October 22, 2017
Since leaving Kushiro, we have visited six consecutive ports
and endured rain for all but one stop. Today we’re at sea on our way to China.
Although the sun is shining the seas are rough as we sailed through or around
Super Typhoon Lan overnight. Lan is expected to hit Tokyo today, so we got out
of Japan just in time.
October 15 – 16: Yokohama/Tokyo
Rain, rain and more rain. My image of Yokoham and Tokyo is
people with umbrellas. On the 15th we took a shuttle provided by the
Yokohama Retail Association to Yokohama station and a huge mall complex
anchored by Takashima, a high-end department store akin to Saks in NYC. It was
Sunday, so the area was crowded with lots of shoppers. We had a nice, delicious
lunch. The price of a glass of iced tea was $7 – Japan is pricey.
The lower level of the department store was a
not-to-be-believed food court where every type of food can be purchased. We
found one display composed entirely of vinegars, and a shop that sold every
price-range of sake. After tasting a couple we bought a bottle for personal
consumption aboard ship. Apparently all the department stores have extensive
food courts in their lower levels.
This evening the same retail association treated us to a
Japanese sake tasting reception and drum performance on the ship. If we
completed a questionnaire we received a traditional Japanese patterned “Sensu” present
– a fan made in China.
The next day (10/16) we took a tour – Best of Tokyo. Tokyo
is the center of everything in Japan. It’s metropolitan area population of 32
million is more than 10% of the total population in Japan. After a very long
bus ride through Yokohama/Tokyo Monday morning traffic, we visited the Imperial
palace with its lovely grounds and famous Nijubashi Bridge. Then we were taken
to the Ginza district, Tokyo’s high-end shopping street, for an hour of
shopping, followed by a forgettable buffet lunch. Our final stop was at the
Kannon Temple, an ancient shrine with a five-story pagoda/monastery adjacent.
Again, the rain dampened (pun intended) what should have been a memorable day.
I’m not sure what I expected but these two days did not
leave me with a sense of anything special about these two cities – just
ordinary large cities with rather bland architecture. Our tour guide
enlightened us about the proper use of the honorific “san” and how to use a
Japanese toilet. These highly technical facilities offer the user the option of
a bidet spritz, and even music to obscure the sounds. BTW, the heated seats are
a plus.
October 17: Shimizu
Another rainy day in this small, but charming, port. We had
a short day here and spent most of our time in the terminal building taking
advantage of the free wi-fi. We saw a demonstration of kimono wearing, where I
had an interesting conversation with a woman who rued the fact that her parents
never taught her how to wear a kimono, so she could not teach her daughter.
Such a shame that certain Japanese traditions are not being preserved. We also
saw an interesting exhibit of local marine life, including a spider crab that
grows to a span of two meters. Talk about your crab legs!
Prior to sailing we were treated to Geisha show. The kimonos
and dances were lovely, although I am amazed at how those women can kneel down
and get up again effortlessly. ;-)
The weather cleared enough for a special sayonara as we
prepared to sail away. A group of pre-teens gave us a wonderful Japanese drum
show. We were gathered on the promenade deck and gave them a rousing ovation.
Then, as we pulled away from the dock, we received a traditional bow from the
drummers, a cheer from the pink-hatted primary school children, and fire-works!
(No, they were not missiles from North Korea.) I wish we could have spent more
time in Shimizu.
Tonight was kimono night, so many were decked out in kimonos
– some purchased especially for this event. I wore my grandmother’s kimono that
my uncle brought back from Japan after WWII.
Kimono Night on
the Amsterdam
October 18: Osaka
Hooray! Sunshine! We set off today to visit the Osaka
Castle. If you saw the mini-series Shogun, you might recognize Osaka Castle. As
one of Japan’s most famous landmarks, it played a major role in the
reunification of Japan during the 16th century and remained a power
center for the country until WWII. It is surrounded by a large moat contained
by massive stone walls. A watch tower guards the entrance. The castle has been
destroyed and rebuilt numerous times and, although the exterior looks much as
it always has, the interior is totally modern, complete with elevators. Thus
the site does not qualify as a world heritage site. The museum, however, tells
an interesting story of the castle’s history and, if one wishes, one can pose
as a Samurai with full armor for a photo op.
Osaka Castle
We also visited the Shitennoji Temple – the oldest Buddhist
temple in Japan built in 593 AD. Most of the site has been reconstructed
numerous times. However, one of the gates still standing dates back to 1294. The
original religion of Japan was Shinto. When Buddhism was introduced, complete
with its emphasis on education and health, this temple was built to include a
school for girls and a hospital.
The grounds are extensive. We were able to
step inside a space where Buddhist monks were chanting, and roam the grounds,
which include carefully raked gravel areas, a turtle pond, and a sacred area
where people can have the names of their loved ones printed on special tablets
and added to the natural spring. We were not allowed to photograph that area.
When a loved one dies he/she is given a posthumous name different from his/her
name in life. Just a reminder, Buddhists do not worship Buddha as a deity, but
they try to live by his teachings. During his lifetime, Buddha did not allow
images of himself to be built. That has changed since his death to satisfy the
demand for reminders of him and his tenets.
Outside the temple
At the turtle pond
On a side note, we learned that the Portuguese – the first
westerners to visit Japan – were expelled, along with their priests, due to the
Emperor’s fear that the conversion to Christianity was endangering the Japanese
cultural values. And so, Japan became a closed country again until the arrival
of the Dutch, who only cared about trade, not conversion.
October 19: Beppo
By the end of the day in Osaka, the rain had returned and it
continued in Beppo. This small volcanic town was added to the itinerary when we
were prevented by China from stopping in South Korea. It is the largest hot
spring resort in western Japan, backed by Mt. Tsurumi and Mt. Yufu. On a clear
day, I’m sure it is quite picturesque. Unfortunately, we did not have a clear
day. We did not avail ourselves of trips to the hot springs, or the opportunity
to be buries in hot sand. We did, however, take the shuttle to the center of
town and walk around a bit. The most memorable part of our trek was the
cross-walk signal that played “Comin’ Thru the Rye” when it was safe to cross.
October 20: Hososhima
More rain prevented us from really enjoying the setting and
beaches of Hososhima (Hyuga Cape). Although some among our acquaintances did
journey up the mountains for cliff-top views of the ocean and towns, those
views were mostly obscured by clouds.
October 21: Kagoshima
Our final, and favorite, stop in Japan, Kagoshima is a
mid-sized city with a downtown that looks like what we expected to see in
Japan. The architecture, though modern, retains the look of old Japan. At a
shopping & dining center on the port we found a busy flea market as well as
a “foot bath” with water warmed by the volcano.
Kagoshima was the castle town of Lord Shimadzu during the 14th
century. The Shimadzu clan ruled over Kagoshima for 29 generations (almost 700
years), before the Meiji Restoration in 1868. This is where Japan’s first
contacts with the outside world occurred – first with China, then the western
world (probably Portugal). St. Francis Xavier brought Christianity to Japan in
1549.
We had a brief respite from the rain, but by the time we
boarded the shuttle back to the ship it had started raining again. As we sailed
away from Kagoshima, we were warned to expect heavy seas and to “batten down”
anything movable and breakable in our cabins as we were sailing into the tail
end of Typhoon Lan. The next day Lan hit Tokyo, but we were well to the south
sailing to China.
Downtown Kagoshima
Inside the shuttle bus going back to the ship. The buses in
Japan are all equipped with fold out aisle seats to accommodate maximum number
of people.
