Celebrity Millennium Japan - 10/24/2023 - Live(ish) Report

[Miaminice]

2023 - Japan - Celebrity Millennium - Day 1 - Tokyo
Despite leaving Frankfurt late, our ANA flight arrived in Tokyo-Haneda on time. Just before we landed, Fuji san presented himself below the wing in bright sunshine - a sight which made our hearts jump and put big smiles on our faces. Immigration and customs went smoothly and we were soon on our way to Shinjuku by train. 

 

 

When we left Shinjuku station about an hour later and walked across the street, we could already see the famous Godzilla lurking on the rooftop of the Gracery Hotel.

 

 

 

 

 

It was too early to check in, so we dropped off our luggage and headed towards Tokyo Station to have lunch in one of the restaurants of the Ramen Street. But Tokyo station is a huge maze and it took a us while before we found the restaurants. 

At these restaurants, you choose and pay your food on ticket machines outside of the restaurant. Then you hand the tickets, resembling subway tickets, to your server and soon after you receive your food. Our spicy Ramen was delicious and truly lived up to its name.

 

 

 

 

 

After this burst of fiery energy, we walked towards Ginza, where I had a deja vu experience. Just like last time, Birgit parked me on a chair by the window of the women’s department of the Uniqlo Flagship store and I found myself looking down on the busy high street lined with exclusive stores for the next hour or so.

Although fatigue and exhaustion slowly crept into my body and brain - I haden’t slept more than 2 of the last 24 hours - we took a detour on the way back to the station and walked by the Imperial Palace. This is our third trip to Japan, but the impeccably manicured and beautiful lawns and grounds of the Tenno’s home never fail to amaze us. Especially in glorious weather like today. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We strolled back to the iconic red brick building of Tokyo Station and took a subway back to our hotel.

 

 

 

Our luggage had already been taken to our room for us - nice! The rooms of Japanese hotels are small and the bed filled almost the entire room. Nevertheless the cozy linen immediately cast a spell on us. Time for a nap! 

At 6:30pm we immersed ourselves into Shinjuku’s buzz…

 

 

 

… and walked to the hidden area of Omoide Yokocho, which means Memory Lane. It is a tight scrum of around sixty small bars and restaurants linked by alleys just wide enough for two to pass. The smoke of grilled Yakitori filled the paths and made us hungry again.

 

 

Our first stop was a small corner serving delicious Soba noodles. We had been looking forward to this since 2019… sooo good. Then we picked one of the Yakitori places and had a sampler of the skewers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To complete our evening in Tokyo, we took the subway to the famous Shibuya crossing. In “45 seconds of madness” more than 2500 people cross the streets during rush hour… that’s the entire population of the little village we live in at home.

 

 

 

 

Time to call it a day - tomorrow we are off to Yokohama to embark on the beautiful Celebrity Millennium.

Practical tips:
- Fill out the entry form in advance on the Internet at Visit Japan Web.
- You can also use it to generate a code for tax free shopping.
- Ubigi ESIM for mobile phones, 10GB, $17

 

Edited October 26, 2023 by Miaminice

[Miaminice]

2023 - Japan - Celebrity Millennium - Day 2 - Tokyo/Yokohama

A good night‘s rest must be followed by a good and tasty breakfast - I am pretty sure that’s an old Japanese proverb. If not, we followed it anyway. The buffet at the hotel made it easy. It offered a nice choice of Asian and western delights and Birgit thoroughly enjoyed the healthy Asian part.

 

 

Following breakfast we decided to take the train to Yoyogi Park. The park is for Tokyo what Central Park would be for New York or Hyde Park for London. And hidden within the area of Yoyogi Park and forest lies the Meji-Jingu shine of Emperor Meiji and his wife Shoken. Once you enter the Park through the huge Torii gates, everything seems to decelerate. It becomes quiet - the sound of silence only enhanced by the song of the birds - and the air is filled with the earthy sent of the 120,000 trees donated by the people of Japan.

 

 

 

 

Following the wide gravel road through the forest, mindful not to take the middle part which is reserved for the Emperor, we reached the impressive shrine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walking around the two “husband and wife” trees, bound together for eternity, strolling by the wooden tablets with wishes written on them and bowing before the shrine for a wish ourselves, we knew why we love Japan so much. The pleasant cocktail of crazy and mind boggling metropolises mixed with the pure tranquility and serenity of Japanese gardens and shrines enhanced by a very generous shot of friendliness and respect from and for the Japanese people just goes down so very well.

Due to some Meiji festivities, donations were displayed around the area. Chrysanthemum flowers, representing the Imperial family, Bonsai trees… all very nice to look at.

 

 

 

 

When it was time to start the next part of our journey, we returned to the hotel - not without a stop at another Uniqlo store -picked up our luggage and took the JR train to Yokohama.

When we reached Yokohama station about 35 minutes later, we took a taxi from the station which I called and paid by using the Uber App.
Driving up to the cruise terminal, it was nice to see the big blue hull of our home for the next two weeks on Yokohama’s pretty Osanbashi port. 
Embarkation on Millennium took less time than it took to look at the watch. We presented our boarding passes on the App and basically walked right through. No desk, no wait… we were really impressed. 
Once on board, the positive surprise continued. We hadn’t been on a refurbished M class before. They have given this elderly M class lady a very nice touch up and it felt as if we were on a new modern ship. Although we thought Infinity was in good shape a few months ago, Infinity’s old and Millennium’s modernized design now felt like night and day. Same goes for our stateroom 1106 (A1 Aqua Class). The new colors and design really met our taste. We also enjoyed the changes made to the Ocean View Café and the Sunset Bar. Millennium is still no S or E class, but bravo!
While Birgit unpacked her luggage I sipped on a Latte from Al Bacio on our balcony before we headed to the sailaway meeting at the Sunset Bar to meet some fellow cruisers with whom we‘ll be doing tours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When darkness set in, the skyline of Yokohama began to shine and presented a beautiful background for the start of our cruise.

 

 

We had dinner at Blu and a tea for a nightcap at Al Bacio before going to bed early… those of you who know us know that we are actually pretty boring people 😉

 

Edited October 26, 2023 by Miaminice

[theopup]

What stunningly beautiful pictures, enjoy your new adventure 

[DaKahuna]

25 minutes ago, Miaminice said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time to call it a day - tomorrow we are off to Yokohama to embark on the beautiful Celebrity Millennium.

Practical tips:
- Fill out the entry form in advance on the Internet at Visit Japan Web.
- You can also use it to generate a code for tax free shopping.
- Ubigi ESIM for mobile phones, 10GB, $17

M

 

Following this with great interest as we are on 13-day Best of Japan in May. 

Really enjoying your photos.  

 Does the Univision ESIM allow you to make phone calls or just WiFi Internet? 
 

Edited October 26, 2023 by DaKahuna

[agape01]

Looking forward to my cruise on the Millennium this coming November.

Would definitely be following your cruise.

Enjoy and Happy Cruising 

[NMTraveller]

Following as we are on in December...

 

The pictures look like she has been well maintained and updated.

Edited October 26, 2023 by NMTraveller

[Justpackingmybags]

Following. Japan will be my next major adventure, although I’m still undecided whether it will be by land or sea.

[Norwaylady]

Bon Voyage⚓️

Really happy that you do a live! 
Our Japan sailing on Milli before she was refurbished is still one of our favourite cruises🤩 

[Provence55always]

Following along your live reports are always so interesting and informative. Hopefully we will make it to Japan sooner rather than later. Have a fantastic time😊

[Texed]

Beautiful pictures and commentary.  Thanks for posting.  😊

[Rina155]

Oh your photos and commentary make me miss Japan!  Did a sailing on the Millie in 2019 (April).  Experience is not to be forgotten.  May have to figure a way to do this sailing again in the future!

[Beachlover1989]

Love your Lives and really looking forward to this one too!  The pictures so far have been stunning!

[villauk]

Following along as we’re on Millie next August in Japan 👍. Thanks for the ‘Live(ish)’ report 🤣.

[Captain-John]

Thank you so much for posting. We are sailing on Millenium in May next year too. Have never been to Japan so trying to absorb as much detail as possible. Great pictures and the ship is indeed looking very well for her age.

[StopTheWorld]

Following as we sail on Millennium around Japan next October. A weather report would be great if you have the time 😊

[hcat]

GREAT REVIEW so far

..Brilliant Photography!

 

B O N   V O Y A G E !

[DaKahuna]

@Miaminice What time did check in and boarding begin? 

[Miaminice]

35 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

@Miaminice What time did check in and boarding begin? 

I think the earliest slots began around noon. We had 1 - 1:30pm an arrived about 1:15pm.

we wanted to take our time in the morning.

[Miaminice]

2023 – Japan – Celebrity Millennium – Day 3 – Shimizu 

Early in the morning we were woken up by the sun shining into our stateroom - and of course the drive for exploration. We only had time until 2:30pm so we got up early and had breakfast at the Oceanview rather than taking our time in Blu. 

Since we had been to Shimizu on two previous cruises, we had only planned a short DIY tour with some fellow cruisers to the Kunozan Toshogu shrine. A shrine which had already left a positive and lasting impression on our first visit. Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu‘s resting place is overwhelmingly detailed and beautiful. So we took a taxi to the Nihondaira Ropeway and took the cable car to the shrine nestled into the hillside of Mount Kunozan after visiting the observatory deck close to the parking lot.

 

 

 

The details and colors of this shrine are magnificent. A real feast for the eye. See for yourselves…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had tentatively planned to visit Sumpu Castle, Tokugawa Ieyasu‘s birthplace, as well after the shrine but decided against it due to Millennium‘s early sailing time. So we took a taxi back to the port.

When we reached the ship, Birgit and I decided to walk over to the nearby S-Pulse Dream Plaza shopping center.

 

When we were almost there, an elderly lady who was with the Shimizu Volunteer Guides walked next to us and asked if we enjoyed the day and where we were from. When we told her that we are from Germany, she was delighted and spoke German to us. She had lived in Berlin for a while. Just like us she was on her way to have lunch at the shopping center and kindly offered to show us her favorite places and food. Happy about the insight B and I got some freshly prepared rice bowls and really enjoyed the local food. 

 

 

While having lunch, I looked at a walking tour map of Shimizu and we decided to visit a shrine which was only a 15 minute walk away. When we reached Minowa Inari Shrine we were approached by an elderly gentleman also introducing himself as one of the Shimizu Volunteer Guides. He kindly asked if he could show us around. An offer we gladly accepted. So the gentleman took us through the 83 Torii gates, explained that the shrine was dedicated to the god of rice and introduced us to the etiquette of visiting a Shinto Shrine. His friendliness and respectful pride was heartwarming.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With big smiles on our faces and our hearts filled with gratitude we headed towards Myokeiji Temple, which was just around the corner. As soon as we entered the grounds of the Buddhist Temple, a lovely lady of the guides offered to show us around.

 

In very good English and a very kind and pleasant manner she explained some differences of Shintoism and Buddhism to us and seemed genuinely happy when we told her that we had been to Japan before and that we really liked the country and its people. Interacting with her was a pure joy. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keep it mind that these guides don’t do it for tips. Tipping is frowned upon in Japan. They do it because they take real pride in welcoming visitors to their country. On the way back we kept saying how privileged and happy we are to experience this.

 

 

Back on board we were invited to the helipad for sailaway. Unfortunately Mount Fuji covered himself with clouds when we left. However, despite Fuji san being a bit shy in the end, it was a great day in Shimizu. 

 

 

Since it was Chic Night, we dressed up for dinner later and had a nice dinner at Blu before turning in early (again).

 

[theopup]

It all looks so beautiful, a wonderful day

[hcat]

Beautiful and uplifting...more great photography.

 

We will never be able to travel there in person   but you have made these amazing places come alive! Thanks

[kabmab]

Lovely posting!  Thank you so much for sharing.

[DaKahuna]

@Miaminice Loving your comments and pictures.  I cannot help but recall some of the wonderful scenery from the times I went fishing at Lake Ashi.  May cannot come soon enough. 
 

[mchell810]

You've had what I would call a perfect day.   The photos are lovely!

[Jim_Iain]

Will be following along.  Love your photos and the live report.