Victoria is Western Canada’s oldest city. In many ways it still has an English image. The tourist economy is the second largest industry here and it employs thousands of people and generates billions in economic impact.
Here are some pictures from our sail in.
We have visited several times before and enjoyed Butchart Gardens, the Fairmont Empress and the outstanding museum. This time, we had an even more enjoyable experience because my sister and brother in law came aboard for a visit on the ship. We haven’t seen each other in person since before covid, in February 2020.
They came from Washington on the ferry in the morning, stayed for lunch and we celebrated her 70th and Mike’s 72nd birthday (which was just 2 days ago) together. We have been so excited for the visit and while it was short and went by way too fast, it was truly a great day.
Lunch outside at the Terrace CafeThe weather was perfect!
Tomorrow we arrive in Astoria, Oregon, a new city for us. We have an all day excursion to Mount St. Helens. We will probably miss the deck party that always happens at the end of the world cruise and it will be our last port day until we reach San Francisco and the end of the trip. A comment on my last blog post seems appropriate to add here – “Travel makes one modest, you see what a tiny place you occupy in the world”. Gustave Flaubert
Prince Rupert is a port city in British Columbia, Canada. It is on an island that is linked by a short bridge to the mainland. It sits on the very edge of the wilderness and the main attractions revolve around the outdoors. It is a central point in the Inside Passage, a route of relatively sheltered waters running along the Pacific coast from Vancouver, BC to Skagway, Alaska. It was very foggy when we arrived but the fog lifted and it was a perfect day.
The tide rises about 15 feet in a day and here are the exposed pilings when we left for our excursion. at low tide.
Our trip today was the North Coast Waterfall Hike. We were met by 4 very youong tour guides and taken by bus for a short ride to the beginning of the trail. We had to go down a long metal staircase to reach the first part of the trail, the Omenica Trailhead connector. The guides gave us walking sticks and said we would need them. An understatement for sure. The trail through the forest was moss covered and slippery with many tree roots and fallen logs. There were some boards over areas but they were often rotted or off kilter. It was a challenge. Then we came to a dirt road that led us most of the rest of the way up the mountain. It was steep and also a strenuous climb. About half of the group opted out at that point, including Norm.
Our guides were not quite the caliber we were expecting and while they did explain things, they weren’t consistent and not everyone could hear what they were saying. There was lots of skunk cabbage along the way, which we also had in NJ where I grew up, but this was much bigger. We saw Queen Anne’s Lace – this is the flower we used to cut and put the roots in food colored water to watch the flower change color. Memories!
Our guides
We did see small waterfalls along the way, but I guess when it rains they get bigger. Not quite what we were expecting on a “waterfall hike”.
I did go on the entire hike and we were rewarded with a lovely view from the top. We had a trail bar snack given to us at the start and sandwiches from a local store at the top. Plenty of water too. I loved the sandwich with no meat – it was on home baked whole wheat bread with tahini sauce, a type of green grown here (yaga) and sliced beets and apples. Not a combination I ever would have thought of but will certainly try at home.
After the hike, I was pretty sweaty and hot, and smelled of insect repellant, so I met Norm back at the ship and took a shower, then we went out to explore the town. The first stop was at a local artists cooperative where we could have spent the rest of the day. We bought a gift for a friend and two very unique items for our homes. They are wrapped for travel so I can’t take pictures. I will add them (if I remember) when we get home. It was a picture perfect day and we enjoyed the scenery and the walk.
On our way back to the ship we saw this deer right next to the non functioning railroad tracks. We were on the wrong side of the fence, so doubled back and lucky us, that was where the Wheelhouse Brewing Company was, overlooking the water. Norm had a dark beer and I had a hard cider, both were delicious. We enjoyed our conversation with a fellow passenger from Switzerland and decided to have dinner with him and his girlfriend tomorrow evening.
Tomorrow we will be in Victoria, BC, Canada and we are so excited that we got permission to have my sister Deb and her husband Mike come on the ship for the day. We will do a long catch up since we haven’t been together in person since early 2020, like much of the rest of the people in the world experienced during that time.
We had a 12:30 arrival into Ketchikan and there was time for a traditional end of the world cruise white elephant sale in which Ray serves as the auctioneer. You cannot believe the amount of “stuff” that passengers either bought and regretted, don’e want any more or just contribute for fun. There are books, a lot of clothing, paintings by passengers and almost anything else you can imagine. Many of the gifts we got at the cave event in Vietnam are so heavy that passengers donated them (we gave ours) and Ray called them “kissing chickens” and added them to every successful bidder until he ran out. I don’t know what those winners will do with them! Ray even modeled some of the items. This is a hilarous event even if you don’t buy anything. The money again goes to the crew welfare fund.
He dared the winner to wear this off the ship when they disembark in San Francisco
We arrived at our last port in Alaska, Ketchikan. It is at the southern tip of Alaska and is often the first or the last port for cruises visiting here. And they do visit – on average there are 6-8 ships in port every day. and they bring between 5000-9000 passengers. There are two different docking places and the docks can hold 4 ships each. The town is 31 miles long but never more than 3 blocks wide. On one side of the avenue, businesses and homes are built on stilts out over the water, while on the other side they cling to the steep slopes and often have winding wooden staircases leading to their doors. In fact, the staircases have street names.
Ketchikan boasts the largest number of totem poles in Alaska, some more than 100 years old. They can take a year to carve and are made from just one tree which rots from the inside out so that is why they last so long.
They get 14 feet, yes, feet, of rain each year but only 2 feet of snow. The low temperature is 32 degrees.The daily tides cause the water to rise 19 feet. The second largest national forest in the US is on this island.
Here are some pictures of our sail in.
Our tour today is the George Inlet Lodge crab feast. Our bus driver entertained us with facts about Ketchikan and stories handed down by the three tribes that live here. She told us that there are only three ways to get to Ketchikan – boat, plane or the birth canal! 40% of the population here are natives. In the tribes, when people marry, the husband takes the woman’s last name and they move in with her family. It is strictly followed that the husband has no role at all in raising the children. If the wife dies, a female relative of the wife must take on that duty.
The crab feast was wonderful! It was at a lodge on the water and our group had its own dining room. They kept bringing us as much of the Dungeness crab as we wanted and…who could finish the cheesecake we had for dessert!
After we ate, we were taken back to the ship which was docked in the Ward Cove docks (we wanted the driver to drop us in town, but for legal reasons here, they aren’t able to do that). So we took the shuttle bus back to town and explored.
Creek Street was interesting. It is a historic area with a boardwalk path built over Ketchikan Creek on stilts. It was Ketchikan’s famed red-light district until 1954. Today the street is home to art galleries, gift shops, bookstores and restaurants. Unfortunately, the huge cruise ships that were docked on this side of town were in the process of leaving, so most of the shops were closed and we certainly weren’t hungry for a restaurant after all those crabs! The most popular house in the district was Dolly’s House, the parlor of the city’s most famous madam, Dolly Arthur. It is now a museum dedicated to this famous era. Also unfortunately closed. We heard that in the bar was placed over a trap door to the creek for quick disposal of bootleg whisky.
The statue is a tribute to the early settlers. And a HUGE cruise ship in the background
When you need to rest, there are whale tail benches to stop and take in the scenery.
A pretty bed and breakfastYou can see that the weather got warmer
Ketchikan is the “Salmon Capital of the World” and our chef is buying it to serve on the ship.
Yesterday was a great July 4 on the ship. It started out with a special breakfast for the members of the President’s Circle in the Oceania Club. We were joined by our cruise directors for the voyage, our general manager and our around the world host and hostess. We ordered from the menu and after having our mimosas, we also had special muffins for the occasion. There were three tables and only a few of the members didn’t attend.
Here’s the whole President’s Circle group at the breakfast
In mid afternoon, there was a guest “Rising Stars” comedy show hosted by Tom Drake. Five passengers did their routines. Some funnier than others but I do admire them for doing it.
We were at sea and scheduled to cruise the Hubbard Glacier, but the weather got quite foggy and there was a lot of ice in the sea, so the captain couldn’t get any closer than 7 miles from the glacier. There was a lot of other nice scenery though. As I did my deck walk, I stopped to take the occasional picture.
We had a great July 4 lunch with all of the typical foods – great job by the culinary team.
All of the 374 world cruise guests were asked to wear our jackets and pose on deck for a group picture. You can imagine trying to get THAT set up! Well here it is. Can you spot us? Like looking for Waldo.
After the last show by the entertainment team, Showdown, (Robbie won) Ray and Dottie gave flowers to the whole group since this is the last show they will perform together. Robbie leaves in a few days for a wedding in his home town in Scotland – he will be back – and most of the rest of the team will leave in San Francisco. There were many tears shed on the stage.
Later, in Horizons late night, we had our July 4 celebration with cake, music and of course, the national anthem sung by Laura.
Now on to Sitka. I took these shots as we sailed in. It is a beautiful place! It is the only Inside Passage community that fronts the Pacific Ocean. It is a city of about 8500 people but the land mass makes it the biggest city area wise in the United States. Much of the land is inaccessible and there are many islands. Russia sold Alaska to the United States on October 18, 1867 with a transfer ceremony held here in Sitka on the Baranof Castle State Historic Site.
We arrived at 11:30 and were anchored. There is a cruise dock at the other end of town but other ships were already docked there. The Viking Orion was also anchored near us. Once the tenders got ready, we went to shore and browsed around the town before our tour. It is a very charming main street and we enjoyed the shops. We also visited St. Michael’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral which seemed more like a museum. There are no pews in the church. People who attend the mass stand through the whole thing unless they are disabled in which case a chair is brought in for them.
Our tour today was Fin Island Lodge and Zodiac Adventure. We got our life jackets and had a brief safety talk, then we split into two groups with two guides for each zodiac.
Our captain and guide, George.
Our other guide was a recent graduate in marine biology and she gave us lots of information about the sea otters, sea lions and bald eagles. The largest population of bald eagles is here in Alaska and we saw many of them. The sea otters eat this kelp and they also use it to wrap their babies to secure them when they are away as well as to secure groups when the seas are rough. Their fur has one million strands per inch! A typical house cat has that many on their whole body! They live in the water and never come on land. They are pretty quick so I didn’t get very good pictures. But here is a patch of their fur.
A young bald eagle. They learn to fly at about 2 months old
The scenery is really hard to show in pictures – simply spectacular.
This is the kelp with herring eggs on it – the eggs are supposedly a rare specialty to eat
After about a 90 minute cruise around the area, we went to Fin Island for our dinner. This small island has a wooden building made from the local wood. It is open 6 months a year during the tourist/cruise ship season. In the winter, they actually take the whole pier down. The lodge is totallu run by a generator and the solar panels. We had a delicious meal of snow crab, coho salmon, salmon chowder and all of the fixings. And s’mores made over the open fire outside.
We learned that the main health system for the area is here in Sitka and it is the largest employer. It is the biggest system between Anchorage and Seattle. They have lots of housing for the staff.
We raced the other zodiac back to the pier and headed back to the ship by tender to depart at 7:30. A great day.
We are in Ketchikan tomorrow, our last port in Alaska.
July 1 was Canada Day and there was a celebration in Horizons. They made this cake and many Canadian passengers wore their colors and flag regalia.
We also got the word from the Captain that we were going to miss the stop in Kodiak, Alaska due to bad weather. The waves were 15 feet and the ship was the rockiest it has been the whole cruise. So the ship has to go slower and we wouldn’t get to the port in time. We have never been to Kodiak so it will have to wait until next time. The rocking was not bad for us but many passengers felt the effects. We had an Oceania Club cocktail party which was attended by fewer than usual, followed by dinner in Polo. Two of our singers, Laura and Robbie, performed at the cocktail party but our main show by Sonia Selbie, was postponed until July 2 and there was a movie instead. In Polo, Norm had this amazing veal oscar.
We had a sea day on July 2 and the Insignia Country Fair was held inside since the weather was cool and drizzly. It was really good inside. It consists of crew from each of the main departments doing some type of competitive activity (guess the spices from culinary, competition to identify flags from different countries from destinations, guess high or low in casino, etc). My favorite was the entertainment team doing a human slot machine! Laura lifted and then put her arm down and the other 3 moved their heads and bodies and each pulled out an object. If the objects matched you got 2 tickets, if not, you got one. Very fun.
You got a ticket just for participating at the different stands, and if you won, you got two. There was a drawing for prizes at the end. We had lots of tickets but didn’t win anything.
On July 3, we finally touched the first land since Dutch Harbor, in Seward, Alaska. Our sail in was just stunning, even with the clouds. Very green with snow covered mountains.
Seward is located on Resurrection Bay on Alaska’s southern coast about 120 miles from Anchorage. The town has only 2717 people according to the 2020 census. It is named for former United States Secretary of State William Seward who orchestrated the US purchase of Alaska from the Russian Empire in 1867. The cost to the US was less than 2 cents/acre. At the time, the purchase was seen as foolish – Seward’s Folly.
Our tour was the Resurrection Bay cruise. We took a short bus ride around the very small town before getting to the pier (which would have normally taken only about 5 minutes). They were getting ready for the Mount Marathon on July 4 which isn’t like a normal running of marathon of 26.2 miles, but a grueling 3.1 mile steep run up the mountain to 2974 feet above sea level and back down. The leading racers typically reach the highest point in 33-40 minutes and reach the finish line from the turn in 10 – 15 minutes. It is apparently not for the faint of heart! There are so many RVs here, many more than even the homes and businesses in the town. Some are tourists and others are people who relocate to work during the short tourist season. I mentioned before that it stays light here until about midnight and at about 3:30 AM it starts to get light again.
Once out on the boat, we had a cloudy, overcast day so it was sometimes hard to get pictures. We did see sea otters, Dall’s porpoises, many bald eagles and puffins. These pictures are really the best I could get. The scehery in this Kenai Fjords area was just stunning, though. We actually got back after the ship was scheduled to leave port but because it was a ship tour, they waited for us.
Bet this sailor was cold!Sailed past this glacier!
We cruise the Hubbard Glacier on July 4 (along with the usual July 4 feasting). Our next port will be Sitka, Alaska on July 5.
Last night we had the first of the two Oceania Club cocktail parties that we are invited to during every segment. They need to have two because out of the 560+ passengers, only 50 have not sailed with Oceania before and these parties are for returning guests. The Oceania lounge can only hold about half of the guests for the party. Because we are at the level we have achieved for so many cruise credits, we are always invited to both.
Here are some pictures of the party. One of the things we really like is when crew members receive their longevity awards in front of the guests. And when guests achieve another level, they are presented with their pins. We received our President’s Circle pins earlier in the cruise.
Here are some pictures of the event.
Ray, Norm and meSome of our cocktail party group.The awardees with Cella and our captain.
Today we reached the US, so that means there are only 2 weeks left in our Around the World voyage. Our port is Dutch Harbor. That is the name of the port but the town is called “Unalaska”. The harbor is on Amaknak Island. It was the location of the Battle of Dutch Harbor in June 1942 and was one of the few sites in the US to be subjected to aerial bombardment by a foreign power during WWII.
It is a mile long spit which causes a natural harbor and is protected from the waves and currents of the Bering Sea. It is a top fishing port with more than a billion dollars transferred each year. The base of the fishing boats for the show “the Deadliest Catch” is here in Dutch Harbor. This area is the state’s largest private sector employer. The fish caught here are pollock, cod, halibut, sablefish, crab, sole, rockfish and herring.
It was 45 degrees and raining when we arrived. We could see that it was snowing in the mountains as the white tops of the mountains got whiter all day. We saw whales from our balcony.
We decided to take the tender in to port. There was a closer dock but there were other boats there so our tender took almst 30 minutes to travel the 3 miles to the dock. While in the tender we saw seals, muskrats and bald eagles, unfortunately I was not able to get any photos. There were no Oceania sponsored tours here, and when we got to shore we could see why. Really nothing to see. There was a church and two museums and that was about it.
When we got to the dock there were taxi vans there to take us to the town. Ours let us all off at a Safeway that had clothes and almost everything else including groceries. We didn’t buy anything and decided to come back to the ship. Our plan had been to walk but it was such a miserable day, we gave up on that plan.
Even though we were bundled up, it was pretty cold. Hard to believe that not too long ago we were suffering from extreme heat.
One interesting thing in the store was these brands of coffee. But even more interesting was the cost! $43.49 for a 2 pound bag!
Tomorrow we have another sea day on our way to mainland Alaska. The first port is Kodiak.
Yes, the dates are correct. We are in a 5 day Pacific crossing from Japan to Alaska. And we had an extra Wednesday, June 28 because we crossed the International Date Line. This wouldn’t be so strange before we had all of these electronic devices that just don’t coordinate with an extra day, let alone losing an hour 6 times and 2 hours one time. We will arrive in Dutch Harbor Alaska tomorrow, June 30 and after that we will just lose one more hour before heading down the coast to San Francisco.
The orange line between Kurile Islands and Aleutian Islands is the approximate location of the date line.
So, what do we do to stay busy on so many sea days in a row? I won the blackjack tournament twice, I am doing some art projects (photos later when they are complete), I watched a movie, attended a cooking demonstration, listened to lectures, ate at an Around the World Brunch, attended a cabaret show starring Paul and Carolyn – our around the world ambassadors, attended a show by Abby – one of our entertainment team, attended an auction of 3 sets of the ship’s charts (there were three and one brought in $1500) and bid on the opportunity to be cruise director for the day and the opportunity to bid on dinners with the crew members of your choice. The auction raised over $8000 and it is all for the crew welfare fund which provides shore excursions, prizes for crew games and activities and whatever else is part of the appreciation we have for this amazing crew. I also did some reading and generally relaxed. No time to get bored. It is only 45 degrees F and somewhat overcast and rainy. The seas have been pretty calm the whole way. We are so far north that it stays light until almost midnight!
One of our bar servers, Derrick, had a birthday on June 28 and Carolyn serenaded him at the show. Then he had a birthday again the next day.
Ray, our cruise director from the first half of the trip, is back to do some of the end of cruise activities. Here he is running the auction.Abby at her show accompanied by Walisson, our pianist The brunch menu
Oceania does an amazing job with all of the food, but the brunch is really kind of an art gallery too.
We also had a delightful dinner with the friends who were on our Botswana safari with us. Kari’s daughter, Tiana, was on the safari and part of a segment of the cruise too but she had to return to her job so wasn’t on the rest of the trip with us.
The chefs at the cooking demonstration. We always get the recipes.
So, as we are coming to the end of the trip in only 2 weeks, we are looking forward to the ports in Alaska. We were here 15 years ago and enjoyed it a lot. After Alaska, our final ports are Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Victoria, British Columbia, Astoria, Oregon and then a day in San Francisco before we disembark on July 13. Where did 6 months go??
This is our last port in Japan before we begin the 5 day journey across the Pacific to Alaska. We do cross the international date line so we will actually be moving forward 7 hours, and having an extra day, June 28. I know that we will all be pretty tired when we get there.
It was a beautiful day when we docked at 7 AM, cool and crisp.
Our tour today was the Crane Reserve and the City Museum. Our guide was Mayumi. She gave us a lot of information about the red crown crane which is considered very special in Japan. They believe that these cranes live for 1000 years which signifies longevity. And they do mate for life, so this crane is embroidered in the wedding garments here in Japan. It is also the symbol of Japan Airlines.
Kushiro is on the same latitude as Portland Oregon and has similar weather. The population is 160,000. It is the first time our ship has been to this port. Mayumi said that they get 10 ships a year.
On the way to our first stop, the museum, we saw beautiful scenery, very immaculate landscapes and nice Japanese homes. While the cities are very populated as compared to this island of Hokkaido, everything in this country is pristine. We noticed that Japanese men wore suits and dressed quite formally for work when we were here in the past. This time, most of the men were in white shirts, suit pants but no jacket. Our guides have told us that it is to keep the air conditioning at a higher temperature to save energy. They are very fond of the company UniQlo and can buy the shirts for $10 US. They are less concerned with other brands now.
The city museum was built in 1983, designed by local architect Mozuna Kiko to resemble a crane with outspread wings. The design symbolizes the rare population of Japanese cranes.
The museum tells the story of Kushiro from prehistoric times to the present day. The early culture, Ainu, is well represented. Mayumi told us that they believe in gods for everything, over 10,000 gods. Many are represented by things in nature. The three floors of the museum are divided into the development of Ainu culture and the Japanese crane on the 4th floor, Prehistoric Kushiro to Kushiro in modern times on the 2nd floor and on the 1st floor, the ice age, flora and fauna, and the marimo (algae) and the Pacific Ocean. We thought the museum was very well done. Here are some pictures.
Mayumi and the mastadon skeleton
Between the museum video and the crane reserve, we learned that after the Meiji era (1868-1912) the birds disappeared from view due to their dwindling population. In 1924 more than 10 Japanese cranes were discovered in Kushiro Marsh and local people including school groups have endeavored to protect them ever since. Japanese cranes were designated as a special natural monument of Japan in 1952. There are now 2000 cranes in this area.
After the museum, we went to the Tancho Kushiro Crane Reserve. We had originally wanted to go to the wetlands and this reserve but that tour was sold out. The people who went there didn’t see any cranes and very few birds, so we were glad we did this one.
The reserve was opened in August of 1958 with the release of 5 Japanese cranes in the area with the aim of protecting and propagating this endangered species. In the early days, staff at the reserve did not know the ecology of the crane and thus underwent a trial and error learning process. They finally succeeded in natural hatching after 10 years of attempts at reproduction, followed by the success of artificial hatching in 1970. Since then they have bred a number of cranes. At present about 20 Japanese cranes roam the reserve. The reserve has huge enclosures that are their natural habitat where they rehabilitate injured cranes. The cranes live there and do not migrate. Japanese cranes lay 1 -2 eggs and it takes 1 month for them to hatch. Males and females share ithe incubation of the eggs. Once the chicks emerge, it takes 100 days for them to reach the size of their parents and to fly.
Mayumi told us that in Japan, the family name is said first, then the given name. So her name is Brazil Mayumi. Brazil is an unusual name for a Japanese person, so she told us that her husband is Mark Brazil, a well known author.
The water and rice here are both delicious and there are many saki breweries. Mayumi said the milk is also extraordinary, so I had a vanilla ice cream at the museum. She was right.
When we got back to the port, there were musicians and dancers waiting to give us a wonderful send off and there were many local people there waving to us. We departed at 3 PM.
We had our second around the world dinner tonight. Because there are almost 400 around the world passengers, both Polo and Toscana are reserved for us for two nights. We are assigned to the night and the restaurant but can be seated with anyone. Woody and Fran were our tablemates tonight. Here is the menu and pictures of some of the food. I liked it all except the desserts were not my favorite.
Before dinner, around 6 PM, there was an emergency announcement that we were returning to port for a medical emergency. When we were close to the port a large helicopter hovered overhead and uplifted one of our passengers. Norm got a good picture.
Our cruise director, Dottie, dressed up for the occasion!
There will be a lot of special events in the next 2 1/2 weeks as we close out the world cruise and we are looking forward to every one. It is hard to believe it is almost at an end. The cruise director from our first half of the voyage, Ray Carr, is back on board to coordinate some of these events.
These last three ports are new to us and are in the northernmost island of Japan, Hokkaido. Here are some shots of our arrival. It was rainy but cleared up as soon as we left the ship.
Our tour was to the Onuma Quasi National Park. Our guide was Yuku. She gave us information about this area of Japan. Sapporo was the site of the 1972 winter Olympics and it gets 16 feet of snow a year. There is a lot of skiing in this area. It is known for beautiful nature and the fishing industry.
Mount Hakodate rises 1100 feet on the southwest of the city.
Yuku told us about the many brown bears in the area which are much bigger than the black bears in other parts of Japan. They are kind of like the grizzly. She gave us a little quiz about what to do if we encounter a bear (while assuring us that we would not!) You are supposed to make eye contact with the bear and slowly back away. Children wear bells on their backpacks because the bears really don’t want to encounter humans and the bells warn them away. I guess. .
There is really no specific rainy season here, it can rain at any time but it doesn’t last too long.
The park is really beautiful. It consists of 126 islands that are formed by the lava from the eruption of Mount Hokkaido. It forms a spectacle like a traditional Japanese garden, created entirely by nature.
We hiked on two trails. The first one was the island hopping Shimaneguri-no-Michi trail which takes you on 7 different islands connected by lovely bridges. We saw some birds but no other wildlife. No bears for sure. The second was the Oshima-no-Michi Trail which includes A Thousand Winds monument.
After our hike and some shopping with coffee for Norm and some local specialties to eat, we took a boat ride on the lake. What a serene place.
We went back to Hakodate and experienced the Morning Market which was another amazing fish market. Hakodate is surrounded by the ocean on three sides and the fish in every restaurant is always fresh. The specialty is squid which comes in a variety of forms from raw and wriggling to deep fried and even as ice cream which we saw people eating at the snack bar.
We found a restaurant for yet another ramen lunch.
The market had a place where you could fish for squid then eat it raw. We did NOT do that but we saw someone catch one.
The crabs were enormous and so were the apples, melons and peaches. We bought an apple at the park and a peach at this market.
Yuku also sang to us on the way back to the ship. She was sad for us that the ship was leaving at 3 PM because she said Hakodate has one of the three most beautiful night views along with Naples and Hong Kong and we will leave too soon to see it.
The local people waved goodbye as we left. Another beautiful Japanese port. It makes me want to come back to do a land trip throughout Japan.
Here is our view when we sailed into port at around 9 AM. We were met by local people who gave us these origami figures with sayings inside. Mine said “excellent luck”. And indeed, we are lucky to be in this beautiful port.
It is a bit rainy for sail in but cleared up soon after. The temperature is 68 as we arrive. Beautifully cool. We were greeted by dancers and flag wavers who were accompanied by drums and other music. We watched them from our balcony before we left the ship.
Today we had a tour to Neputa Village and Hirosaki Castle. Our guide was Tomohiko and he asked us to call him “Tom”. Here he is showing us his uniform. He told us he was born in 1955 and is retired from hi s job but is now trained as a tour guide. He told us that 90% of the people who live in this city are native to here. Trading, banking and agriculture are the main occupations. We are on the northernmost island in Japan now and it is cold in the winter, they get 1 – 2 meters of snow each year. The water and the rice are excellent so there are many sake breweries. During the cherry blossom season they get 3 – 4 million visitors for the one week festival. They are also the biggest producer of Fuji apples in Japan. More than half of the 760,000 ton crop is raised here.There are 50 apple pie restaurants and you see apple everything!
Aomori means blue forest although it could possibly be translated as “green forest”. The area is lush with greenery and many forests.
Our first stop was the Tsugaru Neputa Village where we saw a local show. The ticket itself is a work of art!
The local artists performed on the large drums and on the string instrument that we have seen in other ports, the shamisen. Neputa means “sleepy” and there is a huge festival, the Aomori Neputa Matsuri which takes place in early August. It is a fire festival and attracts more than 3 million visitors. We saw many of the 80 different fan shaped floats and images of warriors that parade through the town during the festival. The parade is accompanied by flute and taiko (Japanese drum) players. Neputa is said to have originated from the event Nemuri Nagashi, a traditional event to banish the invisible sleep demon who makes people drowsy during the summer when farm work is at its busiest. The use of lantern and light is a hallmark of this festival. Three large drums called Odaikos are the highlight of this festival and the sound is so profound that viewers feel the vibration to their core. We certainly jumped when the first one was struck. Then some of the audience members, including one of our passengers, were invited to participate.
These are the Chinese year symbols. Norm is the Ox and I am the tiger.
These are all made of a strong paper. The small picture is a model of one of the floats.
Wearing a mask!
I have mentioned the many vending machines here. You can get cold coffee and hot coffee from the same vending machine. Norm got to be fond of the coffees and had many of them while we have been in Japan. I loved the ice cream and had apple soft serve here. It was delicious. We bought some cookies made in an iron mold and one of the apple cakes.
The grounds around the village were beautiful and we had time to savor the sights.
This craftsman was making beautiful chopsticks.
We got back on the bus for a trip….across the road! We were wondering why we didn’t just walk, but Tom said he wanted to take care of those who had trouble with walking. A very Japanese response.
The Hirosaki Park is a large beautiful park and the setting of the Hirosaki castle. The park is 121.5 acres in size and contains 2600 cherry trees. The Cherry Blossom festival here is said to be the best in Japan.
The castle was originally built in 1611. It was opened to the public in 1895 and designated as a Historical Site in 1952.
There is a lot of construction going on and the castle is actually on a temporary site. It is a 5 story castle (the Japanese castles are pagodas of uneven numbers). The original castle was struck by lightning and burned to the ground in 1627. The present castle was completed in 1822. We enjoyed the grounds and could go into the castle and up to the second level.
There are actually tree doctors that take care of all of the trees but especially the cherry trees. This old tree was knocked over in a storm and is now staked up.
Tom also pointed out this area where the trees form a heart. He took our pictures there.
While in the garden, Tom pointed out a tree that is in a twisted shape – he had a prize for whoever could guess what it represents. Norm guessed it! A crane.
The next wall of rocks was next and I guessed a turtle.
Here were our prizes. Tom seemed surprised that I guessed the turtle.
On the way back to the pier, Tom asked if he could sing “bus karaoke” and he entertained us with Japanese songs and in English – White Christmas!
These local young men were waving us goodbye when we returned.
Pat and Norm's World Cruises and other adventures 