This is IT! Finally the month of our departure has arrived. In fact, we are down to 3 weeks (as of today) before we leave. The only real, potential drawback is that as much as our excitement and anticipation grow, so do tensions between North Korea and the US. Much like the rest of the world, we can only hope and pray for cooler heads to prevail.
Our excursions have been updated and while we still don’t have one in every port, bookings are done for some. A little concern we have is, as with any holiday, the weather. However, unless it is REALLY bad, neither rain nor heat is going to discourage our explorations.
The first stop after we leave the Port of Yokohama will be Kushiro. There we will be visiting the Kushiro Crane National park. The intent (read: HOPE) is that we will be able to see the Japanese Redheaded Crane. They were almost extinct but due to some remarkable efforts have been brought back.
Another port of call is Miyazaki. Here is a visit back in time to the very early Edo period in Japanese history (late 1500’s) by visiting the Obi Castle shrine and ruins. This is followed by a visit to the Udo Jingu Shrine which dates back even further to the 1st century B.C. Time travel is a Wonderful thing. 🙂
The port in Tsuruga brings an ecological view across time with pine groves that are over 200 years old, and yet another step back to a shrine built in 702 A.D. In addition there is a stop at the Port of Humanity Museum and the local fish market (hmmmm….wonder what we might be having there???). And if, dear reader, you are of a certain age group and have lived in Edmonton Alberta during those years, you’ll find it interesting to note that another stop is the Red Brick Warehouse in Tsuruga. Rest-assured, however, that the similarity is in name only. 😉
Our last (currently) booked tour is the one I had mentioned before, being in Akita. The upside is my dear wife is now part of the tour. As it turns out she has developed a liking for Sake to complement my own (although maybe not quite as extensively). Whether we will be fortunate enough to see Sake in mid-production is up in the air, but I know there will be a tasting. Saiko (最高) !
There are numerous other ports that we will be stopping at and have yet to book anything at those. However, exploring on our own has never been a real problem. Sometimes unnecessary, occasionally unwise, but never unfavorable.
Our next update should be coming from our hotel room in Tokyo!! We hope there will be a picture or two to go along. 🙂