Oops! On the way to Busan the Captain informed us that there had been another change of plans. Because of delays caused by the two typhoons, after Busan we would not have enough time remaining to go to Aomori and Hokodate, both of which are in the north of Japan. Instead we would go to Nagasaki and to Shimizu, returning to Yokohama along the southern coast again. The Captain said this is the first cruise ship that he has heard of to have been so affected by two typhoons.

Busan is interesting, South Korea’s 2nd largest city after Seoul, and a very busy cargo port. In fact the port consists of 5 container terminals as well as 2 passenger terminals and there seemed to be millions of people around. The number of high rise buildings with 80 or more levels is incredible and the roads are like spaghetti, going everywhere at multiple levels. We drove on a couple of bridges that were 7.5 km and 4 km long. It’s all amazing. A short shore excursion took us to a Buddhist shrine situated right beside the sea which was very colourful and very busy, then to a very pleasant park on the coast. Within the park, overlooking the sea we saw the building that was built for the 2005 APEC summit meeting, a beautiful building that now does nothing but remind everyone that the meeting was held here – what a waste!

Bussan’s Shrine by the sea.

After cruising overnight we re-entered Japan at Nagasaki, watching the sun rise over a beautiful harbour. Nagasaki is a nice city that is proud of it history as the first port to be opened to the western world about 150 years ago, after Japan had been isolated for centuries – but it also has a dark period in its history. It was here that the 2nd atomic bomb was dropped to end the 2nd World War. The bomb had a devastating effect that would have been even bigger if the mountains within and near the city had not reduced the impact of the bomb. We visited the Peace Park museum and the memorial at Ground Zero and could only wonder how humans can treat each other so badly; it was very sad. On a brighter note we spent a couple of hours wandering around the city centre and enjoyed brief encounters with local people, especially kids.

A life size replica of the awful bomb that hit Nagasaki. It destroyed everything for many kms.

It took 2 nights and a full day at sea to reach Shimizu, the port that allows wonderful views of Mt Fuji; from the ship, from the port, from buses and from several vantage points visited by the range of shore excursions – except we were there on a cloudy day and hardly saw the mountain. Luckily we had seen it with Kana and Gutti 3 weeks ago. We did visit a Shrine, of course, and a pleasant park on the lower slopes of Mt Fuji which included the Shiraito waterfall, which comes not from a river but from water seeping out of a cliff near the base of Mt Fuji. It was good to be in a rural setting again after several large cities. After the morning excursion we again spent a couple of hours wandering around the dozens of harbour side shops and stalls set up for a festival.

Crystal clear water from Mt Fuji, at a Shrine near Shimizu.

Blending colourfully in the garden at the shrine.

Our final port on the cruise was Yokohama, back where we started. On arrival, early in the morning we were able to see glimpses of Mt Fuji. Some passengers hadn’t seen it yet so we were pleased to show off our local knowledge and point it out to them. During a full day in port, with a couple of friends we rode part of Japan’s amazing rail system to Kamakura, had a traditional lunch in a small restaurant, rode the tiny, old train called Enoden, visited Daibutsu (a huge bronze Buddha statue 800 years old and restored 300 years ago), which we first saw 21 years ago, then found our way to the ship. On the final night Yokohama dazzled us with a great view of harbour side lights.

Daibutsu and friends.

This morning we disembarked and found our way by rail to the hotel Courtyard by Marriott, near Tokyo Station. We took a wrong turn soon after leaving the ship and dragged our suitcases for 40 minutes instead of 15 minutes, despite having rehearsed it yesterday. Eventually we made it and now we are looking forward to an alcohol free light meal after 2 weeks of compulsory eating and drinking on the cruise ship.

Tomorrow we will see some of our Japanese friends before flying home overnight. This will be the final update for this trip. It has been great fun.

Love to all!!

Typhoon Trami caused severe damage in parts of Japan but luckily for us by the time it got to Tokyo it was just a nuisance. Yokohama port was closed by the port authority so we had to stay another night in Tokyo, at Celebrity’s expense. The typhoon passed Tokyo very quickly, really just strong wind during the night and we awoke to a beautiful calm, sunny day. On the way to Yokohama we could see Mt Fuji several times between buildings, then as we sailed out of the harbour the setting sun behind Mt Fuji was an amazing sight.

My Fuji creates its shadow in the sunset

Once we got out of Tokyo Harbour the sea became rough and stayed that way over night but by the next day it had calmed down. We sailed all day, missing out on Shimizu, from where most passengers had booked an excursion to see Mt Fuji. They were disappointed of course but we had already seen it with Kana and Gutti so we weren’t concerned.

Kobe was the first port we visited. Most passengers visited either Ōsaka or Kyoto but we stayed in Kobe and wandered around the city. It is about the same size as Adelaide but Ōsaka, with 3 million people is only 30 km away there are buildings, roads, bridges and other infrastructure for the whole distance along the coast.

After 2 nights in Kobe we sailed to Kochi, a small city of 300,000 people on the south coast of Shikoku Island. The main attraction here was the castle, one of Japan’s 12 remaining authentic castles.

The quite big swell in the harbour reminds us that Typoon Kong-rey was out in the Pacific Ocean and headed for Japan in a few days. Just as we were to leave Kochi we heard that Hiroshima port would be closed the next day and we can’t go there. We couldn’t stay in Kochi either because that port is too exposed so we have return to Kobe. Unfortunately it means that we can’t see the Peace Park at Hiroshima and the Red Gate on Miyajima Island. After 3 visits to Japan we still haven’t seen these places so we are very disappointed – but at least we are not out a sea during the typhoon.

As we sailed east along the Pacific coast we had another rough night, even rougher that the first night, because Kong-rey was getting close, but once we entered shelters waters near Kobe the sea settled down again. The weather is pleasant so this afternoon we will take another stroll around Kobe before we head out to sea again. The plan is to spend the next 2 days at sea, going to Busan, South Korea, hopefully in calm seas as we follow behind Kong-rey.

We will see!!!