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!

Afterwards

It’s always sad to say goodbye when our cruise comes to an end. Back to the “real world” – shopping, bill paying, chores….. However, the positives are coming home to our cats and sleeping in our own bed. No matter how comfortable other beds may be, there is nothing like your own pillow!

The one thing that everyone loves on a cruise ship is the food! So here are some average amounts of the food we consumed on a daily basis:

Fish: 1,700
Poultry: 1,400 lbs
Beef: 1,700 lbs
Pork/Pork Products: 1,400 lbs
Veal: 300 lbs
Lamb: 200 lbs
Salads: 1,600 lbs
Mayonnaise: 13 gals
Pasta: 500 lbs
Potatoes: 2,700 lbs
Soups: 550 gals
Flour: 1,500 lbs
Pastries: 6,000
Ice cream: 100 gals
Butter: 400 lbs
Coffee: 470 gals
Sugar: 400 lbs
Glasses washed daily: 21,500
Dishes washed daily: 70,000

Is this all? Well, not quite. After the passengers are served, then it’s time to feed over 848 crew members! (And by world standards, the Sea Princess is not even a very big cruise ship!)

So now our Asian cruise is a memory and I have some serious scrapbooking to do, but already we have booked our next cruise! Around Australia from Brisbane to Perth with some friends who will be visiting from England in November. We did this cruise once before, but this time we will stopping at two ports in New Guinea – the previous one went to Bali.

Meanwhile, I am having trouble remembering what day it is – I’ve already missed an appointment this week, so I must set myself a reminder to meet with my quilting group tomorrow!

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!

Tokyo (2)

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!!!!

Tokyo (6)

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.

Tokyo x (2) Tokyo x (3) Tokyo x