The start of any journey is always interesting. Full of anticipation, plans all in place and a mix of excitement and some trepidation along the lines of “Will we be able to pull this off?”. We are thinking that this will be our first overseas trip since returning to Albany in WA.

So the first part of the journey goes something like this:-

Bags packed and loaded, eleven in the morning sees us at the start of our five or so hours drive to Perth. We aim to reach Perth in daylight so as to avoid any unexpected meetings with kangaroos in the forests of the Perth hills.

Supper with Helen and Michael before we go to the long term parking at Perth airport. Our flight leaves at 22:55 and we board with heavy eyes and enter the dream world of international travel. Transiting Hong in the early morning is painless but our onward flight is an hour late so we have arrived in Yokohama at four in the afternoon. Pretty weary by this time.

Keep up … we need our Japan Rail pass, get that at the JR East booth … then buy a ticket to Shinagawa on a local train. Why Shinagawa you ask? Because that’s where we get on the bullet train … what else would you do in Japan? And you can reserve seats ten minutes before the train arrives – exactly on time of course.

Two and a half hours later we arrive in Kyoto and trundle our cases to the hotel, luckily only one hundred metres away. It’s now eight thirty and to say the least we are somewhat tired. Not surprising, I suppose, since we seem to have been travelling non stop for the last thirty three hours.

We’re getting too old for this! (Or are we?)

Finding food, now there’s a thing. More of that later.

Around and about in Kyoto

We have wanted to see Kyoto for a long time. A short visit for a conference in 1992 wetted my appetite, and the old capital of Japan is a draw for many visitors, with it’s plethora of temples and gardens. Our first decision is to catch the Hop On – Hop off bus … a new experience for us.

The Bullet Train. We travel at 320km/hr (200mph in the old money). Wow!

Kyoto Station. With such a good public transport system the station reflects the huge number of passengers that pass through it.

As we walk out to find food the 130m Kyoto Tower is impressive.

Haven’t quite got the hand of these selfie things yet, but it’s a beautiful day to hop about in Kyoto to get ahead of things.

Our first stop is the Kinkakuji or Golden Temple. A retirement home for the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, it became a Zen Buddhist temple in 1408. It has been burned down numerous times and the current model was rebuilt in 1955.

It is all very organised, in one end and out the other taking an hour or two to complete the circuit. It is a beautiful day to be visiting with not too many people.

The very impressive Golden Temple. We thought the Grey Heron was a model until, after five minutes, it turned it’s head slightly.

And here we all are taking our Selfies!

The very low key souvenir shop.

Ancient steps disappear up the hill.

Lots of steps – time to rest. Jacqui looks to see how much further

A small temple still very much in use.

All those steps up inevitably lead to all those steps down.

Simplicity of design seems to be the theme in Japan.

Everything is just so, even in the snack shops.

Just love these traditional roof tiles, more just so-ness

Underneath Kyoto station is the world of food. Small restaurants line the subway.

Takeaway anyone?

Loved the food and the way it was delivered. Note the tablet on the left which is for ordering.

Onto the Westerdam in Yokohama

After three nights in Kyoto and another bullet train and taxi ride, we are now aboard the Westerdam for our twenty eight night cruise through to Singapore. The locals make a big event of the ship leaving port with waving lights and music. It is quite a send off.

Leaving the lights of Yokohama as the sun set.

I love the way we so often leave a port around sunset.

Oh yes … and the full moon rises at sunset. Quite a send off all round.

Osaka

We have no expectations for our visit to Osaka. For many people, this is the jumping off point for a visit to Kyoto, but since we have already been there we decide we will just get off the ship and see what happens. This is one of the good things about a cruise … in most places the crew takes cares of all the immigration details and so we can simply walk down the gangplank and wander off into the distance only bearing in mind the “all aboard” time. Don’t want to get left anywhere, do we?

To begin with, it seems we have arrived in the dark, with a quite spectacular light show courtesy of the huge carousel (or observation wheel or ferris wheel or what ever you want to call it). Anyway it’s right next to the cruise terminal and definitely can’t be missed as we approach.

A splendid, ever changing light show greets us.

Those on the tour to Kyoto for the day have to get an early start. The buses await.

So … how many workers does it take to get a ships rope onto a bollard? No cost cutting here!

Mmmm … looks like we are definitely in Japan.

Interesting street art too.

Remember the jingle that an ice cream van makes? Well here they use that same jingle for the “eco friendly” waste collection carts.

In a quiet back street we come across a small Buddhist temple.

It’s very much used and well cared for.

No sign of neglect here, Quite the opposite. While we are there, two women bring fresh flowers.

Time for a rest.

The back streets really are quiet here – we are in the middle of Osaka.

The local florist.

No smoking on the streets here. If you really have to there are small, well marked, enclosures to stand in.

Fancy a tour of Osaka Harbour?

Just love the iPhone wide angle lens. If you look carefully, ours is the cabin to the left of the person standing on a balcony.

Okinawa

It’s interesting how easy it is to ignore things. Like, I always knew that Japan was made up of a number of islands but – more than 14,000? Wow, that’s a lot of islands.

And then, unless you actually look for them, it is really easy to miss the long string between the main islands and Taiwan. I hadn’t really taken on that after Osaka, that was where we are headed. First to one of the bigger islands, Okinawa, which was the site of the last big battle of World War II: the Battle of Okinawa. A lot of people died in that battle. Then on to Ishigaki, a much smaller island towards the end of the chain.

The long string of Japanese islands to the south west of the main islands. Top right, Osaka, centre Okinawa (Naha), bottom left, Ishigaki. (Image – Google Earth)

The Naha Cruise Terminal, Okinawa

There seem to be one or two taxis waiting in a very orderly queue. We caught the local shuttle into town for the princely sum of $2.

Inevitably, we end up in a market where, once again, everything is just so.

Since gift giving is a very Japanese trait, we are told, everything comes beautifully wrapped.

Can’t think what they sell here.

These Dogs are very Okinawan. The open mouth either lets out the good or scares away the bad. The closed mouth either keeps in the good or keeps out the bad. Anyway, they are everywhere you look.

Lots of variations on this theme and seemingly very popular.

This restaurant has an interesting way of enticing you in.

Just love this puffer fish lamp. Aren’t puffer fish poisonous? Do you think they serve them here? Apparently so!

Japan’s very popular answer to the SUV.

Ishigaki

The next island we are to visit is Ishigaki, the main island in the Yaeyama Group. These islands are very much about tropical beaches, snorkelling, diving, kayaking or hiking. High speed ferries constantly ply between them.

A friendly tug dances in circles as the ship nudges up to the wharf.

The tug even greets us in english.

One of the high speed island ferries.

Waiting in a humid 32C for the shuttle into town.

The Japanese sense of design is displayed everywhere. (Just noticed that it’s an unintentional selfie)

A small temple entrance beckons to us across the road.

Inside the temple grounds a sense of peace and order.

Dressed for the occasion.

Those roof tiles again.

Across from the temple, steps invite us into a small roadside garden.

Somehow we seem to end up in a coffee shop. This tiny backstreet cafe has definitely worked out how we like it. And free WiFi of course.

On the pointy end at sunset.

Occasionally they open up the deck on the pointy bit at the front of the ship. This time it is a perfect place to enjoy the sunset as we sail off towards Taiwan and the Philippines.

We have really enjoyed Japan and the welcome we have received from everyone here. Our only regret is that this part of our adventure has ended so soon. I feel that we will be back for a longer visit.

More to come 🙂

Enjoy!

Alan