Japan Intensive - do tell

[Heartfelttraveler]

11 hours ago, nonrev1 said:

Our pocket Wi-Fi is Japan Wireless and the google translate app.  We have had no issues.  It has been very helpful especially with translating text and also conversation.  

With Google Translate you need to be sure to download the language so you can use it offline.

 

[nonrev1]

Yes…..or if you get pocket wifi, no need.  

[uktog]

19 hours ago, nonrev1 said:

Today we had a private tour with a company called Edge of Niigata.  Great tour and guide.   It was a 3 1/2 hour walking tour which covered the original old port town.   We started at Minato pia and ended at the Saito Family Villa.  We saw several shrines along the way and learned about the interesting history of the ordinal port area.  The tour was very informative and woild recommend it.  When the tour was over, we went for a saki tour and tasting.  Before the ship departed they brought  3 Geishas onboard.  With a translator, they answered questions and then one sang and played a musical instrument while the other two danced.  An amazing experience.  
 

Thank you so much for your clear reports.  In my older brain years I need clear information like that.  I saw pictures of the Geishas onboard they looked so beautiful.  Rain is an occupational hazard in Japan, we are ready for that as like you we have no option to hope the weather is different next week!  Do keep enjoying! 

[nonrev1]

 

Today  was Kanazawa.  Weather started off not so good but became beautiful in the afternoon.  We were not going to let the weather stop us, though.  Through the visitors tourism office I arranged a guide for a 6 hour tour.  We met at the train station which was very convenient since the ship offered a shuttle from the port to the train station.  We had a full day planned and hopped on local buses several times through the tour.  We went through the Samurai District, Kanazawa Castle, kenroku-en garden and the  geisha district.  Also had lunch in a small local restaurant.  Our guide Sachi was excellent and everything was timed and planned perfectly.  The gardens were beautiful and a definite must see.  There is a tourist loop bus that you can take but having a guide explain everything makes a big difference.  Everything here is done a certain way for a certain reason.  The explanations are fascinating.  We did make one additional stop during our tour.  We saw a Catholic Church which is very uncommon here, so we asked the guide if she would be able to take us inside.   The church had beautiful wood detail and one section has traditional wooden pews, the other side has Tatami. Two Nuns  were getting everything ready for their Easter service. Another great and exhausting day.  

[nonrev1]

Almost forgot….the Kanazawa tourism board offers on select Saturdays free performances.  We were fortunate enough to have our guide find one of the performances offered today and have front row seats for us.  It was a Geisha show with 3 different types of dances. They also had two different geishas singing and one playing a musical instrument.  The Visit Kanazawa website is an excellent source of information.  

[nonrev1]

Sakaiminato - today we had the privilege of touring with a Good Will Guide.  What a wonderful experience.  She had a taxi waiting to take us to Matsue.  It is a 45 minute drive from the port to Matsue.  We first started off visiting the castle as today they were having a castle festival and she knew it would get very crowded. It is quite a climb on narrow stairs but very doable and you can take breaks if needed.  The guide explained each level of the castle and then we began the awkward descent.  The steps are narrow and slippery……much easier to side step down.  After the Castle we made our way to the Shinto Shrine.  We learned about the traditional prayers and walked around the gardens.  After working up an appetite, we went to a traditional noodle restaurant.  Best Soba noodles.  ( Yakumoan Noodle Restaurant).  We wandered through the Historical Museum, peeked into some Samurai houses and then boarded the Horikawa Moat boat.  What fun.  We were on the boat with two families with young children that wanted to learn some English words.  We all had lots of laughs when everyone had to duck down when they lowered the boat canopy to go under the bridges.  Our guide had a taxi waiting for us at the end of the moat boat adventure.  It was an excellent day and if you have the opportunity to tour with a Good Will Guide, I woild highly recommend it.  She provided great information and showed off her city well.  

[Roel94]

I had a lovely morning at the gardens..

[nonrev1]

Pusan, South Korea

There was some back and forth whether we needed an E-TA to enter South Korea by ship.  So, some of us felt we were better safe than sorry.  The answer is you do not need one.  So, for those of you traveling on this itinerary next year…..unless things change - there is no need.  
Today I booked a group of us with Tours By Locals.  We were a group of 12 and we had a mini bus that would carry 15. Frank was our guide and he did a great job keeping our group together and making changes on the fly.  We had a full day and we still took 2 things off our original itinerary!  He was prepared to tour with us for 9 hours but we were exhausted after almost 8 hours.  
We started off by visiting the UN Memorial Cemetery.  It was very moving and it definitely made us take some time to reflect.  They also had beautiful Cherry Blossom trees.  A different much fuller variety than Japan.  Next we were off to Haedong Yonggungsa temple.  Wow….absolutely beautiful.  Lots of stairs…..but, well worth it.  We worked up an appetite so we went to a Korean BBQ restaurant.  The food kept on coming and the employees were happy to come over and show us the correct way to eat!  Next stop was Gamcheon culture village.  Lots of walking but you could also find a seat and have some excellent ice cream.  The village has brightly colored houses and the views are beautiful.  Our last stop was the Jacalchi fish market.  Row after row after row of every fish and shell fish imaginable.  
I would highly recommend both the guide Frank and Tours by Locals.  
Off to have an adult beverage ( or two) and more later. 

[Roel94]

I learned today by my tours by locals guide that Japan imported cherry trees from Korea. Not sure how true.But the kind we saw today never was. Also they bloom later. I went  to Gyeongju and was overwhelmed by their beauty. Huge park of them right before the temple there.

 

I could of enjoyed that extra hour today or two weeks ago. 
sounds like you had a great day.

[nonrev1]

I was going to start a new thread, but since I want to discuss the Azamazing evening that we had on the Japan trip, I thought I would put it here. Again, this is only my opinion. due to Covid restrictions, we were told that we would have a destination celebration versus an off the ship event. While the event was lovely, it does not come anywhere close to events off the ship we have experienced since the beginning of the Azamazing evenings. Our last cruise in Europe did not have one either and unfortunately, that event was a huge miss and half of the audience walked out. Back in the day when this first started we had to make reservations and if we were not going to attend we had to cancel in advance or we were threatened with a $200 charge per person because that was the estimated value of the event. This was nothing that we were “given”.  When these events started, there was a very large price increase, which also included some other things. I feel, if we are unable to have an Azamazing evening - I understand it… But we should receive some form of an onboard credit.  The onboard experiences are nowhere near the quality or value of the true Azamazing evenings.  If you are new to Azamara  and never experienced one, it was a beautiful evening. But, the new cruisers also don’t know the history of the fare increase Azamara imposed to include this event.  
Our evening featured some beautiful singers, musicians and dancers.  They passed trays of typical sweets before the performance.  We received a bar of Korean decorative soap in our staterooms.  
 

Again just my opinion.  

[Silver Claire]

12 hours ago, nonrev1 said:

 due to Covid restrictions, we were told that we would have a destination celebration versus an off the ship event.

Was this purely because it's Japan? Ours is scheduled to take place off the ship in Vietnam on 2nd May.  AzAmazing Evenings: A Magical Evening at Binh Quoi Village, Ho Chi Minh City

[nonrev1]

Yes….as posted…Japan due to Covid restrictions.  But, must apply to S Korea, too.  Our event was held onboard while in S Korea.  

[uktog]

2 hours ago, Silver Claire said:

Was this purely because it's Japan? Ours is scheduled to take place off the ship in Vietnam on 2nd May.  AzAmazing Evenings: A Magical Evening at Binh Quoi Village, Ho Chi Minh City

That is a lovely evening we did it pre pandemic 

[Roel94]

4 hours ago, Silver Claire said:

Was this purely because it's Japan? Ours is scheduled to take place off the ship in Vietnam on 2nd May.  AzAmazing Evenings: A Magical Evening at Binh Quoi Village, Ho Chi Minh City

That a fun night. AU was off ship too. I rarely go on ship.

[nonrev1]

For our day in Kitakyushu we took the train to Kokura.  I had arranged a walking tour through a company called Trip Insight and it turned out to be just the two of us.  Our guide was so nervous as this was her first English tour since Covid began.  She had no one to,practice with to keep up her language skills.  It was a fantastic tour and her English was excellent.  ( she had done a summer program at Harvard). 
we walked about 2 miles and went through the Gintengai Shopping street, Tokiwabashi bridge, Kokura Castle Gardens, Yasukata Shrine, Kokura Castle and the Tanga Local Market.  As a bonus she took us to the top of RiverWalk to show us the amazing views of the city and the Castle.  We took the train back to Kitakyushu which was very easy and then a short walk once we were off the train.  Our guide was excellent and she provided great information on everything we saw.  

[nonrev1]

There was a question asked before regarding ship shuttles…..so far we have had one in every port.  

[nonrev1]

Hiroshima - today we chose a ships tour as we wanted to get out to the Kintai- Kyo Bridge.  The trip included transportation on the Shinkansen Bullet Train, a visit to the bridge, a walking tour, lunch and a walking tour through the Peace Memorial Park.  The tour ticked off the boxes of what we wanted to do but we wish that we had taken the Bullet Train in both directions.  It was a 14 minute ride out and almost an hour back by bus.  We could have easily spent more time in the park or maybe added another stop on the tour.  ( we had a little too much time at the bridge). Our guide was very good and provided a lot of local information and answered everyone’s questions.  It was a well organized ships tour.  

[uktog]

5 hours ago, nonrev1 said:

Hiroshima - today we chose a ships tour as we wanted to get out to the Kintai- Kyo Bridge.  The trip included transportation on the Shinkansen Bullet Train, a visit to the bridge, a walking tour, lunch and a walking tour through the Peace Memorial Park.  The tour ticked off the boxes of what we wanted to do but we wish that we had taken the Bullet Train in both directions.  It was a 14 minute ride out and almost an hour back by bus.  We could have easily spent more time in the park or maybe added another stop on the tour.  ( we had a little too much time at the bridge). Our guide was very good and provided a lot of local information and answered everyone’s questions.  It was a well organized ships tour.  

This is a tour I’d identified as being possible sounds ideal so you’re review moves it to definite 

[nonrev1]

We chose that tour because it did not spend most of the day at the Peace Park/ Memorial. We had previously been to the park and museum in Nagasaki and spent many hours there so we were looking for an opportunity to visit the one in Hiroshima and yet not spend too much of the day.   I know some people that chose the floating Tori gate tour and enjoyed it.   Personally, we knew we were going to already see many Tori gates, so to see one floating did not interest us as much as seeing something completely unique to what we had already experienced. 

[Drebay]

3 hours ago, uktog said:

@nonrev1has indicated there has been one in every port -  so which two did not have it

Actually there were three ports without shuttles on the Mar19 cruise: Aomori, Kitakyushu and Takamatsu. You didn’t need them in any of those ports given either proximity to town (Aomori) and/or public transit (Kitakyushu & Takamatsu). 

[Roel94]

This was my third cruise around Japan plus a cruise that did like three ports. 
 

I balance ship tours with private as ports are far away from sights.

I seen great gardens, cherry blossoms, shrines and temples thst I had to have help with steps but was fine on an incline.

 

one poster had  a great day by using train yesterday but I really did not miss anything I wanted to do.

 

the luck is with weather. We had two bd rain days..stayed on ship.

always manage to get out.

 

the rough seas for me was the two sea days.

the one Jonas would say rough night I was fine.

if the seas are bad I live on ginger and bread.

 

I just wish I packed winter PJs for cabin and sleep socks.

 

Robin

[Roel94]

To anyone who has food allergies or does not eat land animals ..whatever. I am blessed to be in a Top Suite and notice each week the main dish is steak or lobster. And another dish each week is meat. There is no veggie option. 
 

I just had my 70th cruise and I kept asking about menu.I did ask for seafood vs meat. Well one guest had to get some type of chicken as he does not eat shellfish or steak. One guest no meat. We have with this line a Captain who eats no animals. How hard is it  to have a veggie option.

personally I think the chef has no imagination and question how he got here. Heike did a better job with menu. But this was the best dessert ever.

 

on another note is White Night. The poor chefs today..started with lunch at 1130 due to port arrival. Dinner starts at 5;30 pre Insider.  It was so cold last week did not go. But many many bathrobes. Tonight live music is from 6..Living Room band..and then White Night at 7.  I will just go to Living Room to dance.

 

really not sure why not inside but just my thoughts.

 

I am sure many will enjoy White Night but I will skip it again. 

[nonrev1]

If you’re talking about the trip to the bridge yesterday, … We were not on a bus for two hours. We took a bullet train to the bridge and we were only on a bus for about 15 minutes. On the way back we did take a bus, and it was just under an hour to the Peace Park.   So, we were never on a bus for two hours straight I am not sure where you’re getting that misinformation. . Also, the bridge was not difficult to walk. it is listed as strenuous, but most people I spoke to would have categorized it as medium difficulty.  

[nonrev1]

Takamatsu - no shuttle today.  
we had organized in advance Goodwill guides. We had one guide take us to. Shikokumuro Village and a second guide take us to Ritsurin Garden.  The goodwill guide organizer was so glad to see us. Had us pose in front of the ship with a sign, and he will post it on the Good Will  service site. If you are not a good walker, I would not recommend going to the village. There is a lot of uphill and downhill walking on very uneven surfaces. They also have a rope bridge. It was a lot of fun. We were there along with a group of high school students and they loved watching us trying to maneuver our way across the rope bridge. Honestly, they looked more scared than we did.  We loved the village, and again, if you do not have walking issues it is a great place to go. When we left there, our guide went with us to the gardens and passed us off to the next good will guide. She was a wonderful woman that took us through the garden and explained many of the plants, where they came from and why they were positioned the way they were. A wonderful day and beautiful weather. We came back to the ship in time to watch high school students  do calligraphy while dancing. Very hard to explain but it was a lot of fun to watch and the high school girls stayed on the ship for the white night party.  What a fun night. Great food, great music and a really fun atmosphere. It got a little chilly after the sun went down but everyone got blankets if they wanted them or pool towels. Some went back to their rooms and got bathrobes.  
On another note, there have been a lot of fun extras on this cruise, that I was not expecting. Almost every day before we leave port, they have something onboard for us. Whether it is sake tasting, a Q&A with Geishas that are still working, being able to try ion and take pictures in kimonos, dancers, drummers, watching high school, girls do calligraphy while dancing and having a Japanese port advisor set up at a desk on deck 4 ….and this is not including everything the towns are doing for us at sail away.  
We have had a Japan cruise booked and canceled 3 times.  So, now that it is here we are doing everything we possibly can.  This is an experience of a lifetime and if the weather is bad….who cares!  We can always take a vacation from our vacation when we go home.  

 

[nonrev1]

I may be crazy but I think we had a shuttle in Kitakyushu.  We walked to the station but I think there was also a bus to town.  Could be wrong.