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Published: October 15th 2009
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We got back to the ship in Tokyo in time to meet up with shipmates Norm and Kitty who were entertaining their Japanese friends on board the ship. Norm’s father was a Vice Admiral in WWII and had obtained a bell from a Japanese ship which was scuttled in a battle in the Solomon Islands. Their friends, Masa and Myoko had arranged for Norm and Kitty to present the bell to the Japanese Defense Ministry. It was quite a formal affair and they were told the history of the “Kikuzuki,” destroyer vessel, and many pictures were taken to mark the event.
But the amazing coincidence is that we had met Masa at our marina in Sausalito seven years ago through mutual friends, Gene and Tu. Masa is a sailor and he and his wife had lived in San Francisco for many years before returning to their homeland. It is always so much fun to have a “small world” experience especially in a foreign land where we know very few people. Masa and Myoko live on the Izu Peninsula where we had spent a lot of time in the old days riding motorcycles visiting hot springs and enjoying the views of Mt
Kitty & Norm
The bell from Kikuzuki, "Chrysanthemum Moon" Fuji.
We left Tokyo with a farewell by a large Japanese marching band playing western music with a few of John Phillips Sousa’s favorites. We sailed the inland sea to Osaka and arrived in a driving rain. We toured Osaka’s most famous landmark, the double moated Osaka Castle, which was built in the 1600s. We then visited the Shitennoji Temple. Built in 593AD, this Buddhist Temple is thought to be the oldest in Japan. It is a place of peace and serenity amid the cacophony of the city of Osaka.
Back at the ship, we took our small computer and went off in search of a wireless signal. While traveling in Japanese waters the Japanese Ministry of Communications would not allow our ship to access the satellite for internet or telephone use. Since I am somewhat addicted to being connected to the world, we wanted to find an internet location. Amazingly, there are very few internet cafes or hotspots in Japan. We even went to a Starbucks and McDonalds in Tokyo, neither of which offered wireless. When we cruised from one port to another in Japan, the Captain would take the ship outside of the 12 mile territorial limit so
that we internet junkies could get our fix. Of course that meant getting up at 4am but it was worth it to me. We found our favorite souvenir seller who told us that the one internet café near the port had recently gone out of business.
The next day on the way to the subway station we dropped off a picture of our souvenir lady that we had taken of her two years ago. We took the subway to the Japan Rail Station and boarded an express train to Kyoto. We bought an all day bus pass in order to explore this most historic of Japanese towns. Fortunately Kyoto was spared from being bombed during WWII so many of her wooden structures and temples survived the conflict. Actually Kyoto is home to over 1600 temples and several hundred shrines. So just spending one day there meant we had our work cut out for us. After a lot of research we decided to visit Kyoto’s eastern area. The Ginkaku-Ji Temple, also called the Silver Temple, was built 10 year before Columbus sailed to the New World. The grounds of this Zen temple are filled with graceful buildings set amid camellia hedges,
bamboo stands, fish ponds and rock gardens. We then took a walk along the Path of Philosophy which follows a creek for several miles passing more temples and small tea houses.
We stopped at a noodle house for lunch and started chatting with a family at the table next to us. Jason, Jennifer and daughter Enya live in Foster City, just down the road from San Francisco. They were touring Japan and then going to China to visit Jennifer’s home town of Hangzhou. After hearing Jennifer’s description of Hangzhou, we plan to visit this interesting city very soon.
We went to the Gion district, the setting for the book and movie “Memoirs of a Geisha.” We saw several geisha sashaying about in kimono dress. The area is filled with antique shops and geisha accessories such as hair ornaments and parasols. It is a very low keyed and interesting neighborhood in this historic town. We heard that the obi, the sash worn with a kimono, is tied in back if the woman is a geisha and it is tied in front if she is a courtesan. This placement of the obi tie signals two very different lines of work. A geisha
Jennifer, Enya and Jason
Visitors from Foster City is a companion who entertains her guest with songs and dance while a courtesan is a woman who is paid to be intimate.
By the time we got back to the ship we were worn out. We realized it takes a lot of energy to travel via the public transit systems. Just changing trains can sometime involve walking miles all the while trying to sort out the few visual clues leading to the correct station or train track. All I can say is it’s a good idea to wear sensible walking shoes when adventuring onto mass transit or the countryside on your own. Sandra Bowern, the ship’s excellent lecturer, calls us flâneurs—a French term for someone who walks a city in order to experience it. No matter what country we are in, we are always looking and exploring and searching out the unique and we find that is best done on foot. I guess this travel curiosity is just in our blood. Sandra’s also!
Our next stop was Nagasaki and it was a complete surprise for us. This town, infamous for being leveled by the second atomic bomb, has been completely rebuilt to recreate its former glory. Nagasaki is now
considered one of the nicest destinations in Japan and is often compared to San Francisco with its hilly terrain and European style houses and churches. We visited the Peace Park and the Atomic Bomb Museum which documents the obliteration of the town and the huge loss of life. Nagasaki was chosen as a target because Mitsubishi had it arms and manufacturing operations located there. We met a man who was a child at the time of the war. He and his family lived outside of town and on that day his mother called to him to come and see a beautiful mushroom cloud, unaware of what that cloud represented. The Peace Statue shows a godlike man whose right hand points upward to symbolize the threat of the atomic bomb and his left hand stretches horizontally in an appeal for world peace. After that sobering visit, we went out to see the rest of what the city had to offer.
Nagasaki has a nice Chinatown where we had lunch and then we went exploring via their great streetcar system. Like San Francisco, Nagasaki has collected old streetcars from all over Japan and built a good transport system within the city. Still
in search of an internet connection we ended up at an international school where we were allowed to use their computers after presenting our passports and registering and promising not to look at any pornography or play computer games.
We visited Glover Garden which is named after the Scottish merchant who introduced steam locomotives to Japan. Puccini’s “Madame Butterfly” is said to be based on the marriage of Thomas Glover and his Japanese wife. Right before sailing Regent presented a local opera star who sang several arias from “Madame Butterfly.” This Japanese Diva had a powerful voice which filled the entire theater without amplification. Cio-Cio San sang to her servant, Suzuki, while dressed in beautiful kimonos. The famous aria, “Un Bel Di,” was very touching as it told the sad story of the geisha’s unrequited love for Navy Lieutenant Pinkerton.
We thoroughly enjoyed our eight day visit to Japan and as it turns out we left just in time as Typhoon Melor was forecast to make a direct hit on Tokyo and Hakodate. After all of the excitement of returning to one of our favorite countries and all the touring we were ready for some rest and relaxation on the
Mariner with a day at sea en route to Korea.
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