Japan

I love sushi. Needless to say, I was really looking forward to traveling in Japan. My buddy Eric, who'd been on SAS in 06, said Japan was his favorite port. I also knew my Dad spent part of his childhood in Japan, so I was excited to see his old neighborhood and explore the streets he may have played on. Both Kobe and Yokohama were on the itinerary, so we had one day at sea between. I decided to get back on the ship and sail from Kobe to Yokohama.  I really needed a day to breathe and separate myself from the routine. This left me with four days to explore. I chose to spend each day in a different city.     My first day in Japan was spent with about 6 friends in Kobe.  The only thing on our minds was finding sushi. It took a few tries to find the right restaurant that suited everyone, but eventually we found it. It was located on the 3rd floor of a mall and was much more expensive than we were anticipating. I knew Japan would be expensive, but I wasn't expecting to spend $35 on myself for a lunch. O well, it was an experience and it was delicious. From there we just wandered through the streets and weaves our way in and out of the little side shops and alley malls under the railway. One thing I miss already about Japan is the vending machines. They are EVERYWHERE! At no point in time could you go more than 15 paces without bumping into another one.  And they sold everything as well, hot and cold, drinks and food.  It was awesome. Another thing I enjoyed was Japanese fashion. The women wear tons of layers. Multiple sweaters and jackets with scarves, beanies and boots. The more layers, the better, it seemed.  The cool thing for men to wear were these "Michelin-man" looking shiny jackets. For dinner, Benson, Vin, Lily and I went out for a more traditional Japanese meal. We sat in the floor with our shoes off and shared a variety of items including tofu, beef, rice, noodles and shrimp.     I spent the next day with Kedren and Autumn in Kyoto. We took the JR (Japan Rail) from Sanomiya in Kobe to Kyoto station. This was about an hour's ride from the ship and from the station in Kyoto; we rode the buses around town.  We stopped first at an old castle from feudal times.  The architecture and gardens were more than breathtaking.  The best part about visiting Kyoto was the fall colors.  Much like in China, all the leaves had turned to deep reds and outstanding oranges. We grabbed a quick lunch at a restaurant where you place your order through a vending machine and the food is prepared and brought out to the table. Who needs waiters anyways, right? For the rest of our time in Kyoto, we'd planned on visiting the bamboo forest. Our group planned out the route using the bus system and jumped on the first bus headin that direction. After a few stop lights some of us started noticing the driver's head nodding at each stop. After more observation, we realized that he would stop, pull the brake, lean to the side and shut his eyes. He was falling asleep! We were the only ones evenly remotely disturbed by this, which made me wonder whether or not that was common for the avid Kyoto bus-traveler to witness. There was one time when a woman was standing next to him ready to pay her fare and exit the bus, when he decided it'd be a good time to take a snooze. We hit a bunch of traffic so by the time we arrived at the bamboo forest, we had to turn around. I think I if I get back to Japan someday, the first place I'll go is Kyoto.     After one day at sea, we arrived in Yokohama. I set out with Jocelyn, Michelle and Kedren for Kedren's birthday. She didn't care what we did all day, as long as we got some sushi for dinner. It took a few trains to get into Tokyo and we decided to explore three different areas of the city. First stop was Shibuya.  There, we found what is rumored to be the busiest crosswalk in the world. We walked around the Shibuya area for a little while and got lunch before jumping back on the JR. Our next stop was Harijuku Street.  Here we found some of the most unique and expensive fashions in Japan. There were a few "used clothing" stores, but even the used stuff was way overpriced. Japan's prices are in general much like the US, a tough thing to get used after seeing the dollar stretch so far in the last 7 countries. We then wanted to get into the Tokyo city center to find dinner. It was beginning to get dark by the time we reached the station, perfect time to be dazzled by the bright lights of the city. We weren't quite hungry when we arrived so the four of us decided to just start wandering. I knew there was a large Apple store somewhere in Tokyo, but "somewhere in Tokyo" isn't exactly sufficient for finding a place. It's not that had to go, but it'd be cool if we stumbled upon it. And so we wandered in and out of shops and stores and eventually turned a corner and found it! After exploring each floor, we hit the streets again to find some sushi for Kedren's birthday. Michelle ran into a convenience store to ask the clerk where we could find some, but she doesn't speak Japanese and the man didn't speak English. Quick on her feet, Michelle grabbed a postcard from the rack in front of the counter with pictures of sushi on the front. The clerk understood and responded with an equally clever charade to tell us there were many restaurants, but all were very expensive. We weren't too keen on spending a ton of money, as Japan had already been plenty expensive, so we jumped back on the JR and headed back to Yokohama. We wound up at a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant for dinner, which turned out to be excellent. And with that, our journey to Tokyo for Kedren's birthday was complete.     I'd been telling my friends how my dad had lived in Yokohama as a kid and how I was hoping to find his old street and take some pictures for him to show him how things look now. A number of them were interested in coming with me to find it, but when it came time to leave only Benson and Kedren were around. So the three of us grabbed a local map and started walking.  My Dad had given me a few directions and landmarks from his memory to assist in the hunt. A few blocks from the ship, Benson asked if we wanted to try to rent bikes. We went into a tourist information center to find the nearest bike shop. They were incredibly helpful and within half an hour, we were pedaling our way through Yokohama. It only took about ten minutes by bicycle to get to my dads neighborhood, but once we got there, we had to find the specific street. I used the different clues I'd been given to draw up a little map and then compared it to a real one I found mounted at a bus station on the side of the street. We were close! A few short pedals after that, we found ourselves on my dad's old street. The houses where his friends had lived were run down and the plants outside were overgrown.  His old cul-de-sac had been turned into some small medical facility, but the pathway from his house to the Motomachi shopping area still exists.  After taking a few photos of the street and the houses around, the three of us made our way down to the Motomachi district and then back over to the port area. There was a Ferris wheel and mall next door.  Benson met up with our friend Courtney and jumped on the Ferris wheel, while Kedren and I did some final shopping at the mall. I wound up finding one of those "Michelin-man" jackets like I described earlier, a big, puffy red one with brown leather shoulders (real classy-like). After doing some grocery shopping to prepare for crossing the Pacific, we rode on back to the bike shop, grabbed some stamps from the post office and headed back to the ship.     I absolutely loved my time in Japan.  If I get a chance to go back and explore, I would really like to spend some more time in Kyoto and maybe get to see Mt. Fuji (it was too overcast this time). The honor and respect in Japanese culture was more than evident. Everyone we interacted with was hospitable and friendly and made my short stay in Japan both special and memorable. Can't wait to go back! -mason "For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move."-Robert Louis Stevenson