Dotty Summerfield (Jim’s wife) and Jim Guisti (Ann’s brother)

Ann Guisti Bodnar, married to my brother Michae, who both \240kindly made sure I could come on this trip

The lounge

Sleeping pod on JAL (booked through American Airlines)

The seat completely folded down & then one covers it with a \240mattress. Of course the flight attendant provides a cushy pillow. \240On the end of the pod that you can’t see sits a large screen where multiple movies, TV shows & the like can be viewed.

I watched Black Panther, Wacanda Forever, ate a Japanese dinner and went to sleep. \240I woke up once and had Ramen soup with vegetable noodles and went back to sleep.

A storage cubby sat under the screen to keep items needed during flight. \240And, of course a generous overhead bin resided above the seat.

MAR 29 2023

What a day. \240We arrived in Tokyo around 3:30 pm at Haneda Airport. Well, \240immigration officers only spoke Japanese and insisted we sign on to their website, which we did in the US. \240We diligently had printed & screen shot all the forms and QR codes prior to leaving for Japan as instructed.

I showed the officer my form and she just stabbed her sign over the QR code repeatedly until I realized she wanted me to go to that internet site.

So, I took my phone off airplane mode & miraculously it worked. \240The other 3 phones belonging to my party members did not. I had my password and was able to sign on again & my sister-in-law remembered hers so we got the forms they wanted screen shot, which I already had on my phone!

Dotty got her phone on wi-fi after a little bit but Jim forgot his password so they got taken aside to a computer.

After much adieu we all had our forms and were able to get in the immigration line where we stood for about an hour and a half. Of course, Dotty being a swizzle stick, showed them the form she screenshot in the US (ha ha).

We started to wonder if we’d make out next flight to Ōsaka. We had three hours from arrival but as time passed in line we worried more.

Finally, we plowed through immigration only to get snagged in Customs. \240That only took a half hour to 45 minutes. Sad but true, the QR codes I diligently printed out failed to fit on the tiny QR scanner. \240Thank goodness I screenshot those or I would have spent twice as long in Customs.

We picked up our luggage to literally lug a hundred pounds each to a terminal far far away. \240We negotiated a monorail system in Japanese very careful to go to the JALlocal, \240not international, terminal for our flight to Osaka.

Just our luck this day, we arrived too late to check that cumbersome luggage. \240They sent us to the special desk where we spent at least an hour \240while one plane after another took off for Ōsaka. The staff didn’t speak any English and we didn’t speak any Japanese so we milled around as more and more people came to work on our tickets. At one point five reps were trying to get us on a flight but we didn’t know why they were having such a hard time. \240The couple from Australia in front of us got a flight right away.

Eventually, they started tagging our bags which we counted and reinforced which ones to check maybe four or five times. \240

We proceeded directly to an empty security gate and walked through and got on the last flight to Ōsaka.

An hour later we arrived. \240Abercrombie and Kent met us as we came through the exit door after retrieving our burdensome luggage. \240They called a car and it took about an hour to arrive. \240We were hungry and tired!

Finally, we arrived at the Ritz Carlton Ōsaka, a beautiful hotel with $3000 wallets and &10,000 purses for sale in their shop. To our dismay no restaurants were open and they told us the bar was “at capacity”.

Dotty & Jim went to their room. \240Ann & I went to the bar, which it turns out Sat fairly empty. \240We got two bottles of wine, I got a gentle spiced Japanese gin and tonic and we went to our room.

This blown out building was the only thing left after the A bomb.

The entrance to the Peace Park

The Peace Bell that people \240ring for peace

1000 Cranes

A 12 year old who died from Leukemia secondary to radiation exposure at 2 years of age became determined to create these beautiful and colorful origami cranes.

The eternal flame in the Hiroshima Peace Park will burn until the elimation of all nuclear weapons on earth

SHORE EXCURSION: OLD TOWN YOKAICHI & OZU (WITH LUNCH)

This architecture themed excursion starts with a visit to Ozu Old Town and the Gary Sanso Villa, before enjoying the cherry blossoms in Yokaichi Town. After a local lunch, enjoy a walk through the Old Town with visits made to the Kamihaga Residence & Uchikoza Kabuki Theatre. Shoes will need to be removed at a couple of the stops this afternoon.

Garyuin

View through the house

Surrounded by nature

Mt Fuji hanging on a scroll with the shelves representing clouds & the circular window being the moon

Next stop…we walked the cherry blossom trail along the river and dined at a riverside restaurant. \240Lunch consisted of cold rare roast beef that was delicious along with a variety of vegetables including a salad and lastly \240purple sweet potato ice cream. \240After lunch we explored the old wax works.

Not your traditional wax museum but a historic factory adjacent to the owner’s villa that made wax candles from sumac tree berries

The Theater

Tonight Le Soléal sails for Karatsu, Japan, a distance of 174 nautical miles.

This morning we drove through the Nijinomatsisubara Pine Forest to a beautiful overlook of Higashinohama beach on Kagamiyama Hill.

Then we went back to the ship, Le Soliel, and enjoyed lunch. \240After lunch we proceeded to Kinshoji Temple for a serene and beautiful private tea ceremony.

On to the Karatsu shrine and the Oshima Residence with a Joruri Puppet show.

Next to the Nakazato Kiln to learn about ceramic making and see some Karatsu ceramics including those from the 17th century.

Busan is the largest shipping port in the world. \240After going through South Korean immigration aboard our ship, Le Soleal, we boarded our bus going though Ulsan to Gyeongju. Busan proved to be a city of stupendous high rises and suspended highways and bridges not for the faint of heart or the acrophobic.

Suspension bridge in rain and fog

Arriving at the ancient Bulgukas Temple designated a UNESCO world heritage site in 1995 originally built in 528 (restored in 1973) and walking the dirt paths on the grounds, we saw monks performing service, completely preserved 6th century stone pagodas, colorful carved ceilings and typical boat like tile roofs.

Door handle

Original 6th century pagoda

Colorful ceiling carvings

More ceiling carvings

Ann, my sister-in-law, with singer statues in the gate

Singer statutes in the gate built in 778

The bridge with a quaint waterfall as you enter and exit

After our Temple visit we rode to the Commadore Hotel on our eclectic Korean short bus 3 for a tasty Korean lunch that proved a bit spicier than the Japanese food we’d savored or the buttery French fare served on Le Soleal. \240I had one of most things including Kimchi, Korean BBQ, and Rice punch (yum!!). \240Then two lovely women performed music for us.

Finally, we headed back to the ship where staff greeted us with grogg (tea & rum) 🌸 and high seas (about ten foot waves and a forty knot breeze.

Water came over our bannister so I cut a Trans Derm Scop in half and smacked it behind my ear.

Likely, we will skip the Marco Poloi Club cocktail party since we can’t walk sober on the ship right now.

At 16:00 we set sail for Sakamoto, Japan, a distance of 221 nautical miles. \240We arrive in port at 9:30 in the morning.

Dinner last night

Below lists A&K excursions planned for us today.

This morning we docked in Sakaiminato.

Our day today

We disembarked rather late in the morning, around 10:30 am.

We proceeded through Japanese immigration which proved uneventful and much improved from that at Haneda Airport in Tokyo. \240Here we had to wear a mask and the officials had a drug sniffing dog but it \240only took about ten minutes.

Then we boarded the bus for our first stop, a traditional Japanese lunch that included a potpourri of foods from sashimi to beef, the tiniest clams I’d ever seen, an array of vegetables, rice (of course), soup, tea, beer, and a tasty fruit dessert in a syrupy cup of clear substance.

Canola (the yellow stuff) fields along the road during our drive this morning

Traditional Japanese lunch

Secondly, we visited Adachi Museum of Art and the adjacent garden, which has been rated the number one Japanese Garden twenty years running.

Adachi Zenko built the complex \240in 1970. \240The museum houses 2000 works mainly by modern Japanese artists including Yokohama Taikan. \240It includes displays of ceramics, lacquerware and wood carvings.

As our final stop today, we visited the Washi Paper Museum. \240We watched a movie on paper making and then made our own paper, a fun easy craft since we had experts who set everything up and guided us through the process.

The postcard size paper I made

A bedside tray I got as a souvenir

2 bedside trays I purchased for gifting

Then we boarded the bus and returned to the ship while our guides talked about Japanese culture and local fauna.

Back at the boat, the port put on a show on the dock as we pulled away.

At 6pm we set sail for our next port - Kanawaza

A rainy umbrella kind of day

Shashimi, Sake & Jibuni (chicken stew)

The yellow highlighted trip is mine

We started out at the Kanazawa Omi-Cho market, which is mostly an open air roofed fish market.

Then we had Shashimi at a Michelin star restaurant, Reki-Reki, where Obama & Abe dined in years past.

Tuna, Squid with Sea Urchin, Mackerel, Shrimp, and a local fish only known to Kanazawa

We boarded our bus again and drove a short distance to Fukumitsuya Sake Brewery where we watched a video on how sake is made and sampled several different kinds of sake.

\240 \240 My favorite and the smoothest

Back on the bus and our next stop on this rainy rainy day was a brief walk through an old Samarai neighborhood.

Then we moved on to the Aoki Cooking School and a class in making local chicken stew called jibuni.

Then we ate the lunch we prepared!

The staff made us tempura

\240 \240 \240 \240 \240 And plum jelly dessert

Upon return to the ship, the staff greeted us with hot toddy’s. \240I proceeded directly to a nap then a shower. Then we have Yogi, out butler, a bag of laundry and headed to the theater for a Geisha performance. Geiko is a regional term for geisha with a slightly different meaning and is used to describe geisha in Western Japan including Kyoto and Kanawaza. \240The term directly translates as’woman of art’. \240

After the show we went to dinner, which proved excellent as usual both in terms of food and company. \240After much adieu we managed to get to our cabin and go to bed.

Le Soleal sails for Sado-go-shima, Japan. A sailing distance of 133 nautical miles.

We ate breakfast at the buffet as usual and then dressed in double layers for a chilly day on Sado Island. \240We anchored off shore and will tender to our excursion.

We tried to share pictures in the lounge prior to disembarking but encountered technical difficulties so I had a Baileys and Espresso then lunch of beef, vegetables and a glass of wine.

A did manage to finally visit the ship’s store and bought a beautiful pair of scarab earrings from the south of France.

I think they must use a lot of muscles to play those drums!

The tour director announced waters as choppy so I did put on a half Transderm Scop patch. Then the weather suddenly got worse with 45 knot winds and.we headed to play bridge in the lounge. \240The rolling seas prevented us from disembarking on the Tenders so we missed seeing the drummers.

We played bridge all afternoon and then ate in the formal dining room where I discovered my Transderm Scop patch missing.

I ate only half a Caesar salad and a few bites of Australian ribeye before exiting to place another patch and go to bed, a bit seasick.

Our ship has 174 crew members, which out numbers the guests! Of course on a French ship, a large number of chefs prepare the food, twent it turns out!

Next, the captains farewell dinner.

We dock at 7am in Otaru and spend the day in Sapporo.

After breakfast we headed for the tour buses and an joyride to Sapporo from Otaru where ale Sokesl docked.

We could see the ski slopes above the town.

Our first stop was the street market, outside with a series of food/fish stores.

King Crab

King Crab

Giant clams

More huge crabs

Corn chocolate?

Big fish

Then we went to the Sapporo Shrine where you can buy your fortune and if it’s bad tie it to a wooden structure so it won’t come true.

Bad fortunes go here

Or you can buy a plaque and wish for something like a ‘good girlfiend’.

We saw a Eurasian squirrel which is a big deal here as the shrine is surrounded by beautiful woods.

The squirrel

Leaving the port of Otaru, Japan

A&K did a nice job of getting us to the airport and our luggage taken along.

After an uneventful flight, we ended up having two car reservations to Hakone- A&K made one and the travel agent made another. \240That made for a bit of afternoon excitement - lots of loud Japanese talking amongst the drivers and who knows who.

After a bit of a drive, maybe an hour and a half including winding our way up a mountain road we landed at the Hyatt Regency Hakone, a lovely location.

View from our window

View from our window

Our toom

\240 \240 \240 \240 \240 \240 \240 \240 \240 \240 \240Our room

View from the hallway

Tony took this picture before the clouds came today, or so he said

We walked up a steep hill to get on a cable car and ride one stop. Once there we found out that we couldn’t go any further and would not be able to ride on a tram or take a boat ride on the crater lake due to high winds.

In as much, we rode the cable car, 100 years old, down the hill. We jammed into a very crowed bus using our live Hakone Day Passes. We landed in Hakone near \240the lake and \240through a grove of huge cedar trees planted in 1618.

View from the restaurant showing the choppy lake waters

After lunch we boarded a less crowded bus and procured seats for our next stop, a 500 year old tea house run by 13th generation, \240Yamamoto.

Yamamoto sat with us and sang an ancient traveling song.

A plaque talking about the tea house

The tea house owner gave us gifts as we left.

Tiny straw traveling sandals

Be safe traveling on the road

We took the train to our final destination, the castle, \240

Being tuckered out, we took a taxi back to our hotel. We ate dinner in the bar & headed to bed.

The museum entrance

We wandered through different exhibits.

A Rodin

No pictures allowed at the indoor Picasso exhibit

The hand of god

After multiple attempts we managed to phone the hotel to get their shuttle to pick us up. \240The key was leaving off the first zero. \240We checked out and ate lunch in the hotel living room. \240Just as we finished our driver to Tokyo arrived- one car for us & one car for the luggage (ha!ha!).

The luggage car behind us

Our big comfy car to and from Tokyo

The coty

The luggage!

View from our room

Then our guide picked us up. \240We went to a shrine and big fish market (the cleanest I’ve ever seen).

Then we set off for the Meiji Jingu shrine, a shintu shrine.

Then we walked along a market street and went to an izakaya for lunch.

After lunch we went to the oldest temple in Tokyo, Sensoji temple built in 645.

After that we went shopping a bit on the knife street - Kappabashi.

Then we headed home and for dinner at Gun-Shio where the roast pork was very good,

After a few bead stores we hit the road for Kawagoe and lunch at an Indian restaurant.

Then to Kronomachi and the black buildings, in the old part of the city.

We finally found some earrings & headed back to the hotel to pack again.

Our last dinner proved excellent at the Tower Restaurant.