six day crossing of the North Pacific which followed the Aleutian chain of islands, finally docking on Kodiak Island in Alaska. Kodiak is the king crab capital and home to the second largest fleet in the United States.
Our next port of call was Homer. Surrounded by glaciers, we had an incredibly scenic sail in as the sun rose in the sky.
As the ship turned south, our next port of call was Sitka. We spent that morning sea kayaking in light rain. Eagles swooped over our kayaks in mild interest and the mountains made a moody reflection in the water.
After many years of cruising we knew we were back in reality when we docked in Ketchikan. While early in the Alaska cruise season, two other ships were docked. Uncharacteristically, the sun shone brightly in Ketchikan and we had an enjoyable day exploring the town beyond the tourist shops.
The final day cruising the inside passage and Seymour Narrows back to Vancouver was absolutely gorgeous, providing an appropriate final chapter to a very enjoyable journey.
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