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October 17: Dinner out in Japan Dinner the last night at Kumi’s was delicious. I had sushi, soba, tempura and an Asahi beer 🙂 I’m not sure what the true ingredients or names for anything besides the beer were… But I tried sea urchin, whole ‘baby shrimp’, and roe and enjoyed them very much. And the …

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October 17: Asakusa We spent the day out with Kayoko, driving to Asakusa and visiting the Sensō-ji Buddhist temple and surrounding area on foot. We made our first stop at the Asakusa Culture and Tourism Centre, spending some time on the viewing deck to scan the surroundings and identify different attractions, landmarks and possible routes for …

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October 16: Chiba! Took the train from Shibuya to Chiba in the afternoon, where Kumi was there to meet us and welcomed us into her home. It was wonderful to get to meet everyone, look at old photos, share some laughs and a cozy dinner before heading up to bed. Most memorable occasion: unexpectedly finding …

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October 15: Train to Shibuya. It was honestly a thrill to be a part of the small sea of humanity in the station, –many thanks to the kindness of the station attendant we met escorting us from one end to the other and level to level until we reached our desired exit point– and the hum of the …

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October 14: Arrival in Yokohama, Japan. Off the ship and onto a bus by 1pm. Bus and train(s) to Grandma’s House in Zushi. It is all a bit of a blur. Made it to Grandma’s House, met our host, Hiroe, and had a quick cup of tea. Grandma’s house is a traditional japanese-style home: tiny …

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October 12: Port in Yokohama closed. Captain has decided to travel down the west side of Japan and through the Kanmon Straight, and from there, up to Yokohama. October 13: Port in Yokohama closed. Packing up in preparation for travel overland 😀 Went to pianist Tomono Kawamura’s performance. Talented artist, with a sense of humour! …

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October 10: Arrived in Kushiro, Japan! Visited both small fish markets (Kushiro Fisherman’s Wharf — MOO + EGG and Washo Market), had some hot soup and a beer. Ventured into a kimono shop, stopped at the friendship centre to try a few crafts and waited in a ridiculously long line to get back to the ship, …

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Oct 7: Decided to try ordering lunch to our cabin… Due to some confusion on the part of both guest and kitchen with a bit of a language barrier we ended up with small mountain of eats. Even getting it all into the room was a challenge for the delivery person, let alone into our stomachs!  …

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Oct 3: Comedian was not very funny. But listening to Mom trying to remember Japanese was extraordinarily entertaining! Oct 4: Gala Dinner #2– wore my new dress and met Jeff and Terri who were probably 2 of the nicest people I’ve ever come across 🙂 Performance 1000 Steps was fun to see, with singing and dancing of some …

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Sept 30: Breakfast in our cabin. The view was amazing and the omelette was bliss! Practiced some Japanese with the help of Mom’s iPad 🙂 Gala Dinner: Pork tenderloin and choc. soufflé for dessert…Comedy show to end the evening. Oct 1: Arrived in Juneau. Mom braved the weather to send a post card; I stayed in …