Overnight in Yokohama

The Super Hotel by Lohas is a Japanese chain providing budget accommodations for business and leisure travelers across Asia.

They keep the cost down by providing tiny rooms in many convenient locations. The Yokohama-Kannai branch is walking distance from the Osanbashi cruise passenger terminal, the stadium and Japan's biggest Chinatown.

I handed my prepaid hotel voucher to the reception clerk and without even looking at it she welcomed me in English "Good afternoon Ms. Rogue Wave"… I guess they don't get too many Canadians.

They had been running a ridiculously cheap deal: $45/night. I was given an electronic PIN to access the room and an amenity kit with really nice products including a face mask, cleanser, toner, moisturizer and herbal patches to relive sore muscles plus the usual shampoo, conditioner & tooth care set.

The clerk put me on the top floor which is for women only and nonsmoking. Since there is no room key, you simply punch the code into a keypad and voilà…well not quite voilà.

It seems that the nice products in the kit were actually provided to lubricate one's body sufficiently to squeeze through the narrow entrance!!!

It was like doing one of those wolf-goat-cabbage in a rowboat puzzles. You had to carefully position yourself in order to take off shoes, to get the bags and yourself in and be able to close the door. Then, you had to move the bags to block the front door in order to open the bathroom door. It was a tight fit!

There was a high step into the bathroom and my knees grazed the toilet roll on the wall opposite the toilet.  The bath was deep so you had to lift your legs high to step in.

The faucet swiveled between the sink and the bath and was controlled by a single set of taps. There was also a switch to direct water to the faucet or the shower nozzle. Hot water came out so instantly scalding, that they had to put a warning!

You were also warned to shut the bathroom door while bathing because steam sets off the smoke detector.

The main part of the room was the bed with a desk, chair, TV, kettle and oddly…a face-steamer like the kind you see at the esthetician.

Mattress and pillows were really hard but I prefer that. All this to say that I liked the room but most North Americans would have left after seeing it.

After a nice bath, I chose to sleep and woke up at 4:30 am. I watched local morning news which has weather, traffic and sports plus some interesting segments unique to Japan.

They have the flower viewing forecast, the laundry-drying forecast, the announcers bow to the audience and according to a guy I met on the ship, living room viewers sometimes respond in kind!

Any cut-away segments are broadcast with a sidebar so that you can watch the reaction of the anchors. For example, on the big part of the screen, you see highlights of the Baystars' baseball game and in a little inset window, the host smiling when they score a home run.

It got weird when they did a segment on infertility and both presenters had to silently emote sympathy for the childless couples featured on screen.

Tokyo TV Shopping Channel was also fun to watch. Japanese people don't usually get hyper-excited about anything but they try to copy the Sham-wow/QVC model of television marketing. Hilarity ensues when they use every possible facial muscle to convey their elation at the plastic microwaveable steam cooking storage containers.

They make the best faces when tasting the three-minute meals made in real time and squeak out the word 'delicious' in tones ranging from normal to something only a Shiba Inu could perceive.

After a shower, I visited the nice breakfast spread in the lobby cafeteria which was included in the price.

I had natto and rice with a raw egg, mustard and soy sauce. They also offered a generous selection of fresh breads and pastries but I can get croissants any day.

Soup, boiled eggs, sausages, pickles, tea & coffee were also available.

I wanted to get a coffee to go but they didn't have paper cups. Instead, I visited the 11th floor vending machines. As soon as the elevator opened, the smell of tobacco was overpowering. This was a smoking floor. Oy. I grabbed two cans of coffee, one hot, one cold and quickly returned to my room.

It was around nine-thirty am when I collected my stuff and left the hotel. The weather was sunny, around 15°C and the streets of Yokohama were not crowded at all. It was a very short walk to Osanbashi pier, maybe ten minutes. The sidewalks are well-maintained and flat for rolling luggage. You don't see any dog poo, garbage or even dirty water on the sidewalks.

Crosswalk signals are at every intersection and pavement is raked for wheelchairs, strollers and luggage to roll along easily. I did smell and see some sakura cherry blossoms but most blooms had already peaked and fallen off.

You could also smell the fresh salty seaweedy air approaching the cruise terminal.

The Osanbashi cruise ship terminal was designed to give visitors on board a great view of Yokohama and landlubbers can easily see the ships from a nearby plaza.

The passenger terminal is in a low building with underground parking and a rooftop viewing area. Floor surfaces are decked with a weather-resistant hardwood. It looks very elegant. Visitors can also see the ships from the grassy roof garden.

It was only around 9:45 am when I arrived. Passengers from the previous Volendam cruise  were still disembarking. I noticed that they were all Japanese. It turns out that the group had chartered the sailing.

I chatted with Carol from the UK, a solo lady who was a bit nervous but nice.

The crowds thinned out and the small number of early-birds were invited to drop our luggage off at the counter. We were given an embarkation number and sat in a waiting area until about 10:45 am when my number was called.

I did the entire embarkation in Japanese and the clerk was very pleased. She read my name off my passport. (My name in Japanese sounds like isaribi, the word for the lights that fisherman hang from their boats to attract squid.) So I said that word to her..."Yes, I am squid-light." It was really funny but I guess you had to be there. It only took about five minutes to finish the process and receive my keycard.

Next came the embarkation photo, security, standard cruise-ship baptism of Purell hand sanitizer and finally the trip up the gangway. The dinner reservation guy was right at the entrance so I booked anytime dining for 5:15 pm. Then I asked an officer when the muster drill would be and he said "tomorrow."

Wonderful news! I turned on my heel and walked right back out to Yokohama for lunch. By now it was 11:15 so my room wasn't even ready yet.

Even though it was windy, it was sunny and warm. The entrance to Chinatown was a short walk away and there were tons of choices of restaurant. I chose a sit-down place with a fixed price for any three items from a 70 item selection.

I got some spicy tofu, fried eggplant and shu mai.

Next, I explored the park next to the baseball stadium. There was a tulip festival happening. Every color was in bloom from white to deep purple. There were duck ponds and cute little paths to follow. The park was filled with people from all walks of life. It was lovely and it smelled great.

Next, I stopped into a sports shop to buy some gloves for chilly Hokkaido and Alaska and leisurely made my way back to explore Holland America Line's MS Volendam.

Navigating Narita

Luckily, there were no hiccups for my outbound journey. A little jaunt from Montreal to Vancouver, time for a comfy leg-stretch layover followed by an uneventful, half-full flight to Tokyo.

Upon arrival in Japan, Narita airport was crowded but I was determined to deal with my anxiety. We had to wait in line for thirty minutes for immigration. There were lots of people bumping into my "personal bubble" which really bugs me but I found that a really long stare at the pushy guy behind me worked like magic.

I wrote the name of my hotel in Japanese on my immigration card and the officer could actually read it!

My suitcase was right on the carrousel as I approached and the Japan Rail ticket kiosk and gateway to the train platforms were just steps away from the arrivals door.

However, there was a wall of people! Lineups for tickets, information, rental cars etc. would span the entire width of the terminal so if you had to move across the length of the terminal, you had to cut through several queues.

Complicating this process was the addition of tons of dawdling, jet-lagged gawkers, their kids, their suitcases and 111 year-old grannies.

By the time I got to the Japan Rail agent, I was so happy to get a ticket out of there. Knowing the language and having prepared in advance was key! It only took a minute to complete the transaction. Also, it only cost me $15! Locals pay $45. Whee!

Two escalators down to the platform, a short walk with my rolling bag (thank goodness, loved ones all convinced me to join the 21st century) and a short wait on the bench was all it took to catch the Narita Express train to Yokohama.

The train clean up brigade had 1920's style golf outfits with argyle vests, felt caps, bright yellow shirts and beige jodphurs! They bowed to the train as it pulled into the station before commencing their work readying the cars.

The train was a bit less comfy than the Shinkansen because the seats were narrow but it was fine. Every car has a screen showing a map with the next stop and connecting trains in Japanese, English, Chinese, and Korean. A television shows the news.

After transferring my valuables into my backpack from my carry-on, I left my reserved seat and walked up two cars to the restroom onboard. Wow, it was super clean and fresh with nice soap and lotion. It was even nicer than the airport bathroom where I had quickly changed clothes.

The scenery was remarkable. Last trip, I hadn't noticed the bamboo trees everywhere. You just know that you are in Japan when you see that! When you see Japanese art, there are always bamboo trees and sure enough...that's what you see from the train!

There were also families tending their vegetable patches, gardening or raking fields. Practically every home had a little dog on the property either in the yard or going for a walk. That's what you see from the train on a Sunday afternoon in the suburbs between Chiba and Tokyo.

Between Tokyo and Yokohama was just like being on the Long Island Railroad. Aside from the station place names, the experience is similar.

Yokohama station was also fairly crowded but the signs to the taxi stand made it easy to navigate. The ten minute drive to my hotel cost three dollars more than the 90 minute train ride! Oh well, it was nicer than navigating the subway with luggage.

It was so nice to be back in Japan and Yokohama's Kennai-Chinatown district was a perfect place to begin my trip.

Repositioning Myself

Traveling can teach a body a lot about managing expectations.

As in life, the best laid plans can turn to pig slop before you know it. In the precarious space between normalcy and crazy, the lesson is useful.

A recent trip provided ample opportunities for learning this skill.

After returning from a 14-day Asian cruise, the wanderlust persisted and although I felt like my depression was receding, I still wasn't quite ready to find a job. The travel ads in my inbox caught my eye more than my eye caught the want ads.

It didn't take long for a "once-in-a-lifetime" deal (that in reality comes pretty frequently if you're paying attention) to turn up.

+Holland America Line, 17 day repositioning cruise starting in Yokohama, Japan with three stops in Aomori, Hakodate and Kushiro followed by a six-day Pacific crossing and then an Alaskan cruise featuring Kodiak, Ketchikan, Glacier Bay and the Inside Passage to Vancouver, B.C.

Six days at sea in a row would be a first for me but the price and chance to visit such uncommon ports of call were very appealing. Aomori and Hakodate are cities that have some of the best seafood and vegetables produced in all of Japan. In Kushiro, the attraction is the Red-crowned crane (Grus japenesis) that was rescued from extinction by locals in the 1920s. This would be my third trip to Alaska but hey, it's one spectacular place with tons of shore excursions and it would be the earliest in season to see it, coinciding with the return of migrating Humpback Whales!

My travel agent-goddess got a call and she secured me a cheap-ass guarantee rate inside cabin. Even at double the price for the single supplement, this was a deal.

But…

I've since learned that the North Pacific is anything but pacific. Weather circumcised our stop in Kushiro and aborted our stop in Kodiak necessitating a port change to Juneau, AK. Our Ketchikan, AK snorkel trip got cancelled at the water's edge for safety reasons due to high winds and rough seas.

A horrible chest cold and a bad choice of medication made me sleep through most of our stop in Aomori.

My fellow passengers were a different breed of animal. Repositioning cruises attract a non-traditional crowd! Onboard were: a large group of Germans who seemed to complain loudly about everything, several Japanese who were always beautifully dressed, a convoy of English-as-a-second language teachers returning to North America from Asia and a full deck of American Bridge Association players!

Not everyone agreed on what was appropriate to wear or how to behave. Lots of folks were using this trip as a cheap way to ship their stuff back home after a stint in Asia. Most people were older than me, and some were older than the glaciers. Activities were geared to their interests and other than the really interesting talks by the Biologist, George Sranko, organized activities were dull.

Disappointment was around every corner but I made the best of it. I used the time to crochet, read and watch some really good movies. I missed the cranes but read about them online. We didn't get to snorkel but we got our money refunded and swapped adventure stories on the bus. A few clods in flip-flops and T-shirts aren't going to ruin my formal dining experience.

Rewards were sweeter next to the letdowns. For example, the windless and relatively warm conditions in Glacier Bay made for perfectly smooth mirror images of the mountains and ice on the water. Photographers must have taken some quality shots that day.

We got to see so many marine mammals in Juneau…we weren't even supposed to stop there but I saw Sea Lions, Sea Otter, Humpback Whales and Dolphins. The city scrambled to welcome us with only a day and half notice and they succeeded in giving us lots of great memories.

A more detailed report will follow but just this summary just encapsulates a reminder that now matter how well you can plan, you have to be able to adapt your expectations and be ready to accept a bit of change. You can't let other people spoil your fun, either. Avoid them, laugh at them, make friends with them in a pinch! The importance of managing expectations was the message that this trip highlighted for me.

Shanghai - March 2, 2014

Because the ship needed to go into dry-dock in Pusan for repairs, the cruise line arranged to get passengers from Osaka to Shanghai by air. The group slated to head out on a 9:25 am flight to Shanghai disembarked at 5:30 am. Security scanned our keycards as we left the ship before sunrise. We had to find our bags among hundreds of suitcases on the ground between the ship and the terminal building illuminated only by the head lights of a few port authority cars.

Luckily, I found a helpful porter to wheel them along while I waited in line to collect my immigration documents and to follow me while I moved to another line to have my picture and fingerprints taken by Japanese officials.

Then we had to exit the terminal and stand in line while workers loaded the suitcases into a standard-issue white cube truck and passengers boarded a chartered motor coach to Kansai airport hoping that the luggage would follow.

On the hour-long bus ride to Kansai airport, a chipper British go-team leader joked about how she had really needed a stiff drink the night before but that she had gotten the "waggy finger" from Larry (the CEO.)

We could tell that the story itself was all made-up but her comic timing put everyone at ease. She made fun of her Japanese-bus-aisle-walking awkwardness and just made the whole ordeal much more pleasant.

She answered questions clearly, professionally and with humour.  Upon arrival, we were happy to find the truck with our bags and we were greeted by another capable go-team who guided us to our respective check-in counters.

I was on Air China flight 164 for the two-hour trip to Shanghai and was allowed to check two free bags for the regional flight! Wow! I felt as weightless as a man on the moon with no clunky carry-on to schlep.

Free WiFi, cute gift shops, fun Japanese snacks (seaweed crackers & plum-filled, triangular onigiri (rice balls) with a hot canned coffee from a vending machine) all kept me busy until the smooth boarding process began.

Most two hour flights in North America don't even offer food for purchase but we got a meal tray! There were three big party sandwiches, cucumber, egg and something else along with a fruit cup, a dish of Japanese pickles and tamago plus a cookie. How civilized is that?

The only downside was the number of smokers onboard. Although smoking was not permitted, the stench was unbearable coming off of people's coats and belongings in the overhead bins. I literally had to cover my nose and mouth with my Downy-April-Fresh handkerchief.

Anyway, it was certainly not the worst two-hours and fifteen minutes of my life...thank you, Forrest Gump.

One other neat aspect of the flight was that we never really got away from civilization. From the air, the ground below us seemed entirely populated unlike short-haul flights back home where it might be fields and trees for miles without a road or a home in sight.

The descent from blue sky through white cloud into brown smog layered over brown water and brown land signalled our arrival into the pollution of China. It's a sad reality.

At Pudong airport from the gate to immigration, the walls were lined with publicity for expensive designer goods like Prada and Longines…none of which could be seen on the actual people in the terminal.

Our Shanghai go-team greeted us and efficiently got people and luggage sorted onto yet another hour-long motor coach ride to The Bund district.

The elevated highway from the airport into the city is lined with tall apartment buildings crushed right up against the guardrails. You could honestly imagine shaking hands with the residents if you were stopped in heavy traffic.

My mind reeled at the thought of what would happen if Mrs. Fung's clothespins failed and her bedsheet draped over the windshield of somebody's car speeding along the roadway.

Luckily, we made it to the Shanghai Hyatt on The Bund Hotel without any laundry-related traffic mishaps.

Shanghai is a very crowded city…I wish that I could review it for you but honestly, that hotel was such a beautiful oasis that I never left it until the shuttle back to Pudong Airport the next day.

Azamara spoiled us. They even ensured that our nightly turndown chocolates were offered to us in our luxurious rooms. We were treated to a complimentary breakfast buffet with both Asian and Western specialties and as part of the compensation package, were offered up to $100 USD for incidentals in Shanghai. I went for dinner in the hotel's Chinese restaurant and enjoyed fabulous Peking Duck which still makes me shed a tear…it was that delicious.

Other than meals and sleep, my time was spent in the Hyatt's spa facility where the steam room, sauna, hot tub, cold plunge pool and giant swimming pool gave me the all the comfort and relaxation I needed before the arduous transition to post-cruise reality.

Although the land discoveries had been cancelled and charges reversed on my onboard account, the go-team still organized complimentary coach transfers from the hotel to the airport. It was the perfect way to end the voyage. Despite my uncomfortable arrival in Hong Kong, where I was a bit underwhelmed by my reception, I was so happy with my first +Azamara Club Cruises experience. The propeller issue only provided evidence that their customer service is actually the best and I will not hesitate to sail with them again and recommend the line to everyone looking for a more intimate, port-intensive cruise.

The next move is up to me…let's see how it goes.

I'm off on a new adventure...

Watch this space for some live updates from my next cruise starting on Monday from Yokohama to Aomori to Hakodate and then Kushiro, Japan! After six days at sea crossing the Int'l dateline, will be the Alaskan portion of the trip with stops in Kodiak & Ketchikan, AK, Glacier Bay and the Inside Passage ending with a happy return to Canada Place in Vancouver.

Hopefully the internet will be strong and available from the ship. Photos may be sparse but I'll update whenever I can.

See you on the other side!

Osaka, Japan - February 28-March 1, 2014

Arriving in Osaka was a dreary affair compared to the festive welcome in Tokyo. Instead of arriving on 27th at 9 pm, we pulled in at around 4 pm on the 28th.

The weather was cold and rainy, it was dusk, we were late and some people were still cranky about the propeller issue.

Instead of colourfully dressed singers or taiko drummers, the ship was greeted by a handful of onlookers, Azamara's CEO, Larry Pimentel and a pink bus-load of at least 40 of his go-team members.

 

This was the cruise-line's damage control. The go-team was made up of Royal Caribbean International employees from around the world. They would be responsible for the logistics of moving six hundred bodies from Osaka to Shanghai and making them feel as comfortable along the way as though we had sailed there.

They endured jet-lag, a bit of abuse and probably the most adrenaline-charged, stressful assignment ever piled on luxury vacation specialists.

But they made it work.

We all had to get off the ship to once again clear Japanese immigration but I got right back on the ship because...it was Indian night at the buffet!

Hooray! Some kicky, spicy stuff to counteract the safe cruise food and the delicate Japanese flavours.

I really overdid it. The Indian guys were cheering me on! I had one spoonful of everything on the buffet except for the deep-fried selections. It was so different, I really kind of wished that there were spicy options offered every day.

The next morning, when I woke up, I really wasn't sure what I wanted to do. In the other ports, there had been clear plans but Osaka was kind of free-form.

It's usually my habit to get off the ship too early when the shops and restaurants haven't even opened so this time, I spent the early morning packing up the rest of my stuff.

Should I get on a train to Nara to see the deer? Should I go to the aquarium? Should I go downtown to the Dotonbori district around Namba station? No way. That's where everyone from the ship went.

Weather was cold...not sure a whole day outside would be smart with an hour travel each way. I ruled out Nara.

It was Saturday. There would be tons of kids at the aquarium. Scrap that idea.

The town around the port was quiet except for the throngs of people getting off the subway to go to the aquarium...why don't I just stick around here? Okay!

It was only 11 am. Too early for lunch so I just walked and walked and walked some more!

What did I find? Only the best stuff that no organized land-excursion will ever show a tourist. For example, I had the opportunity to see how the old and new Japan manages to live alongside one another.

Down streets only as wide as a North-American back alley, ten story apartment buildings that look as though they were built in the sixties or seventies stand next to hundred-year-old homes built low to the ground, maybe one and a half stories high. Sometimes, in the narrow spaces between, modern architects have created single family homes on several levels with fully functional use of all the space available.

Hearing some shouting, I found some little girls playing tag in a tiny court yard and next door, some rhythmic chanting coming from a local shrine or community centre-type place.

In the film "Lost in Translation", Bill Murray's character is an American action film star sent to Japan to shoot advertisements for a Japanese brand of whiskey.

No joke, I saw publicity photos of Tommy Lee Jones used to sell Coffee Boss coffee from vending machines! Strange! I took photos of that and other assorted weirdness.

 

Then there was big excitement at the fish shop as the van pulled in with the catch of the day. When you hear the expression "hole in the wall" to describe a small, nondescript place this shop beats that.

The store front is maybe eight feet wide. Three feet for fish, three for fruit and if you can squeeze inside past the old ladies battling for the choicest pieces, there is a two foot wide aisle lined with buckets and baskets of all kinds of goodies.

I saw whole crabs powdered in sawdust, sea cucumber packed into brine-filled baggies, huge snails and lots and lots of fish. It was crowded in there!

On the way up the street from the ship, my kanji skills had scoped out a sushi place with no English writing on the sign, this assured me that this place wouldn't be a tourist trap. I returned there with a fierce craving. 

There were still a few minutes to kill before the restaurant was scheduled to open on a Saturday so I sat on a bench nearby listening to a guy on a megaphone rambling on about the subway system in Osaka.

A non-asian lady and her daughter emerged from the Osakako subway station and looked at the map behind me.

They seemed a bit lost and the mum was mumbling as she looked at the map. But the mumbling sounded very familiar to my ear. She was saying: "Bon, alors...nous...sommes..."

So I just piped up..."Avez-vous besoin de l'aide, Madame?", then directed them to the aquarium in French. It was kind of awesome to be a tour guide, in French, in a Japanese city...that I'd only been in for a few hours!

The bad news was that the sushi shop never opened. A basket of freshly-washed oshibori napkins that had been delivered by the laundry sat uncollected on the front step. Oh well, maybe the sushi master was still at the fish shop fighting with the grannies.

Saddened by my sushilessness, I walked around looking for something else.

There were lots of ramen shops and soba shops and places with unappealing-looking plastic food in the window.

Many of the places had gangs of salary men in suits chain-smoking. Yuck. I was almost right back at the ship when a tiny shop caught my eye.

It had a solid door with no window to see inside but a small banner said "okonomiyaki" in katakana.

Okonomiyaki means "oh my goodness…this is better than sushi and you have to come to Osaka to get a piece of me!"

This food is like omelettes or pancakes stuffed with any kind of thing you like. Seafood, veggies, meat, cheese, old shoes, anything goes.

Daringly, I slid the rolling door open and discovered a very enticing restaurant. There were tatami tables at the back where you have to put away your shoes before sitting.

Instead, I sat down at the bar where one could see the chefs making the orders. Beside me, was Cindy, the future cruise specialist and Le Club Voyage Hostess from the ship. We had met earlier in the week. I got my pancake filled with "mix"...basically a combo of squid, octopus, pork and beef.

Authentic Osaka Okinomiyaki

It was suggested to me that beer goes well with it so I got a pint and we both really enjoyed our meals! Cindy went back to work and I continued the unstructured wandering.

Here is where the gluttony becomes out of control. Beside the ship and the Kaiyukan aquarium is a shopping mall called Tempozan Marketplace. The link below is in Japanese but click on it to see proper photos rather than the blurry, badly-framed and washed-out images that I captured. Also, their Takoyaki (grilled Octopus) mascot is my new boyfriend. Insert hentai tentacle porn joke here.

Instead of regular food courts, they have built a little circuit called Naniwa Kuishimbo Yokocho to look like narrow streets with food vendors...something like what I had seen on Gulangyu Island in China.

It was totally fake but you somehow feel better buying food from a place with electricity and running water.

So even after my filling beer and okonomiyaki, I threw caution to the wind and sampled some pork buns and some sashimi. The sushi restaurant had a kids' menu, something that we don't get at Japananese restos back home. The nigirizushi are cut up small for  kiddies. They take the curry and shape it into Kuma-San or in English, Mr. Bear. They even have Crab au Gratin. Not a hot-dog in sight.

Finally, I managed to pull myself away from this fantasy land of calories to my stateroom, the most relatively food-free area that I could find.

Just to be social and say my goodbyes, I did a quick pass around the public areas after dinner had safely ended, put my suitcases out for collection and then went to bed!

Sweet and Sour but Safe, Tokyo to Osaka, Japan - February 26-28, 2014

It was sad to leave Gora Tensui Ryokan but before heading to the train, I thanked the manager and let him know how special this stay had been for me.

Originally, my intent had been to walk around the village sampling the local food but after the gargantuan breakfast I'd just consumed, it was unwise to do so.

Instead, I just enjoyed window shopping and people watching in the crisp air. It was sunny and beautiful. Older ladies in traditional dress and thong sandals with thick socks walked beside teens tottering along the snowy streets in high heels. Many people carried huge shopping bags of recent purchases from the stores.

By now, I was an expert at using the train ticket vending machines and effortlessly coaxed my proof of payment out of the slot.

Here is a movie of the trip back on the Hakone-Tozan train. I tried to capture examples of the winding ride, the tunnels and the switchback. Note the distinctive building with the red roof…first we approach and then we go away from it but on a different track. The variety of trees is also notable. You can see so many kinds together and the snow is also really special.

I was back to Odawara around an hour later. The lady at the bullet train ticket window offered me a reserved seat which was a little more expensive but worth it if the non-reserved section was full. 

There was a shopping center attached to the station so I poked around there while waiting for the bullet train back to Tokyo. In a drugstore, the shop clerks helped me find some shampoo and toothpaste for my friend Tomoka who misses her favourite Japanese brands while in Canada.

Japan is such a safe and trustworthy place. Check out the booze not locked up behind a grate or right beside the cash. And the snacks! I love little fishies with the heads still on!

Then, I went to the departure platform and found the section to wait for my car #11 seat 7E.

A father and his little boy of two or three had purchased a ticket to nowhere. Bullet trains are exciting to watch for people of all ages! In Odawara, many trains simply rush through without stopping. For this reason, families and photographers can purchase a pass to sit on the platform and watch without ever boarding a train.

The little boy would call out "kita!" (It's coming!) When the train headlight would appear far in the distance. The dad would position his iPad to film the train rushing past with the kid going bonkers with joy. Then the kid would say "Nozomi datta!" or "Kodama datta!" (That was the Nozomi Train! That was the Kodama Train!)

It was really cute and the dad seemed to enjoy it too.

After boarding, the conductor entered my car, he gave a deep bow before punching the passengers' tickets.

Once back in Tokyo, I caught the city bus back to the port. Two unaccompanied little schoolgirls boarded the bus in their sailor-suit uniforms. I swear, the older one was not more than six or seven and the younger one looked about five years old!

The older girl disembarked after a few stops leaving the little one alone sitting behind me. As the bus emptied out along the way to the port terminal, only a few passengers remained. Myself, an old man, the little girl and a few businessmen.

Ding! A businessman sounded the stop request bell and went to speak to the driver as he left the bus. He gestured towards the back of the bus where the little girl sat.

The bus driver called out something like "Are you okay, sweetheart?" and in the most adorable voice ever, she quietly answered. "Yes, I get off at XXX, street" which just happened to be the penultimate stop. I watched as she dawdled to the exit in typical five-year-old fashion. She was just so cute with her bus-pass wallet dragging on the ground from its coiled tether attached to her back-pack.

I have no idea what makes these kids so particularly sweet but they just are and they are perfectly safe even in a great big city like Tokyo. It is a place like no other and in my lifetime, I'll be sure to return many times.

Back onboard Azamara Journey, I was up top listening to the taiko drummers entertaining the crowd before the push-off. This time, they were doing pop songs from Queen and Michael Jackson rather than traditional music. When I got chilly, I came inside to check out the menus for the two specialty restaurants on deck 10.

I must say that the premium vodka and caviar was a little dear! One spoonful of caviar ranged in price from $50 to $175!

Just then, the captain made an important announcement and we learned about the propeller damage that would ultimately cut the trip short. Reactions ranged from anger to confusion and concern.

For me, it changed nothing. The cruise line handled it professionally and did everything they could to compensate us for the inconvenience. I have no complaints but a certain subset of the passengers took it very badly and became abusive to the staff.

We learned more about the damage the next day. As we arrived in Tokyo, the crew had noticed unusual vibrations.

They called in a dive team to take underwater photographs which revealed wire leads and fishing netting tangled around the port side propeller. Both the screw and the shaft were damaged and needed to be repaired in dry dock.

According to the Captain, the Japanese Coast Guard deemed the Journey seaworthy operating on a single propeller but we had to be tugged out of our berth in Tokyo.

We cruised at a slower pace to Osaka, which had two side effects.

Unfortunately, we could not out-maneuver some weather. Seas became rough and the ship got tossed around a bit.

Except for me and a few experienced sailors in the dining room, that night was pretty quiet at supper. It was difficult to walk around. More than once, we heard the noise of things crashing to the ground from trays and counters.

At one point, it felt like the sea had evaporated from beneath us. We just dipped suddenly as though we had gone over the first hill of a roller coaster. Lots of people screamed. I got a major tummy flip! The next day, Captain Jason explained that it was due to a quick turn in order to avoid traffic in the busy passage from Tokyo to Osaka.

Needless to say, I had a great sleep rocked on the waves in my luxury cradle.

The second result of the slow pace was a big delay. In reality though, there was a benefit. We got to see all the little fishing boats and the gorgeous Wakayama Prefecture coast during daylight. We even spotted a submarine cruising along the surface! That was unusual and very cool!

Mentally, I could feel the vitality in myself for the first time in a long while. This was the tipping point where I knew that I'd come through the worst of my depression. The propeller damage in my own brain had been healed by a little dry-dock away from work and lots of help from some loving tug-boats, my family and friends.