Sunday, April 2  I arose early this morning, showered, and headed to Horizons for coffee and one final viewing. Shortly, Jane joined me and we had breakfast together in Terrace Cafe, returned to our room to gather our carry-on bags and to take a final look around the room savoring […]

Saturday, April 1, 2023 As usual, I headed to Horizons early to get coffee. I enjoyed watching the sunrise over the Pacific Ocean as we were at sea and not scheduled to dock in Shimizu until noon. Eventually, Jane joined me and we ate a light breakfast of pastries together

Friday, March 31, 2023 We departed early for our land excursion today, boarding the “Happy Bus” painted bright yellow and featuring various big-eyed creatures. Kochi, on the island of Shikoku, is a prefectural capital situated at the confluence of several rivers and so, is dominated by waterways. Our first destination

Thursday, March 30, 2023 Today, we docked in the cruise port of Hososhima, part of the larger port city of Hyuga. After getting our laminated bus tickets in the Nautica Lounge, we disembarked from the ship and boarded Bus 1 with Mirasume as our guide. We rode inland via a

Wednesday, March 29, 2023 We have a television in our stateroom to view movies as well as U.S. and European TV channels. Not much time for such a mundane activity, but we have occasionally tuned in to listen to the U.S. morning news while preparing for bed. Via the television,

Tuesday, March 28, 2023 The Nautica was still at sea when I got up this morning, on schedule to dock in Busan, South Korea, at 11 am. Jane and I enjoyed a leisurely morning including going topside to watch the city loom ever larger. We cruised past the U.S.S Nimitz

Monday, March 27, 2023 After our usual morning routine, we boarded Bus 7, to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Our guide, Yuko, spoke clear English and taught us a few Japanese words in addition to background information about the park. We disembarked from the bus on the Aioi Bridge.

Sunday, March 26, 2023 Today, I think I have finally reached escape velocity and broken out of jet-lag’s gravitational pull. I now have a regular eating and sleeping pattern (albeit, I get up at 4-5 am). Despite returning to my normal status of existence, I was taken aback by the remarkable hidden treasure

Saturday, March 25, 2023 We woke up to cloudy skies but pleasant temperatures. The Nautica is docked in Kobe, a town near Osaka (Japan’s third largest city) and about a two-hour drive to Kyoto. We had time to conduct more explorations of the ship because our land excursions didn’t depart

Friday, March 24, 2023 This morning, I woke up before sunrise and stumbled to the bathroom in darkness as the ship continued to roll and rock. Showering was challenging as I was tossed to and fro in the small trapezoidal-shaped chamber while trying to shave. I managed to survive that

Thursday,  March 23, 2023 I awoke way too early again this morning and so, showered and headed down to the lobby to catch up on blogging. But, not until after I ventured out to a nearby 7-Eleven for a take-out cup-o-joe. Jane and I rendezvoused  at the hotel restaurant at

Wednesday, March 22, 2023 Our official Tokyo pre-cruise began today. After breakfast, we headed to the designated muster area on the lobby floor. There, we serendipitously found members of our group among the crowds gathering to set off for various tours. Our group of 100 was divided into four smaller

Tuesday, March 21 I woke up this morning reinvigorated. Never in my life have I felt so gung-ho and full of energy at 4:45 am. After lying in bed for awhile, I realized that Jane was lying awake too. We both had mild headaches due to disruption to our diurnal caffeination

Sunday & Monday, March 19-20, 2023 About 25 hours transpired from our departure to RDU via Uber until we finally checked into our room at the Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The trip was pleasant if you enjoy overpriced airport food, listening to movies via tinny ear buds, wearing

Saturday, March 18, 2023 Over a year ago, Jane returned from the mail box with a brochure from the NC State Alumni Association touting a Japanese Immersion Cruise. She then suggested that we go on it! I was taken aback because she has always been wary of cruises especially during