Live(ish) Cruising From Japan

[OzKiwiJJ]

We're certainly enjoying being back on Diamond. We did a Sydney to Yokohama repostioning cruise on her in 2018.

 

I'm running a bit behind on my daily updates. We've got six port days in a row which are a bit tiring for us oldies.

[MMDown Under]

8 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

We're certainly enjoying being back on Diamond. We did a Sydney to Yokohama repostioning cruise on her in 2018.

 

I'm running a bit behind on my daily updates. We've got six port days in a row which are a bit tiring for us oldies.

I agree port intensive cruises are tiring.  Enjoy them and catch up on your updates when you have a sea day. 

[MicCanberra]

Can be very tiring, and writing a blog/ vlog, can be time consuming making it tough to keep up with.

[possum52]

10 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

We're certainly enjoying being back on Diamond. We did a Sydney to Yokohama repostioning cruise on her in 2018.

 

I'm running a bit behind on my daily updates. We've got six port days in a row which are a bit tiring for us oldies.

You're doing well Julie. I always start a journal for each cruise we go on but usually it doesn't get finished until we return home as I am too tired to write each evening/night. 

 

We love the Diamond, we did a repositioning on her in 2015 from Sydney to Singapore. Enjoy your port days. You will be looking forward to some sea days.

[OzKiwiJJ]

There are only two sea days on this cruise - the first day which was lovely and warm, and the last day where we'll have the packing chore to do.

[possum52]

36 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

There are only two sea days on this cruise - the first day which was lovely and warm, and the last day where we'll have the packing chore to do.

It certainly is port intensive then. 

[MMDown Under]

Enjoy your two land days before you start your next cruise on Regent.  Does it have some sea days?

[Stickman1990]

16 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

Does it have some sea days?

Four - very relaxing 

 

[MMDown Under]

29 minutes ago, Stickman1990 said:

Four - very relaxing 

 

Thanks.  That will be perfect, just what they need after a port intensive cruise. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

Thu 2nd Nov - Aomori

 

We had an early start today and I still hadn't had a decent night's sleep. So I was a tad grumpy when we headed up to the Horizon Court for breakfast. I was even grumpier when I discovered they'd run out of Twinings English Breakfast teabags so I had to have Lipton instead which is not a tea I particularly like.

 

We'd chosen to do a half day Highlights of Aomori tour so after breakfast we headed off to the Princess Theatre to join our tour group. Rolf discovered that the tour stickers don't stick well on wool so lost his before we'd even sat down. He had to get another which stayed on OK on his tshirt. I'd put mine on my polo shirt collar where it stayed OK.

 

There were two bus loads doing this tour but we didn't feel over-crowded at either of the stops.

 

The first place we visited was the Nebuta Museum WA-RASSE. Every year Aomori has a Nebuta Festival. Huge Nebuta floats are created by Nebuta Masters. The frames are made from wood and wire, lights are added, then it is covered with fine quality washi paper and painted. The scenes are often of demons or gods. They are paraded through the streets, and are accompanied by musicians, and Haneto Dancers which is a style of dance involving a lot of jumping. We saw a short video of this year's festival and it looked very exciting and happy. The best floats are taken to the museum to be put on display until next year. These are some of them:

 

 

 

This shows how they are constructed.

 

New floats are made every year. The old ones are burnt. 

 

As we walked back to our bus we got a great view of Diamond Princess framed between a low bridge and a huge overpass bridge.

 

We had a pleasant drive through the town to the hills on the outskirts. Aomori gets some heavy snowfalls during winter and our guide told us how some of the houses had special roofs with channels down the middle for the melted snow to run off. I didn't spot any of these though but did spot some steeply pitched roofs. Some houses have heated pads in front to make snow removal easier.

 

Our second stop was at the Buddhist Seiryu-ji Temple, a complex of several structures nestled into the hillside including a five story pagoda and a huge Buddha bronze statue which is the tallest seated Buddha statue in Japan.

 

This vermillion hall is Kobo-Daishi-do, a shrine.

 

The five story pagoda with a part of the Bouki-tei rock garden in front of it.

 

The Buddha statue. 

 

We spent about an hour at the temple, enjoying the tranquility of the location as we walked up the hill to the Buddha statue. Although there wasn't a lot of autumn colour around we did see some nice examples of it.

 

Back at the ship, we dropped our jackets and backpack in our cabin and headed up to the Horizon Court for lunch. This is one of the most interesting Princess buffets I've ever seen with plenty of Japanese choices as well as the usual dishes from other cuisines. Also I have acquired a secret supply of Twinings English Breakfast teabags so I was able to enjoy a decent cup of tea with my lunch.

 

The fresh air and disturbed nights caught up with me so we headed back to the cabin for a rest. It was too cold to sit on the balcony though. I tried to have a nap but didn't succeed. I'm rarely able to sleep during the day unfortunately.

 

We went up to Skywalkers for our pre-dinner cocktail. Today there was three types of sushi on offer. I tried two of them and they were really good.

 

Things were very quiet in our section of the MDR when we arrived. Our table was set with red wine Riedel glasses and after reminding Ana Joy that we still had some gruner veltliner left the white wine Riedel glasses were produced. We are very happy wine drinkers ... as long as we buy bottled wines! We needed a red to match some of our dinner choices so ordered a light Cote de Nuits pinot noir.

 

I had tofu for my appetiser. It was in a light broth with lots of bonito flakes so the pinot noir worked well with it. I switched back to the white wine with my main, a clam and prawn stew with fennel and tomato. Rolf had hot smoked salmon with potato salad followed by stroganoff on noodles, so just had the pinot noir.

 

After a while some more couples joined our section. We had a lovely younger UK couple sitting next to us who were well travelled but they usually prefer a much more active style of travelling like cycling through Vietnam. We're too old for that now but it sounded fascinating. We ended up chatting far too late so went straight back to our cabin afterwards. We're being very boring on this cruise so far 🤣.

[MicCanberra]

Glad you got your choice of tea again.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Fri 3rd Nov - Sakata

 

Yay! I finally slept well!

 

Armed with my secret supply of teabags we headed up to the buffet for breakfast. The challenge this morning was finding a table. We found one eventually, thank goodness.

 

We did another half day excursion. This time there were four buses doing the same excursion but I think they switched the itinerary around on a couple of them as we never felt crowded at any of the stops.

 

This one started by a visit to an historic rice warehouse complex. They've preserved the whole row of warehouses but only two are in use - one is a museum, the other is a shop. First we walked down a long path between the back of the warehouses and a row of old Japanese selkova trees which were put there to shelter the warehouses from the strong winds that Sakata gets regularly.

 

At the end of the path there was a small Shinto shrine.

 

The museum was in the end warehouse (the shop was at the other end). It was very interesting, showing how the rice arrived at the warehouse where it was inspected for quality.

 

 

 

There were also a couple of displays showing a farmhouse, with one area for husking and preparing the rice, and the other are for family living.

 

 

There were samples of different types of rice grains showing the raw form and the polished result. There were so many types of rice but at least I recognised one of the ones in this set of four. You need to zoom in on the photo to read the names. It was not a type of rice I'd typically associate with Japan or anywhere else in Asia.

 

Bales of rice were often carried by women. They could carry up to 300kgs at once.

 

Our next stop was the Homma Museum of Art where we enjoyed going through the beautiful Kakabuen Garden (Garden of the Dancing Crane) but, again, the weather has been too warm for us to see it in its best autumn foliage.

 

 

 

Then we went through the Seienkaku pavilion which overlooked the garden from most of the rooms. The rooms were very traditional with tatami mat floors and beautiful wood ceilings. One of the rooms had a beautiful Japanese painting of cranes and the local mountain, which was mostly hidden in haze while we were there.

 

Our final stop was at the Ken Domon Museum of Photography. Ken Domon donated all his works to his hometown of Sakata. There were some stunning photographs covering much of 20th century Japan. Some were heartbreaking, especially those of Hiroshima.

 

From there we returned to the ship and headed up to the Horizon Court for lunch. It was a very warm day, not a day for soups. I would have loved some chilled soba noodles but Princess didn't have them on offer.

 

Squeezy bus seats and a slightly too heavy crossbody bag are playing havoc with my back so I had a rest after lunch.

 

As the ship departed we were entertained by a local folk dance group. Here they are just about to begin their dance.

 

We went to the Wheelhouse Bar for our predinner cocktail. There was a very good pianist playing.

 

We had a real mix of cuisines for dinner. We both had the beef tataki, although it was more like carpaccio - tataki is usually cut a little thicker - but it was really nice. Then we had gazpacho which, unfortunately, had a little bit of fresh coriander in it (not traditional in the recipes I have) but luckily it wasn't enough to affect me (I have a dietary intolerance to fresh coriander and Vietnamese mint). I had turkey for my main and Rolf had crab cakes. We finished with a pecan butterscotch tart accompanied by a Tokay.

 

We dropped into Crooners for a cognac after dinner. There was a great pianist/vocalist playing. He was perfect for Crooners.

[NSWP]

Julie, great reporting and pics, thanks mate. Enjoy the rest of the adventure. You both are certainly  livin the dream.

 

Please say hello to young Rolf from Uncle Les.

 

Edited November 5, 2023 by NSWP

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

One of the rooms had a beautiful Japanese painting of cranes and the local mountain, which was mostly hidden in haze while we were there.

 

Stunning painting.

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Fri 3rd Nov - Sakata

We dropped into Crooners for a cognac after dinner. There was a great pianist/vocalist playing. He was perfect for Crooners.

Do they do good rice ctackers in Sakata?

 

How are your cognacs?

From one Princess to another, XO is now $AU39 here on Majestic. I just laughed. It was somewhere around $20 last season wasn't it? Seems for Premier, they want those packages to drink cocktails instead of top shelf spirits.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Just now, arxcards said:

Do they do good rice ctackers in Sakata?

 

How are your cognacs?

From one Princess to another, XO is now $AU39 here on Majestic. I just laughed. It was somewhere around $20 last season wasn't it? Seems for Premier, they want those packages to drink cocktails instead of top shelf spirits.

They do have rice crackers there but we didn't get a chance to try them. They had really nice ones in Sakaiminato though.

 

The  Remy Martin XO is US $20 on this cruise. Plus limit is $15 so $5 extra plus gratuity. Hennessy XO is $26.

 

Last year in Aus Remy Martin XO was originally $20 so $4 extra, then went up to $25 when the limit changed to $22 so only $3 extra. 

[arxcards]

16 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

They do have rice crackers there but we didn't get a chance to try them. They had really nice ones in Sakaiminato though.

 

The  Remy Martin XO is US $20 on this cruise. Plus limit is $15 so $5 extra plus gratuity. Hennessy XO is $26.

 

Last year in Aus Remy Martin XO was originally $20 so $4 extra, then went up to $25 when the limit changed to $22 so only $3 extra. 

That could be it. Hennesey XO could be what was in the dining room. It just said XO on the menu. Remy is what we were drinking last year - it is  $25 on the app we are refusing to order from. 

 

We booked a local cruise on Diamond this morning.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Just now, arxcards said:

That could be it. Hennesey XO could be what was in the dining room. It just said XO on the menu. Remy is what we were drinking last year - it is  $25 on the app we are refusing to order from. 

 

We booked a local cruise on Diamond this morning.

Yes, probably.

 

When is your Diamond cruise?

 

 

 

 

[MMDown Under]

8 hours ago, arxcards said:

That could be it. Hennesey XO could be what was in the dining room. It just said XO on the menu. Remy is what we were drinking last year - it is  $25 on the app we are refusing to order from. 

 

We booked a local cruise on Diamond this morning.

Must be a great feeling to disembark with another cruise booked.  What is the itinerary?

[arxcards]

8 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Yes, probably.

 

When is your Diamond cruise?

 

1 hour ago, MMDown Under said:

Must be a great feeling to disembark with another cruise booked.  What is the itinerary?

Board Brisbane 10th Feb '25. Qld Coastal for 7 nights back to Brisbane. Stay aboard for another 4 nights back to Sydney via Newcastle.

 

A nice way to celebrate another decade gone.

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

Must be a great feeling to disembark with another cruise booked.  What is the itinerary?

Because it's a smaller ship we embark at the Tokyo cruise terminal. Then it's:

Shimizu

Kobe

Kochi

Sea day

Okinawa

Taipei

Sea day

Sea day

Nha Trang

HCMC

HCMC

Sea day

Laem Chabang

Laem Chabang disembarkation and transfer to Bangkok

We stay three nights in Bangkok before flying home.

 

The sea days are nicely spaced so we get a regular break from sightseeing but, of course, in reality that's just because of the distances between some of the ports. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

27 minutes ago, arxcards said:

 

Board Brisbane 10th Feb '25. Qld Coastal for 7 nights back to Brisbane. Stay aboard for another 4 nights back to Sydney via Newcastle.

 

A nice way to celebrate another decade gone.

I'll see you onboard. We're doing that cruise Brisbane to Sydney. 

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I'll see you onboard. We're doing that cruise Brisbane to Sydney. 

Nice!

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

Sat 4th Nov - Kanazawa

 

Another early start but another good night's sleep for me so I'm good to go. I took a peek out on the balcony first thing and was greeted by a lovely early morning sky as we made our way to the wharf.

 

We managed to find a table for breakfast and fortified ourselves for the slightly longer half day excursion ahead.

 

I decided to try using my smaller cross-body bag for my wallet, passport and phone, and put all my other stuff in a lightweight backpack. That also allowed me to take my lightweight extendable walking stick which helps me balance on uneven ground.  I could have done with it yesterday but forgot to take it.

 

Again there were four buses. They switched the itinerary around for our bus. Not that it really mattered as being a Saturday of a holiday weekend everywhere we went was crowded with locals.

 

Our first stop was the Omicho Market. It's huge - we only saw a small corner of it. Although it's primarily a fish market as well as the seafood shops there were also fruit and vegetable shops, meat shops that we didn't get to see, general produce shops, flower shops, even a clothing store. Plus restaurants and snack shops.

 

The seafood was the freshest I've ever seen.

Squid

 

Salmon

 

Prawns

 

More fish

 

Sashimi

 

Fruit and vegetables

 

Flowers

 

Our next stop was Kanazawa Castle Park. The original castle buildings had been destroyed by fire but the entrance and a couple of the buildings have been restored using traditional building methods.

 

The whole park was quite extensive. The top of the hill, which once had many of the castle buildings on it, is now forest.

 

We only had to cross the road to get to Kenrokuen Gardens, ranked as one of the top three gardens in Japan. We'd been there before but in late spring so it was interesting to see it in autumn even without the foliage at it's best.

 

I managed to snap a shot of the Kotojitori Lantern and Nijibashi (Rainbow) Bridge in between people posing on it.

 

During our rambles through the gardens I did get a few autumn foliage photos.

 

 

 

 

This fountain operates from the force of gravity - it's below the level of the lake and the water has enough pressure to produce a decent-sized waterfall.

 

Before heading down to the bus we shared a snack of grilled miso-coated dumplings. Just as well as our tour ended up running very late so we didn't get back to the ship until 2pm.

 

The Horizon Court was chocka, we ended up having to get a table right at the back. After lunch we had a well-needed rest.

 

Again we went to the Wheelhouse Bar for our pre-dinner cocktail. There was a different entertainer this time and it wasn't quite our style of music.

 

It was Italian night in the MDR. We both had the melon and proscuitto, followed by veal scallopine in marsala sauce. I think they just waved the marsala bottle over the gravy as it was very bland. We finished with the fanciest tiramisu I've ever seen, encased in chocolate squares, very elegant.  It was a very good tiramisu too.

 

During dinner the Captain came through our MDR chatting to everyone dining there. I've never seen that before!

 

After dinner we had a quick Baileys in the Wheelhouse Bar before going to the show. Just as we were leaving for the theatre a jazz quartet started playing with the pianist from last night in the quartet. We lingered for a song. Luckily the theatre wasn't very full.

 

We went to the show "Born to be Wild" tonight. This was the first Princess Theatre show since the new Premier perk of reserved seats came into play. They put blue covers on a couple of rows of seats - too far forward for us luckily. They released unused seats five minutes before the show started. In fact there were very few people seated in those rows.

 

"Born to be Wild" is the show starring the pink Cadillac. We'd seen this show some years ago but the big screen technology which provided the background "set" was much more advanced. It showed some spectacular Route 66 scenery among other things. It was a very high energy show, mostly American rock but they snuck in one Beatles number as well.

 

When we left the theatre there were big queues waiting for the forward lifts so we went to cut through the Wheelhouse Bar. Big mistake! The jazz quartet were still playing so we enjoyed another Baileys while we listened to the rest of their set.

 

Oh dear, it's late and we have an even earlier start in the morning. Oops!

[davwen81]

Fabulous pics. We loved Kenrouken gardens, lovely to see their autumn colours.