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I have now been back from the cruise for over two months, and the journey on the blog stopped in Dutch Harbor. When one procrastinates, there is usually something in the way, and I finally realized that I’ve been waiting for final thoughts and reflections to come together with some kind of meaning. While I… Continue reading The Cruise Ends

After Japan, the Insignia travelled Northeast for five days. Destination: the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. The weather turned colder and wetter. We experienced fog, rougher seas, light much of the night and multiple time changes that were challenging. On June 30 (Day 168), we reached Dutch Harbor, Alaska. Back in the United States. Dutch Harbor is… Continue reading Dutch Harbor, USA

The Insignia left Kushiro, Japan on June 25 (Day 163). We said goodbye to Japan, and headed across the Pacific Ocean for Dutch Harbor, Alaska. The itinerary outlined four sea days to reach Dutch Harbor on June 30 (Day 168). I look forward to sea days. I enjoy the activities (bridge lessons and games, lectures… Continue reading The Day Time Stood Still

Japan turned out to be a favorite country for many people on the cruise. In every port we visited, there were Japanese people who expressed welcome and friendliness. This band, which greeted us in Aomori Japan, was typical of the welcome the ship got in all of the Japanese ports. In most places there were… Continue reading A Lot to Like About Japan

Our last port in Japan was Kushiro in the Hokkaido Prefecture. We stopped there on June 25 (Day 163). What a great place for me to say goodbye to a country I thoroughly enjoyed. I took this picture of a sign, which touts the high points of Kushiro. It is a rural area, struggling with… Continue reading Cranes and More

Hakodate, in Northern Japan is a small, accessible city with lots of history. It was the first city in Japan opened to foreign trade in 1854. When our ship visited there on June 24 (Day 162), we could easily take some of that history in. We walked through parts of the city. Our guide told… Continue reading Last Stand of the Samurai

Our ship left Tokyo, Japan and headed north for three more Japanese ports. We visited Aomori on June 23, then Hakodate and Kurshiro (both in Hokkaido) on June 24 and June 25. The weather was cool (some thought cold) and rainy some of the time. I loved it. Perhaps you have noticed that I have… Continue reading Japanese Mountains and Forests

Tokyo is one of the world’s great cities. It is a hi-tech showcase of modern Japan, and yet it still retains the soul of traditional Japan. It manages to be extremely comfortable, even luxurious, while remaining decidedly mysterious and exotic. First and foremost, Tokyo is a food-lover’s paradise. Tokyo has more Michelin stars than any city on earth.… Continue reading Tokyo

Many cultures hold mountains to be sacred—the ancient Greeks had Olympus; the Aztecs, Popocatépetl; the Lakota, Inyan Kara—but nothing equals the timeless Japanese reverence for this notoriously elusive volcano. Parting earth and sky with remarkable symmetry, Fuji is venerated as a stairway to heaven, a holy ground for pilgrimage, a site for receiving revelations, a… Continue reading Mount Fuji

It seems that everyone who knew I was going to visit Japan told me some version of “you have to go to Kyoto.” Our ship docked at Kobe City overnight on June 17 and 18th. I took a long excursion from Kobe to Kyoto on the 17th. It is about a two hour drive from… Continue reading Kyoto