Japan by Sea – Final

I started writing this about a week ago and by the end of this posting, the typhoon is a distant memory

The Super Typhoon

Over the past few days, the captain has been updating us daily on what is now called Super Typhoon Champi, which has been heading towards Taiwan but affecting weather in Japan. Yesterday, the ship diverted course inland and the actual weather conditions in our next few stops is still unclear. The last stop before our final destination of Tokyo is nearest to Mount Fuji so it’s yet to be seen if conditions will be favourable to view the mountain, which I hear is a complete random luck to see Mt. Fuji in the best of conditions.

Surviving the Storm

One of the major byproducts of our ship eventually having to go back into the open ocean to get to our next Japanese destination of Shingu was having to face the rough waters of the remnant of the typhoon. As a result of this, by this morning we were easily experienced the worst storm conditions on any cruise we’ve ever been on with 3-4 meter waves and the ship rocking back and forth, requiring to hold onto something everywhere we went about the ship. What surprised both of us was that these storm conditions didn’t affect either us at all. No electric wristbands, no gravol, no nothng. In fact we both still had good appetites that day and ate a healthy lunch even while still finding it difficult to just stand up.

Given the (really) bad days we’ve had at sea in decades past, we’ve both wondered if surviving poor sea conditions is now something we’ve gotten used to?

The Food

One of the things we have heard the most about Japan from people who have travelled here is how good the food is. Barb and I have definitely enjoyed a lot of meals in restaurants in the towns we’ve visited. By far our most memorable experience was in the town of Kogashima, which we were told was known for it’s ramen, so naturally we left the ship in search of a place to eat. It took us some walking around but we eventually came across a small ramen place. As we had done before, we paid for the food by selecting our choice from a vending machine at the front of the restaurant and gave the ticket to the lady, then sitting at the bar. As the kitchen was right in front of us, we were able to watch as the cook, wearing a black mask, made the ramen in front of us from a number of ingredients.

While we both ordered “medium”, we both got huge bowls, overflowing with a savoury rich broth and tons of ramen noodles and an assortment of meat and vegetables. In both cases, it was more than Barb or I could finish and both were delicious. As we had paid up front, we could simply leave when finished.

As a general rule, in virtually every restaurant we’ve been to in Japan, excluding the ship and hotels, the portions of food were much larger than we would want.

The Weather

What’s surprised us most about the weather while here in Japan, was how humid it still is in most places, now approaching November. The temperatures may start off in the low-20’s but we’ve worn short sleeve shirts almost every time we’re outside. Because of the typhoon, even when hundreds of kilometres away, we’ve seen our share of rain, with the worst of it during our day in Busan, South Korea. I’m writing these last sections while we’re in our last full day on the cruise in Shizuoka, near Mount Fuji, and the forces has rain for the next few days. Barb and I brought rain jackets

The City, At Last

Yesterday we left our ship and moved to our final part of our trip here in Tokyo. One of the down sides to leaving the ship around 9AM is the by the time we get to our hotel after the cruise, we normally need to wait several hours before our room was ready. In these situations, we’ve considered booking an extra night before we arrive but we’ve never acted on this.

As it was in the last two destinations on the cruise, we arrived at our hotel in Tokyo in the rain so our change to explore the city and our first dinner here was in the rain. But we were now in Tokyo and weather was not going to dampen our spirits. As it turned out, by Tuesday, our first full day in Tokyo, we has sun and low-20’s weather. We took advantage of this and spent several hours exploring the city. We’ve been using the subway in Tokyo quite a lot and since it’s much warmer down in the subway stations, Barb and I are almost always in short-sleeve shirts.

Tokyo, with a population of 14 million (and 33 million in Greater Tokyo) is easily the biggest city we’ve explored by ourselves. Everywhere we go, there’s  a lot of people out on the streets. Part of the challenge of going anywhere is avoiding bumping into people walking in the other direction or across your path. You’d think that as Japan drive on the left that people walking on streets would stay on the left, you’d be wrong. Especially in Tokyo, we regularly see people, especially in subway stations, walking on the left, the right and the middle. It’s something that requires constant attention.

The size and scale of Tokyo is staggering. Today Barb and I went somewhere and it was 15 subway stops just to reach a different neighbourhood. Subway stations are massive and it can take 20 minutes navigating a maze of cross-connecting lines, looking for the sign for the subway line we want or just the right exit. Apple Maps has really been a lifesaver for us helping us navigate the city and showing us the right subway we need to take, the direction and which station we need to exit or make a connection.

And Finally…

Barb and I really enjoyed the different parts of Japan we had a chance to see and experience. We definitely will come back again to Japan, not on a cruise but a self-directed trip where we can stay longer in each location. We also want to experience Japan’s intercity trains, the Shinkansen to get around the country.

I also have to add South Korea to our list.

I’m really glad that we added on Osaka at the front end and Tokyo after our cruise as I feel we’ve seen Japan in a much more direct way. When you’re on an excursion on the ship, you learn about the history and the cultural context from the tour guide but being transported everywhere on a tour bus is a pretty sterile experience.

Japan is one of those rare places in the world that has so much unique culture and you feel perfectly safe anywhere in a huge city.

Tomorrow we fly home and as we gain a day, will arrive on Friday the same day we leave Tokyo. By now I’ve uploaded all of my Japan (and Korea) photos from Osaka, the cruise and from Tokyo onto my photo website here.

Baden