Advertisement
Published: October 7th 2009
Edit Blog Post
Our cruise from Russia to Japan was a fog filled affair. For two days we had almost zero visibility. Thus every 90 seconds the ship sounded its horn as required by international maritime rules. If you are walking on deck the sound of the horn can make you jump. So when we took a Jacuzzi we wore earplugs to muffle the sound. I guess we are pretty dedicated hot tubbers to sit out in the fog and cold with the horn blasting.
We have been rereading our travel log from the similar cruise we took in 2006. It reminded us of the great ports we visited then and will return to on this cruise. It is interesting that while we are cruising around the Ring of Fire all of the news reports are dealing with this part of the world due to a number of catastrophic natural events taking place right now. Earthquakes, tsunamis, tropical storms, cyclones and floods are devastating a number of countries in the region. Our mainly Filipino crew is very concerned about the damage and loss of lives in Manila. While we have been fretting about the cold, rough weather in Alaska and Russia, other countries are
dealing with much more serious problems.
Our first stop in Japan was at Hakodate on the northern island of Hokkaido. This was one of the first ports opened to foreign trade in 1859 by Commodore Perry. Thus Hakodate has an international flair as evidenced by the Eastern Orthodox Church and several overseas consulates. The touristic information says that we can find many wonderful decaying buildings in town. In search of these rotting edifices, we took a bus to the top of Mt Hakodate for a brilliant overview of the city which lies between the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan. We visited the morning market and marveled at the $70 cantaloupes and $100 hairy crabs. We took Katya, the ship’s destination manager, to a set lunch of noodles, soup and fish at one of the small restaurants surrounding the market. Japan can be a challenging country to travel in because of its insular nature. In previous years the only place where we could find an ATM for foreign cards was at the post office. And when the post office was closed we couldn’t get any money. The food and culture is very unique and English is not widely spoken.
Owen & June
Folks from Ole Miss' This time we found a convenience store where the ATM actually accepted our card and issued us some yen. When Kevin was living in Japan in the late 1960s we got 360 yen to the dollar. Now we get a mere 90 yen per dollar. Combine that with inflation and you will find a very expensive place to visit.
Regent had a party for those of us on the whole cruise. It was a fabulous Japanese dinner complete with tempura, shabu-shabu, saké and accompanied by karaoke. We dressed in our Asian finery and listened to lots of great singing by LaLa and Rey and other waiters. Kevin and Jamie did a slightly altered rendition of Willie Nelson’s “To All the Ships We’ve Loved Before.” Usually Jamie and Captain Dag perform this masterpiece on the world cruise. Since Dag is now on the Voyager, Kevin was his stand-in for this performance. Captain Dag would have been proud!
We had a very short stop in Sendai where we found a 100 Yen store which is the best bargain in pricy Japan. We asked the guide on the shuttle bus what are some regional food favorites. She told us that cow tongue, beef
tripe and oxtail soup are Sendai specialties. We opted out of the tripe, tongue and tail menu and instead had a Japanese version of pizza.
We decided that since this is our 40th anniversary of meeting we would celebrate it by returning to where it all began. Kevin was stationed at Atsugi Naval Air Station, just outside of Tokyo, in 1969 and that is where we began our courtship. I found a Japanese inn on the internet that was located a short distance from Atsugi. So upon arrival in Tokyo we tackled the local transportation system. It took a bus, two subways and a train to get to Atsugi. Once there it took an entire police force to help us find the van that was to take us to our country inn. Every neighborhood in Japan has a Koban which is a local police station. I showed them the map the ryokan has emailed us. They spent 10 minutes pouring over their maps and sighing and shaking their heads, as only the Japanese do so well. Finally one of the policemen waved for us to follow him and he led us through the backstreets of town for blocks and blocks.
He motioned for us to stop and we turned around and there was the hotel van pulling up right behind us. Now how is that for service?
When we arrived at the Motoyu Ryokan we were met by a 10’ high tanuki statue. Tanuki is a raccoon-like dog who holds a significant place in Japanese folklore. According to legend, Tanuki drank so much saké that his privates descended and became engorged. He is a symbol of frivolity and mischief. While stationed in Japan, Kevin and his fellow officer friends had motorcycles and they called themselves the “Tanuki Riders.” They made me an honorary member since I had a motorcycle in California at that time. We had official patches made up featuring the jovial Tanuki carrying his bottle of saké. We rode the motorcycles all over Honshu in search of the perfect ryokan and now come to find out, one was located right near the navy base where the Tanuki Riders were stationed.
This ryokan was just what we were looking for with its tatami mat rooms, futon bed, shoji screened windows, beautiful Japanese gardens and ponds and natural hot springs for bathing. We were given yakata robes, which are everyday
Katja eats Japanese
Regent tour manager from Germany kimonos, and slippers and that is what we wore for the next 24 hours. The one thing that has changed in the last 40 years is that now the baths are segregated---one for males and one for females. We were sorry about that but we thoroughly enjoyed immersing ourselves in a true Japanese experience.
We were escorted to our private dining room for dinner and breakfast. The Japanese have what is described as a sixth taste sense that we Westerners were not gifted with. All I can say is thank goodness for gohan---that’s rice to you and me. While having dinner we gave our waitress some of our wine and she in turn gave me a shoulder massage. That is a first for me—when was the last time that a French waiter gave a patron a nice massage while dining on frog legs?
The next morning after a soak in the outdoor hot springs we bid sayonara to the bowing hotel staff and were driven back to the Atsugi rail station. After forty years there was nothing that we actually recognized in the area but just being there brought back so many memories of the wonderful times we had while
exploring this strange and enchanting land. A young Navy officer and a Braniff stewardess meet and fall in love in Japan—a storybook romance that continues to this day.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.058s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 11; qc: 26; dbt: 0.0329s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb