Shimizu, Japan

We loved visiting Japan again this year, this time flying into Yokohama on Monday, 15 August to pick up the Diamond Princess for our cruise.

The weather was hot, hot, hot! Getting off the plane, the heat and humidity hit us and it took a moment or two to realise we were in Japan – not Darwin! The temperature was in the mid to high 30’s all the time we were there and the humidity was way up there as well.

Woke up Tuesday morning to find ourselves in Shimizu and looking forward to visiting Mt Fuji. We got as far as the 5th Station at 7,900 feet which involved a 2 hour coach trip. This is the most popular station and it contains some restaurants as well as some shops for climbers to stock up before heading up to the summit. We passed a number of people jogging or on bicycles and I had to admire their fitness and dedication. It’s a long way up!

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Waiting for the clouds to clear.

The view of Mt Fuji from the 5th Station looking up – the view down was obscured by clouds

Then we visited the Tokaido Hiroshige Museum of Art to see a collection of woodblock printing. Very interesting exhibition of the works of Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) which ranged from beautiful landscapes to some humorous caricatures.

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We took this photo before we found out there were no photos allowed! Here is the link to see some of the landscape blocks. It is a small museum that we found very interesting, with the woodblock process explained in the foyer and the opportunity to try it for yourself.

Japan and Korea

Time to dust off the passports once again for another trip to Japan. We enjoyed visiting there so much earlier in the year that we have decided to do a short vacation and fly out on 14 August to Yokohama, where we will board the Diamond Princess for a 10 day cruise to several Japanese and Korean ports and then fly home on 25 August.

This is our itinerary. Highlights include an excursion to Mt Fuji (no, not climbing it ourselves, we will take the easy way!) and a Korean Festival with a fireworks display. Also looking forward to boarding a ship that we haven’t been on before, which will be the biggest so far. Getting excited!

Tokyo, Japan

The weather was very nice as we set out on Wednesday, 30 March for our last stop in Tokyo. Into the coach and off to see the Imperial Palace Gardens (we thought!) Driving through the city, I was a bit disappointed – nice but nothing spectacular or memorable really, except for the Tokyo Tower….. I’m not sure what I was expecting. Some motorbikes and bicycles, but mostly cars on the road.

A city of 12.5 million we were told – with a floating population of 2 million. Hard to imagine!

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Anyway, once we got off the coach we noticed an unending line of people making their way to the Garden and found out that the Emperor only opens the Gardens to the public two days per year – and this was one of them! One million people were invited. So we were taken to the Imperial Palace Plaza and a short walk to a bridge near the East Gate – very pretty, but only a 10-minute photo stop in reality …. we had an hour!!!!

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Next stop was the Meiji Shrine, with twin 40 feet tall Torii gates, one of the country’s largest. Lunch was western-style at a Tokyo Hotel. Very nice.

We continued on to Sensoji Temple, the oldest temple in Tokyo, and we saw a Japanese bride and many girls in traditional dress. Lastly we spent quite some time at Nakamise-dori, the “street of Inside Shops”, an alley lined with souvenirs and handmade crafts. Very crowded but very interesting – plenty of time to explore. So much to see.

We have taken so many photos – especially in Japan. It was difficult to only choose a few. Many great memories…. and we have met some lovely local people.

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