April - Japan aboard
Heritage Adventurer
April 26 - At sea off Yakushima. My flights to Tokyo were
painless and I boarded Heritage Adventurer in Tokyo. The
first voyage was focused on Cherry Blossom, my earliest start in
Japan, and the first time the ship has sailed from Tokyo. This meant
that the first few ports headed south were new to me, and the
company. According to websites that track the peak of the "Sakura"
(blossom) season set off just as the peak passed through Tokyo
heading north. Notwithstanding this, and a bit of a damp start, for
the first few weeks we were treated to exceptionally abundant
displays. Everywhere we went, the trees were in full flower, with
the locals out to share this limited season. It was wonderful beyond
words - I hope the pictures can tell a bit of the story.Our first port, near Mt. Fuji, started in low cloud with, it seemed, little chance for a view. But as the day went on the mountain gradually emerged. We were all thrilled. From there the Cherry Blossom voyage more than lived up to its billing - perhaps hitting a peak at Uwijima Castle.
Some scenes from this period: Tokyo: National Museum: Blossoms in the park, embroidery on kimono; Mt Fuji: emerging from the clouds, nearby tea plantation; Nagoya: Nagoya Castle: the castle, art in the Shogun's palace, sakura x 2; Owase: fish in the market; Kochi: picnics in the castle garden;
Voyage 1 ended in Osaka and I transitioned to a tiny campervan for the next 10 days. I drove from Osaka to Tokyo - just over 1400 kilometers. With ChatGPTs help I had done bit of route planning focused on castles, history and day walks. My first stop was Himeji Castle - one of the original 12 and by far the biggest and most impressive castle I have visited in Japan. Next stop was the Akame 48 waterfalls - home to the Japanese Giant Salamander which can be as big as a person, though the unfortunate ones in the aquarium tanks were small. On the Matsumoto for another of the 12 original castles, and Lake Suwa for a nice park and a few shrines. The passed through the Mt Fuji area during the phlox festival, and finished at an ancient Buddhist temple.
Some scenes from this period: The little van and me; reflection in a mirrorball; Himeji Castle x 2; Akame 48 Waterfalls: young giant salamander, waterfalls (click the image for a short video of other waterfalls); Matsumoto: Castle; Lake Suwa: A last burst of blossoms, fallen petals in the lake, sake kegs as offerings at a shrine; Mt Fuji and phlox; Ancient Buddha
From there it was back to Tokyo to meet the guests for Voyage 2 of my contract - "Discover the Islands...". We started with a Tokyo city tour then took the shinkansen to Kawazaka. At Kanazawa I help escort a group to Shirakawa Go. At Matsue I made it to 2 amazing gardens Adachi and Yuushien, plus another original castle. It seems that we always strike wet weather in Hagi. This trip was no exception, but it made the ancient moss covered stone lanterns at Toko-ji even more evocative. At Busan, South Korea we called into Haedong Yonggungsa temple, where preparations for Buddha's Birthday were well underway, and had the afternoon at Gamcheon Cultural Village. At Nagasaki my assignment was the historic quarter, not the Peace Park. Yakushima was, as always, wet. Then back to Uwajima for a flag waving welcome and Black Kites soaring around the castle. We visited Koraku-en garden in Okayama before finishing in Osaka.
Some scenes from the period: Tokyo: fish market for lunch, samurai statue at Imperial Palace; Shirakawa Go: traditional houses x 4; Matsue: Adachi gardens, Matsue castle and detail, Yuushien garden scenes x 3 including 2 reflection and one fog filled; Hagi: Toko-ji temple x 3; Busan: Haedong Yonggungsa Temple: including the extraordinary decorative exterior, and the golden offering cards attached to Buddha's Birthday lanterns blowing in the wind; Gamcheon: hillside village and a quirky art installation with mirrors; Nagasaki: Art work in Daimyo's guesthouse; Uwajima: Welcoming locals flying flags, a flying black kite; Koraku-en: plank bridge.
The trip logs and slide shows for the first 2 voyages can be found here: Cherry Blossoms Triplog - Cherry Blossoms Slideshow
Discover The Islands Triplog - Discover The Islands Slideshow
The 3rd voyage of my contact was a charter - meaning that my role was as general assistant aboard and Zodiac driver. We went on some excursions, mostly for first aid cover, with the chartering company handled all guiding and logistics.
May - Japan aboard Heritage Adventurer
May 3 - berthed at the wharf in Ulsan, South Korea. With limited duties, a group of us was able to make our own way to Yuushien Gardens in Matsue for the Golden Week Peony Festival. Yuushien is already one of my very favorite Japanese gardens, and I had once before been able to visit the festival in which the lake is full of spectacular floats of peonies, and roses line the walkways. Delightful.Scenes from this period: Yuushien: Golden Week Peony Festival: Peonies!, the central garden with peonies on the lake, floating peonies x 2, roses x 2, peony, lily pads (for a change)
May 21 - Kyoto, on the penultimate day of a voyage and road trip with Jill and a group of Caltech mates. Voyage 4 started in Osaka with the usual stops in the Inland Sea and up the west coast. Unusually, it extended north to Sado Island, including a mesmerizing visit to the Kodo drummers. We finished in Niigata where we boarded the shinkansen to Tokyo. We had a day in Tokyo, a highlight for me being TeamLab Planets - then a drive to Takayama with a stop at Fuji-san. At Takayama we visited the superb Hida Folk Village. We continued to Kyoto via the excellent museum at Sekigahara and Hikone Castle. The Kyoto highlights for me were Sanjusangendo, 1001 Buddhas from 1266CE (no photos allowed), and Kennin-ji founded in 1202 by the monk who brought Zen Buddhism to Japan. I had visited neither last year. Throughout the time with Jill and "team John" we have been very busy - with still enough time to come together for beverages, meals and laughs. Kanpai!
Scenes from this period: Korakuen Garden: Jill (aka Peach Girl) treating Hide-san to an ice cream; Miyajima: Jizo statues; Mount Daisen: walk x 3; Kanazawa: Peach girls; Sado Island: newly planted rice and koi streamers, tub boats; Tokyo: TeamLab Crystal infinity, National Museum art and archeology, sunshine; Takayama: Hida Folk Village x 4; Hikone: Castle and garden; Kyoto: Kennin-ji sand garden and twin dragon art; Kanpai
The trip logs and slide shows for the voyage with "Team John" can be found here - Sacred Islands Triplog - Sacred Islands Slideshow
June - Japan aboard
Heritage Adventurer and Christchurch
June 18 - back home. I rejoined the ship in Osaka for 2 voyages - a Road Scholar charter and the Arts and Parks circumnavigation of Honshu. I was impressed with the capability and organization of the Road Scholar team, and it was fun going along with them on their excursions and listening to/learning from their presentations. The Arts and Parks trip was plagued by bad weather to start - Typhoon Jangmi sweeping up the eat coast forced the itinerary to miss some stops and then blasted us with cold, wet conditions further north. Having battled through that, the rest of the voyage ran smoothly. Most of the ports-of-call were repeats from this and previous seasons, with some new excursions.The exception was Takamatsu, my only visit there this season and one of my favorites, so a great way to finish. We made a visit to Ritsurin garden - my favorite of the large strolling gardens - and Shikoku Mura - another place where the Japanese have collected and preserved old structures - then we finished with a uniquely Japanese farewell with the High School calligraphy performance. Love it.
Some scenes from the period: Fukuoka: Maiko from a Geisha performance aboard; Uwajima: Manhole cover (manhole covers are a thing in Japan with each locality having its own special ones. Visiting them is a hobby for locals - and for the Expedition Team who got into it in a big way. Me, not so much); Matsushima Temples: Path to shrine, wishing offering dolls, rose in rose garden, worshipers position in the Temple of the Goddess of Mercy; Hachinohe Art Museum Sculpture Garden: Horses, Polka Dot world, yours truly (I have visited polka dot pumpkins at Naoshima and other spots and been underwhelmed, but the same artist, Yayoi Kusama, has worked a bit of magic in Hachinohe); Muroran: Hell Valley; Akita: Senshu Park: Shrine gate, Soap bubbles (photo credit:Matt C) (we were lucky to encounter a weekend festival of locals at the park); Namahage museum x 2 (This is always a favorite of mine see Namahage if you don't already know); Miyajima: Torrii gate at low tide, pick a wish; Takamatsu: Ritsurin Garden: Lotus blossom, koi, pines trimmed as if they were bonsai; Suikoku Mura: vine bridge, soy sauce fermentation tanks, typical home; Farewell performance (I know that you can't really understand her introduction on a windy evening, but enjoy the enthusiasm)
It is the Land of the Rising Sun, but sunrise is normally pre 5am and the sunsets are pretty good too.
The trip logs and slide shows for the Arts and Parks voyage can be found here - Arts and Parks triplog - Arts and Parks Slideshow
On the way south I had a stopover in Singapore. I never left Changi airport, which seems to me to be a fair representation of how humans can do things very well sometimes.
Some scenes from the Changi:Waterfall in the giant atrium of the shopping mall, butterfly sanctuary
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