Live from explorer--otaru Japan to Guam Sept 19-Sept 30

We are sitting in the Sakura lounge at Tokyo Narita awaiting our flight to sapporo for the start of another cruise aboard silversea explorer. Uneventful flight from DFW in F (miles), and the upgrade fairy struck here for our JAL flight to sapporo so we are happy. I take this as a good omen for a great cruise.

Lots of friends on this trip, some of who also post here. It should be a fun time. I am looking forward to being on explorer in warmer weather where we can actually eat outside sometimes. All our other cruises on her have been to very cold climates.

I will try to post every day, and hopefully others will chime in as well. And hopefully Dr. Ron will post some pics. I have yet to master that. We will have to deal with the weird Japanese no Internet from ships within 12 miles of shore rule, but we should have coverage early in the am and last in the evening.

Hi Rachel, Ron and I have been in Sapporo for 4 days. We will be glad to get on board tomorrow in Otaru. It has been a little chilly and has rained everyday so will be glad to get back to some warmer weather too.

Ann and Ron

Have a great trip! Looking forward to hearing about this interesting part of the world.

Sounds like a good trip! Enjoy.

Thanks Rachel & George, Ann & Ron for the on board reports. Bon Voyage and wishing y'all fair winds and following seas.

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Up at 5:00 am due to the time difference. The first class JAL seats were huge and amazing, an enclosed suite and lie flat with lots of places to store stuff. We were all unconscious as soon as they flight took off. I suspect the flight attendant was checking to see if we were still breathing. The flight to sapporo was only 1 1/2 hrs, but it was a great nap.

Off the plane, the first thing we noticed is how cold it is compared to Tokyo. We will sail to progressively warmer climates, but today a jacket is in order.

Quick taxi ride to our hotel, the crowne plaza, which is a nice business type hotel. Very clean with nice firm beds and high quality sheets and towels. Room is large by Japanese standards. Would definitely stay here again.

sounds like a great trip. You aren't taking a side trip to Palau after landing in Guam are you? If so we will both be in Palau- would love to say hello.

Wishing you all a great cruise. Hi to our Amazon cruise buddies Ann and Ron. Looking forward to reading all of your posts.

Sept 19, 2014--embarkation in Otaru Japan

Sorry, 5waldos, no side trips from Guam. We fly back to Tokyo then the US.

Our plan for today was to walk around sapporo and explore a bit before going to the ship. The weather did not cooperate however. It was very intermittently sunny then would start pouring rain for a little while then clear off again. We were treated to a couple of beautiful rainbows though, including one double one.

Since things were not hospitable for walking, we had an early lunch then had a short walk on a covered shopping street. Saw the most perfect flawless and symmetrical pieces of fruit I have ever seen, with prices to match. $20 for a small watermelon, but it did look really pretty.

Embarkation was quick and easy. We remembered many of the crew from our two previous cruises on this ship, and they remember George's cowboy hat of course. Lots of warm greetings.

All aboard was at 3:00, and we had muster drill shortly after, before leaving port. It was thorough but efficient, as it should be IMO.

Fortunately the weather had cleared for sail away. I did a couple of laps around outside, then went to the gym for an hour after unpacking.

The energy burst didn't last long though, because by time for dinner, both George and I were about to crash. Food was just not what I was interested in, only sleep. Plus the seas got very "lumpy" for awhile, which only makes me more somnolent, sort of like taking an ambien actually. So I can't speak for the quality of the food last night. We ate then tucked into bed for a great sleep.

Oh, for those who are interested, the captain is Adam Boczek. We have not sailed with him before. Expedition leader is Christian, who we have sailed with before and quite like. He is German but lives in Easter Island.

And Internet is very fast, though subject to the weird 12 mile rule.

Have a great trip and keep us posted! Thanx

September 20, 2014

Sorry, 5waldos, after Guam, we are headed straight to Tokyo then home.

Thanks for the well wishes, duct tape.

The seas calmed considerably overnight, and I awoke refreshed. A bright sunny day with light breeze and temps in the mid 60s.

After a delicious breakfast ( super crispy bacon included), I exercised it off by walking around deck 6 outside for an hour. It is a decent walking track if you watch out for obstacles. Several other people had the same idea, and fortunately we were all headed the same direction.

We had a lecture at 10:30 giving a general outline of the cruise and detailing what we would see today. Apparently there is a cyclone headed our direction. That should be interesting, but we assured that all will be well. We may have some detours though.

At noon, we were docked in Hakodate, a large town/small city on the southern end of Hokkaido which is the northern large island in Japan. Sapporo is further north on this island, and our cruise is taking us basically straight south.

Our excursion was by bus to Onuma Quasi national park which is an area of lush vegetation and forest with lots of lakes. In the middle is Mt. Komagatake, a volcano which actually erupted in 2011. The top of the mountain is very jagged still, as it hasn't had time to erode since the eruption. You can go all the way to the top, but there is a road up to the 6th station as it used to be a pilgrimage site.

From the 6th station, we hiked up a ways to great views. Of course, George took off and went the furthest, but I did pretty well and worked up a good sweat.

Then we went to the village where you could walk around some of the lakes, buy ice cream, just relax. The ice cream came in normal vanilla and chocolate, but then they had weird flavors like squid ink, melon (what is the Japanese obsession with melons?), and wine.

At the end of the tour, we went up Mt. Hakodate for good views of the town and harbor. Our highlight was seeing to huge black crows which were not the least scared of us and allowed George to get really close for a picture.

For sail away, a local dance group performed. Elderly ladies in traditional kimonos and teenagers in jeans--all danced together on the pier, and it was really great fun. They clearly were happy to have us visit their town.

Captain's dinner was delicious. We sat at the chief engineer's table, and he told us about when the huge rogue wave hit the ship in Antarctica, injuring the captain and several others and breaking the glass in the bridge windows.

George and I both had a delicious venison steak, perfectly prepared--so tender you could cut it with a fork.

September 21, 2014--at sea

Another bright and a sunny day with temps in the low 70s. A light breeze in the am which picked up a bit in the afternoon.

There was a full slate of lectures on the agenda--Japanese culture, sparkling wines, earthquakes, sea birds. And trivia in the afternoon. The subject was astronomy, specifically planetary astronomy. Not my strong suit, but our team won. I think we are just good test takers since all were multiple choice questions.

Other than that and a nice morning's walk, we just goofed off, which is a good thing occasionally.

The good news is that the cyclone has apparently decided to move elsewhere, so we are not in danger.

September 22, 2014--Miyake-jima, Japan

We awoke to a hazy morning. Here was a bit of motion to the seas during the night, but nothing bad. Temps in the mid 70's.

Since we were not to arrive at Miyake-jima until noon, a couple of lectures were offered, one about Japanese history and another about kimonos, which included a demonstration of putting one on. Since the least expensive kimono costs about $5000, and prices go up quickly from there, George is happy that I don't wear one.

At noon, we were anchored off the island and could see the huge concrete tsunami barriers that have been erected. The island is really just a big volcano, which is still active and spews out steam and sulfur dioxide gas all the time. It erupts lava periodically as well, and the people who live there were only allowed to return in 2005 after the 2000 eruption. They have to have gas masks available at all times just in case.

There were two groups--one bird watching and the other hiking for short distances at several sites on the island. A welcoming committee from the town was on hand personally greet us. We of course did hiking, stopping at the place where lava flowed into the ocean, a lava flow that covered a school and about 400 houses, a crater formed by the eruption, all with the view of the caldera belching out steam and gas in the background.

There is a road to the top, but you are not allowed to go all the way up anymore. Instead we went to an observation point part way up for a wonderful sunset view.

Since it was past sunset, we got to do something I have not done before--ride back to the ship in the zodiac in the dark. Very cool.

We had a wonderful dinner with friends topped off with our friend Jerry singing a few songs in the lounge. A great day.

Sounds awesome!

We too have ridden a zodiac back to the boat in the dark... Ours was in a rainstorm after touring the Darien Jungle - your experience sounds much more pleasant! Have a great time and keep posting.

For sail away, a local dance group performed. Elderly ladies in traditional kimonos and teenagers in jeans--all danced together on the pier, and it was really great fun. They clearly were happy to have us visit their town.

Did they do the 'squid dance' for you?

We found Hakodate to be a fun and most welcoming place to visit.

Thanks so much for posting as you go along! When you travelled back in the Zodiac, were you able to see the night sky without lights or did the zodiac have a bright spotlight?

The hiking option sounds great to me! I can't wait to read your next installation.

Thanks Rachel (and George in support) for the robust on board reports--feels like we are there with you.

Thanks for all the comments.

Not sure of the name of the Danes they did in Hakodate, silver spectre. Could have been a squid dance. They certainly love all things squid there, and one of the teenagers dancing had a squid hat on.

As far as the ride back in the zodiac in the dark, it did not have a light at all. We were able to see a few stars, but the volcano sends up steam and gas all the time which gives the appearance of a lot of clouds. We could see the ship easily because of its lights though.

Sounds eerie but awesome.

September 23, 2014--hachijo-jima Japan--NOT

An overcast morning with temps in the low 70's. Hachijo-jima is a volcanic island formed by 2 volcanos. The plan was to go ashore by zodiac and hike or have an island sight seeing tour, depending on you preference. But the first landing sight appeared too rough.

We sailed to the other side of the island where there is a good fishing harbor, but the fisherman's union would not allow us to land there. So we sailed back to the first landing site, but another ship had anchored there in the meantime.

Since we were unable to find a good anchorage, it is a sea day. Very disappointing since we were looking forward to a proper hike, a local lunch, and visiting the botanical garden.

A slate of lectures was quickly arranged, and the chef really brilliantly put on a full lunch buffet which was pretty amazing given the short notice and planning for most everyone to be off the ship for lunch.

We won at trivia, the highlight of the day. Unfortunately, after that, more bad news. It seems a typhoon is headed directly for us. Instead of going to tori-shima tomorrow, we are going to head directly ASAP to chichijima. But we will not be allowed off the ship there. It is just to clear Japanese customs.

And the seas will be very rough. I can already tell they are increasing. Stay tuned for further updates.

Batten down the hatches and be well.

We will be thinking of you.

September 24, 2014-- at sea and ChiChi-jima Japan

We rapidly sailed through the night southward to avoid the storm. The seas were a little rough, but really not that bad. Winds were high, gusting up to 70 km/hr and remained so all morning. Air temperature in the upper 70s.

In the morning, there was a lecture on Japanese food. It was too windy to walk out of the deck, so I worked out in the gym. In late morning, we saw quite a few flying fish as well as seabirds trying to catch them to eat.

At noon, the captain came on with good news. We were making excellent time and should reach Chichi-jima by evening and be able to spend the night in port there. And even better, we were avoiding the storm so should be able to tour Chichi-jima in the morning.

Trivia in the afternoon. We came in 2nd, due to a last minute answer change. We should know better than to do that.

We had an interesting lecture regarding Amelia Earhart then we were at the dock in Chichi-jima. A group of dancers, more Polynesian looking than Japanese, and drummers greeted us.

For those who wanted, there was a night excursion to see bioluminescent mushrooms and bats. I elected to finish my excellent lamb curry dinner at leisure.

Good choice!

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In your experience and perhaps the experience of others onboard, is an expedition cruise the wrong choice if you're not that into nature?

If I weren't that into nature, or at least hiking, I would not take an expedition cruise. There really is little else to do onboard. No shows or casinos. Only one real bar and one restaurant. The food is very good though. Expedition type trips do tend to be more expensive too, because all the tours are included. There have been a few cultural lectures, but most are geared toward wildlife and geology.