Life's a Stitch

Check another one off the list. We choose our adventures primarily based on value, then location, so this time we were led to Japan for a cruise to five Japanese ports, six days at sea (including two May 2nd's as we crossed the dateline) then five ports in Alaska prior to arriving in our home port of Vancouver. Having only a one way flight adds to the value factor.

A direct flight to Tokyo was only ten hours, fewer than it takes to fly to Europe, which always requires layovers. The airport limo bus into Yokohama was reasonable and easy, dropping us off a block from our hotel, the Yokohama Grace. We spent the night, then checked our larger suitcases for four nights and travelled to Kyoto and Osaka with one carry on and a backpack. The bullet train was easy to negotiate if you get on the correct train. We didn't. It was still easy, going to the same place, just a few minutes earlier, but it required giving up our reserved seat on the side of the train in order to see Mt. Fuji. We caught a peek-a-boo glimpse through the window across the aisle. When travelling at 300 kilometers per hour, most views are brief. 

We spent the day walking, our destinations being the 400 year old Nishiki Market, lunch and the Uniqlo store at the train station. We have Uniqlo here in Vancouver, but the $56 hoodies are only $26 there and I stocked up with three different colours.

For lunch I had the premium Japanese short ribs and vegetables that you grill at the table. 


The next day we booked a ten hour bus tour, hitting many of Kyoto's highlights:

Kiyomizu-dera Temple:

Sanju-san-gen-do Temple with tour guide Mai:

Sagano Bamboo Forest and Tenryu-ji temple:

Kinkaku-ji Golden Temple:

Fushimi Inari Shrine:

Turns out we were "those" people on the tour, jetlagged and exhausted, who didn't listen carefully and missed the last meeting spot and the bus back. Good thing we weren't going back to a ship that would leave without us. A wonderful woman, a guide from another company, came to our rescue. Long story short: we were handed the equivalent of $10cdn (as there was no time for a bank machine) and told to run to the local train to ride two stations where we could meet our guide and recover our personal belongings. You can be sure we paid attention on the remainder of our tours!

We decided on a stop at a grocery store for dinner in our hotel room. This is what $37 will buy in Japan, pretty reasonable considering the decent Spanish wine. Fruit is a luxury there, the least expensive apples we found were $2.95 Cdn each. And we never tried the $50 cantaloupes. 

Next will be Osaka and our visit to Expo 2025.