Asia – Day 18, Saturday, October 25, 2015

As we woke up you could see the port of Yokohama, our last cruise port on this trip.  Yokohama is a big industrial city and the gateway for us to get to Tokyo.

We took the free shuttle bus to the train station and boarded the train to Tokyo.  Once we got to the suburbs, we switched to a subway and came out very close to the Marriott where we were staying tomorrow.

 

It is a Courtyard; however, it doesn’t look like any Courtyard we have every stayed in before.  It will

be interesting tomorrow to see what the rooms are like.

We went in and asked the Concierge about tours, and we found out that all of the Sumo’s had finished their bouts and had left town for another town to practice in.

So after checking emails, we walked about 10 blocks to a Hop On- Hop Off bus and bought tickets for one of their rides.  While we were waiting for the bus, we had a small lunch.

The bus ride wasn’t very good although it did take us around the gardens of the Presidential Palace which were very beautiful – so cross that off our list.

By then it was time to go back to the ship so we bought return tickets and found our train.  The funny thing was that we went into a first class car and didn’t’ realize it until a conductor came by with only 3 minutes left in the trip.  She told us to go to the next car but when we opened the door, there was no way we could fit in.  Were we lucky when she took us back a car and let us stand in the middle between trains for the last couple of minutes.

It took us a little bit to find the shuttle bus but soon we were back on the dock and on the ship, after fist buying a couple of scarves at dockside.

We had a snack and then took a nap before dinner. 

As tonight is the last night of the cruise and the casino wasn’t open, we packed after dinner.

Sad but the cruise is over – now a couple of days in Tokyo and we will be home.

The next email will be from the Marriott in Tokyo.

Night from the ship.


People at the port watching the ship dock

First snack

Imperial Palace Gardens

Part of the train station

Yokohama at night from our balcony

Asking directions from a policewoman

First train ride into Tokyo





 

 

Asia – Day 17, Friday, October 24, 2015

We were able to sleep in a little as this was the day to arrive at Mt. Fuji and we would not get there until Noon.

Ed did his usual, ate and then went up on the deck and reserved a couple of lounge chairs.  Barb followed soon afterwards and we stayed on deck in a beautiful sun for the rest of the morning.

At about t 11am as we were approaching the port, the Captain came on the speaker system and announced that we could see Mt. Fuji in the distance on the left side of the ship.  There was a huge rush of people at that time. 

We went up one deck where you could see better and when Mt. Fuji came into our view it was another “Oh My Gosh” moments like when we first saw the Great Wall. 

Mt. Fuji was right there in front of us and it looked exactly like the pictures you have seen forever.   It was huge and a perfect crown of snow at the top.  The Captain said it was one of the few times that the sky was clear enough to see the mountain.

We ate lunch and cleaned up as the ship docked and then waited for a couple of hours to leave the ship. 

Basically, the only reason to be in this port is to see or go to Mt. Fuji and we found nothing interesting in town.

We had been fairly close to Mt. Fuji when we were arriving so we saw no need to take a bus to a viewing area 4 miles closer. 

We came back to the ship just in time for Geisha performance of music, dance and song.  It was pretty neat to see.  These were local Geisha and very authentic. 

We had met a lady of Korean descent at blackjack and she was a very good player.  She is of Korean origin and she and her husband live in Vancouver, Canada.  In the afternoon, she had asked us to have dinner with them so we ate with them in the specialty restaurant, The Olympic and dinner was quite good.

Maitreya and her husband Edward live in Vancouver, B.C.and travel all over buying and selling antiques and so we had a lot of fun at dinner talking to them.  They may join us on the Black Sea cruise next October.

Then we went to the evening show and it was one that we have seen before about Broadway and it was very good.

Since the casino is not open, we went back to the room to finish the blog and plan our day tomorrow when we land at Yokohama.  We don’t know yet whether we will go into Tokyo or stay in the port city.

Night

Trimming trees with small scissors

Maitreya - our blackjack friend

Mt. Fuji

Mt. Fuji - what a sight

 

 

Asia – Day 16, Thursday, October 23, 2015

We awoke to a beautiful day in Kobe.   The shuttle bus starts at 9:00am so up we were and out the door to go downtown at 9:15am.

Originally we were going to take the City Loop bus to get to our destinations but we found out that we could walk faster to our first stop, a place called the Master Garden.  It wasn’t like we anticipated so after a brief visit, we walked to the second stop looked like a couple of block but turned out to be about a mile away which was the Sorakuen Gardens.  The gardens were built on the grounds of the former Mayor of Kobe City and were very beautiful.   The annual Chrysanthemum exhibit was being held and we were amazed at the size of these flowers.   As they advertised this was a secluded oasis in the middle of the city, unchanged for over a century.

Then we took a cab to the Kobe Herb Gardens & Ropeway.  The Ropeway is actually a lift to the top of the mountain.  Along the way you pass over a lot of herb gardens that you can see if you choose to walk down the mountain.  We decided to ride down and see them from above.  At the top, there was a great display of herbs and blowers.  They advertised that there were 75,000 herbs and flowers of about 200 kinds blooming throughout the year.

Then it was time for lunch and we had chosen a restaurant that Trip Advisor ranked as the 3^rd best Kobe Beef restaurant in the city.  We did not know exactly where it was so Ed went into a nearby hotel to get the exact location written in Japanese.  We have not found any cab driver yet in Japan or Korea who spoke any English.

Cabs are cheap and after a 15 minute ride down from the mountain; we arrived at restaurant we wanted which was in the city center for $7.60.  We arrived at 12:30pm and were told there was no room without a reservation as they were full.  We pleaded that we had come all the way from the US for their food and he found a spot for us at 1:30pm.  So, we walked about, almost got lost and got back to the restaurant at 1:30m and were seated.   It was a very small restaurant that had 4 floors and seating for about 10 people on each floor.  Also each floor had a table top flat grill that two chefs stood behind cooking the meal. 

We ordered two steaks that totaled about 10 ounces and the meal came with salad and vegetables and words do not describe the experience.   The chef cooked on the grill like a typical Japanese restaurant; however, they do not do tricks with their knives like in the US – this is serious cooking at its best.

The Kobe Beef was better than advertised.  You, of course, ate with chop sticks and the beef probably could melt in your mouth.  It was an amazing dining experience.  Imagine thinking paying $120.00 for a lunch meal was worth the money – this was!!

By this time it was 2:30 and it was time to get back to the ship as it sailed at 5:00pm.  We walked to the shuttle bus, stopping along the way to visit a small Japanese Shrine.

Since the sun was hot, we went out on the deck until 4:30pm, came in showered and took a nap.

We then went to the 7:00pm show which was very good.  It was a Vietnamese woman who was a concert pianist and she put on a great performance.

For dinner, we were joined by another couple from Canada and they had been on over 100 Celebrity cruises.  They told us that there were a total of 48 couples who had been on more than 100 and that 9 of them are on this cruise. 

After dinner, it was time for the casino and our last night there as it is not permitted to be open in Japanese waters for the rest of the cruise.

For our last night, Ed was down only a couple of dollars and Barb once again was up.  Barb has, always, done an amazing job of managing her money.  There are not many people who can get up from a slot machine after winning as they tend to put it all back in.  Barb is remarkable in how she manages her winnings. 

We are now done in the casino as it will not open again on this cruise.  Out of 41 trips that we have taken where there is gambling, this was the 2^nd highest winnings so we are very, very happy.

Tomorrow we will wake up to Mt Fuji.

Kobe Beef - #3 in Kobe for lunch



The view from the top

 

That's Kobe Beef - WOW was it good!!

Lunch of Kobe Beef

 

A snack on the street

Amazing flowers

Going up the mountain

Of course she loves it!!

Our last formal night




 

 

Asia – Day 15, Wednesday, October 22, 2015

Barb slept in while Ed had breakfast and went to the future cruise desk and booked two cruises.

The first one that we booked starts October 12, 2015, for 11 nights.   We will visit the Black Sea, starting in Istanbul, Turkey and going to Burgas, Bulgaria, Sochi, Russia, Sevastopol, Yalta and Odessa, Ukraine and back to Istanbul.

The second cruise we booked is January 3, 2016 and is South America.  We will start in Buenos Aires, Argentina and visit Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile including Cape Horn.  It is a 14 night cruise.

Kobe is the 5^th largest city in Japan and of course their claim to fame is Kobe Beef.  We have been told a lot about it and it will be fun experiencing it.  We found out that they message the cows and give them Sake and a typical famer only has 5 cows at a time because of the “hands-on” care that they give the cows.  A really big farmer might have 15 cows. 

At noon we arrived in the port of Kobe, Japan.  We will be here overnight and leave tomorrow at 5:00pm.  As this is our first stop in Japan, we had to wait for customs and immigrations to clear everyone.  We finally left the ship at 1:30pm which was earlier than we expected. 

We took the free shuttle for a 10 minute ride to the center of town where we went into two huge indoors shopping malls.  The problem here is that they do not negotiate – so what is the fun in shopping!

Then we took the 1 hour city loop tour so that we could see where all of the sights that we wanted to see where.  The tour cost $2.42 each on a cute little trolly!

After that we went looking for somewhere with a lot of Japanese who were eating.  We found a neat little place and ordered something with Kobe beef and a lot of veggies.  It was good.

We walked around a little more and then took the shuttle back to the ship.

Then we saw the lounge show which was two singers from the ship’s group and they were really good.

Because the casino is not open, that is all for tonight and tomorrow we will have a big day in Kobe.

Night from Kobe.

 

On the tour bus

 

Directing traffic!!

 

Another dinner meal of ???

 

Where we ate dinner

Asia – Day 14, Tuesday, October 21, 2015

This was our last sea day and when we woke up, the sky was partially cloudy and the temperature was warm. 

 Ed had breakfast and went up on the pool deck and saved some chairs and Barb slept for a little bit longer and then joined him.

Relaxing is hard work but we managed to do it until lunch time and then we went to eat in the Aqua Spa.  Then we stayed out for another hour before coming in and cleaning up to go to the casino.

The casino had a slot tournament at 2:00pm and we did not even qualify for the finals so we both played, Barb on slots and Ed Blackjack.  The great thing is that we both won.

 We found out today that because of Japanese laws, we will only play tonight and after 10 two nights from now as we leave Kobe.   If we are very careful we are going to leave the ship with some great winnings.  Wish us luck!!

Then we went back to the room to rest before heading to the lounge to see the act for the evening.

 The lounge act was a pair of acrobats, she having won an Olympic metal and they were probably very good; however, we have seen this type of act before and were a little bored.

 Then it was time for the casino and Barb came out even, which is great for the slots.  Ed on the other hand had his second losing session so it wasn’t the outcome we would have wanted. 

Tomorrow we arrive at Kobe, Japan for two days – it should be fun.

Night for now.
 

Asia – Day 13, Monday, October 20, 2015

Jeju Island, Korea is supposed to be the Hawaii of the Korean country.  To us, it looked just like another big city except it was an island.  We were to arrive at 1:00pm and before that we slept late, had breakfast and then went to the casino.

At the casino, Ed had a great session and Barb broke even.  Then we had lunch before getting ready to go off the ship.

At 1:00pm we left the ship and took the free shuttle bus into the town.  We first went to the huge Dongum Fisheries Market and the Dongum Traditional Market.  In a kitchen supply store we bought some kitchen utensils and just walked around.   In the fish market we saw a lot of products that we had no idea what they were.  Also, they had a lot of one type of fish that the meat had been taken out of the fish and they were selling the skin.  Lots and lots of crabs and lobsters.

On our way back to the shuttle bus stop, we stopped at a very large underground shopping complex.  The amazing thing is that it was all underground and had 280 stores!  Jeju has not subways and it looked like it was a former subway station with additional tunnels.

We then took a cab back to the ship to lie out in the sun for an hour.  Then it was time for a nap.

We took a cab to another area of the island where there was the most crowed and congested place full of people for shopping and entertainment with lots of places to eat.

This shopping area was a large street and for about 10 blocks they had block off a lot the traffic.  We found a Korean restaurant and ordered something to eat that we thought had meat and strange noodles.   It was very, very spicy but tasted pretty good.

After walking the street and buying some things, we took a cab back to the ship, arriving at about 8:45pm.   Ed was still hungry so we went up to the buffet and had a snack.

The ship sailed at 10:00pm and we went to the casino right away.

Barb played in a $1.00 for a minute slot tournament and while she won one of the sessions, she did not win the grand prize.  Later what Barb was playing her favorite slot machine, she hit a jackpot.

Ed then had a very good evening to go with his good day at Blackjack.

All-in-all it was a very good day.

Tomorrow is our last sea day and we are in our last week. 

Shoe store on Jeju

JeJu Fish Market

Pork at the market on JeJu

McDonalds delivery on JeJu

Crab and lobster at the fish market on JeJu



Dinner in JeJu




 

 

Asia – Day 12, Sunday, October 19, 2015

After a short night’s sleep, we awoke in Seoul, well actually the port of Inchon which is several hours away from Seoul.

The city of Inchon had a shuttle bus that we took at 8:00am to the center of the city of Inchon.  There we boarded a subway that took us into Seoul.  We went 24 stops and finally came to the subway stop that was right at the Gyeonbokbgung Palace; the Imperial Palace for Korea built beginning in 1395 and expanded a number of times.  There are 330 structures with 5,792 rooms taking us 4,414,000 square feet of land.  The place is huge.

Since we were touring on our own, we did not have a tour guide.  We did however find one - a high school junior who was a volunteer at the Palace.  She spent the next couple of hours with us taking us around the palace.   We could not believe the hours that she spends in school.  She goes to bed at 2:00am and up at 5:00am – her school schedule is incredible.   High school students do not play sports as they do not have the time.  They also have the highest suicide rate in the world because of all the pressure they have on them!

After seeing the Palace we asked her about a famous shopping street and she told us she would be happy to take us there.

So we all got into a cab and away we went.  For the next couple of hours, we walked this huge street that was blocked off from traffic, shopped and found a neat backstreet and then downstairs restaurant where we ate lunch.  No English – not even any signs in English.

After lunch she was very excited to take us to a place where you put on traditional Korean dress and we all did and had our pictures taken – and she insisted on paying for the pictures.

Following that, she took us to the subway/train station, walked us to the correct train and then said goodbye.  What a delightful experience we had – and she was very special to take the time to do this with us.

We did not have a lot of time in Seoul, but the time we did have was a fun time.

When we arrived back in Inchon, we then took the shuttle bus back to the ship.

After a very tiring day, it was time for a nap.

As we had seen the entertainer in the show, we missed the show and instead just people watched until dinner time.

The other two couples did not show up so we had each other as dinner partners – and we just relaxed and ate and ate, as usual.

After dinner it was time for the casino where we did very well again.

It was our Casino Hosts Selma’s last night so it was a little sad to see her go but Sead (Sea-Nod) is still here so we will still have a good host in the casino.

Tomorrow we visit JeJu Island from 1:00pm – 10:00pm – a total resort island off the Korean coast.

Night from somewhere on the ocean.

Summer Palace

Our new guide Liea

Winter bedroom

Part of the Summer Palace

Dress up time

Lunch restraurant

Lunch

Part of the Summer Palace

Our Casino Hosts - Selma and Sead  (Sea-odd)