Thought I might start a new thread for SAMURAI posts. Some are already in the air and we leave tomorrow morning. Going First Class Korean Airlines - looks good and not much more than business. DFW to Seoul overnight and fly into Shanghai on March 25th. Then "let the Shanghai shopping commence". Been a while since I have been to Shanghai I am really looking for to time in Shanghai and this cruise. I really love Asia.

I posted this initially on OFF TOPIC so deleted that post and move it to Samurai Sea Mail where it should be.

Our visit to Tianjin. Beautiful city and we had a great guide and nice tour. The visit to a walking street full of local stores of all kinds was very enjoyable.


Wish I knew a little girl that would love to have one of these very cute dolls


Ken had fun with this group of men. They took lots of pictures of him too.


Lots of interesting local food.


Asian children as so cute

Our next port of call was Sasebo, Japan. This town is all about PORCELAIN. Wonderful cherry blossoms in this city.

Each little store had flower boxes. It made the town very pretty. Unfortunately most stores closed at 4.00 pm






lots of ornate porcelain pieces and serving dishes and plates. Some pieces were amazingly light. Quite a few people shopped here.

Beautiful blooming cherry blossom trees.




Japanese Temple

Today was Busan, Korea. We decided to take a day off touring and took the shuttle bus into town. We ran into Mark and Cheron and saw Bo and Meredith from the bus. Lots of stores but nothing highly interesting.

Unlike a pastry shop the visit to the fish market does not make one hungry for a seafood dinner. Ken had a video of some kind of strange slug type creature that was alive. Not posting that for sure. It was not very smelly so that was good. It was huge went for blocks.

Great tour today first was the women divers. These women ranged in ages from 65 to 87 years old. They dive for abalone, sea urchins and other edible seafood. Young girls do not want this profession so in a few years the women divers will disappear. They were so friendly we all really enjoyed the visit.

The divers in the water


The catch




This is the 87 year old woman.


Picture with Katja (destination manager)

Next was the Bonsai gardens. Absolutely exquisite. Pictures will not do justice to what we saw.







Bo, Ngaire and Ken


Interesting fence.


This sign made me laugh.


Lots of fish ponds.

Thanks for all the cool photos...looks like a great tour !

Stupid office computer firewall will not let me see any pics. Will have to wait till at home. But at least I know you haven't sailed off the edge of the earth.

Jeju Island, South Korea

More Jeju

Yesterday most of the ship went to Seoul. Having been to Seoul three times we passed on a fourth time. We did the city tour of Incheon, this is primarily an industrial town so not really an exciting place to visit. Ken took a few pictures he will post. Nice museum about the landing of General Douglas MacArthur. Very well done. A fish market and a local market. A few interesting sites.

We had a dinner date at 6.30 pm with Bo and Meredith but at 6.15 pm they were not back. We left a note saying "forget it you must be exhausted get room service" But at 6.35 pm they turned up in the dining room and joined us for dinner. Tough cookies that is all I can say it was a very long day.

Today we were in Kagoshima, what a stunning place. The cherry blossoms, the samurai village with their beautiful gardens, and then the museum that focused on the Kamakazi pilots. The museum was interesting and the grounds were alive with cherry blossoms and some blooming azaleas. I purchased a Japanese cooked sweet potato that Cheron told me were really good. She was right it was delicious. Yellow inside rather than orange but really yummy!

SAMURI VILLAGE




KAMAKAZI MUSEUM


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Out of order I did not post Incheon.

Yesterday most of the ship went to Seoul. Having been to Seoul three times we passed on a fourth time. We did the city tour of Incheon, this is primarily an industrial town so not really an exciting place to visit. Ken took a few pictures he will post. Nice museum about the landing of General Douglas MacArthur. Very well done. A fish market and a local market. A few interesting sites.

Jayu Park. With homage to General Douglas MacArthur.







China Towm





Food Market
Potato on a stick - salted and I hear very good. I did not try them.



We had a dinner date at 6.30 pm with Bo and Meredith but at 6.15 pm they were not back. We left a note saying "forget it you must be exhausted get room service" But at 6.35 pm they turned up in the dining room and joined us for dinner. Tough cookies that is all I can say it was a very long.

Great pictures Ken !

Another great day. Sunny, 60’s, no wind. We went to Myajima as we have been before and really liked it.

Cherry Blossoms blooming everywhere


Two deer decided to go shopping.












We were thrilled to see a wedding

April 10 we are in Kochi. Last night it got a little rough and this morning the seas were still not happy, it was raining and windy. We were concerned about our tour but the weather improved and the sun came out during the tour. It was not cold about 60 degrees. Had a good guide this time best we have had in Japan so far.

We went to Kochi castle. 160 steps up but fortunately they had a path that gradually increased in elevation and was quite easy. The castle was striking from the outside and had some interesting displays in the interiors. Pictures follow.

OUTSIDE THE CASTLE







INSIDE THE CASTLE
On entry there was a large emproided wall hanging. Moving inside the castle there was a large model replica of the village that was very well done. Pictures below.

Traditional Drum show for Top Tier event in Kochi

Weather has been fantastic on this trip. This is what we woke up to this morning.

Mount Fuji.




Cheron said she has never seen it clear like this and been to Japan about 20 times. We are doing a tour this afternoon but cannot imagine it looking any better than this shot this morning.

Awesome! Can't wait to see this in person (2021!)

Out of order again.

KOBE - overnight.

First day we took the day of touring and took the shuttle.

Saw the shrine in Kobe and walked around the town. Amazing shopping malls that had a roof but open at each end. Amazing array of shops. Loved some of the
clothes but expensive and too small for me. Lots of places to walk as we were docked right in town.

Kobe second day.

We toured a saki factory and museum. It was very well done and showed the process of making sake. I actually liked the orange saki. I also had sake ice cream that was very tasty.

Then we went to Mt Roku to the observation point. We took part of the trip by cable car and I have never been on a cable car that has been so steep. No pictures from the top as although we could see Kobe it was hazy so the pictures were not good.
However it was sunny and no wind. We had been warned to really wear warm clothes and warm hat and gloves. No issue at all many took off their coats.



These barrels hold the sake. Really attractive way to sell it rather than just bottled.

Absolutely fabulous photos - Japan is certainly a fascinating country. I've been lucky to have seen Mt Fuji on a few occasions, but know of a few who have never been lucky enough to see it.

SHIMIZU.

Never been to this port before and was thrilled to have such a brilliant sunshine day with Mount Fuji sparkling with the snowy peak perfectly clear.

Below are picture from this day some Kens and some from Sue. Air dropping is a fabulous tool for sharing pictures.

Geisha girls


Cutest dog ever. At first I thought the dog had little booties on his feet. But it was four brown furry paws. Never seen anything as cute as this little dog. . He came over to Ken and he was licking Kens hand.


In contrast in size this was a beautiful dog as well


The ship with Mt. Fuji in the background

Tea Ceremony and Mt. Fuji.

Few final dinner shots. The blue lights in the ceiling always mess up the picture.

Ed and Michelle


Linda, Aldwin,Ken,Ngaire,Katja and Chris.

You've posted so many GORGEOUS photos, looks beautiful. Ed and Michelle are with us next month...had no idea they were on this trip too. Wish I had all your energy. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

Last post for Samurai.

My new favorite airline is Korean Air. Our trip back in first class (used miles) was fantastic. Ken said he slept better on that plane than at home. They put a gel topper on the seat about 2" thick. Big TV easy to use TV controls, lots of storage room and some of the best food i have had on an airplane. Steak cooked medium rare to order. Even a magnifying mirror in the bathroom. This plane had the SUITE seats where the door closes and this is so nice and private. Plus not that angled seat where this is just enough room for your feet. This was a fairly wide flat bed seat the same size from top to bottom. I will be pushing Ken to fly Korean whenever possible. I was not expecting much but was really thrilled with the product. Business class looked good too - same seat just a little smaller.

It was a great cruise, perfect weather for the majority of the trip, nice ports and a lot of enjoyable people in the group.Having John Barron as cruise director always adds a lot of fun to trivia and just the whole atmosphere of the ship. Katja the destination manager was amazing as always.

Back to work tomorrow to prepare for PUFFIN immediately followed by LIONESS.