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Cruise to Japan via Alaska
  • Ron Liss
  • Ron Liss

Cruise to Japan via Alaska

After driving from Albuquerque to Seattle we picked up our cruise ship, the “Westerdam”, and headed out on our 53 day cruise. We were going to make stops on Vancouver Island and Vancouver city, Canada then 4 stops in Alaska enroute to Japan(14stops). Read more
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  • Trip start
    September 1, 2024
  • Ron LissCruise to Japan via AlaskaTraveler

    Victoria city, Vancouver Island, Canada

    September 2, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 90 °F

    Our first cruise stop after boarding in Seattle was the next morning having traveled about 30 miles across Puget Sound to the beautiful island of Vancouver with its’ capital city of Victoria. We took a bus trip to the Butchart Gardens and butterfly gardens . I have been here before but this was Paula’s first time in these gorgeous venues.Read more

  • Ron LissCruise to Japan via AlaskaTraveler
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    Sitka, Alaska

    September 5, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F

    Our first stop in Alaska is Sitka, a former Russian trading post. It still has a cool old Russian Orthodox Church in the middle of town that we saw while we were shopping. We saw some great shops with lots of hand carved antlers, bone handled ornaments, knives and utensils. The number of Xmas decorations was astounding as was the friendliness of the natives! Tourism and fishing are the mainstays of this tiny town, but it feels larger than it is. We took a great tour to see Eagles, bears and spawning salmon close up- outstanding!!!Read more

  • Ron LissCruise to Japan via AlaskaTraveler

    Skagway and Haines, Alaska

    September 6, 2024 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 54 °F

    Ever optimistic and looking for an adventure, we signed up for a jet boat ride up the Chilkat River looking for eagles, bear and moose in the rain😟🙏- “ stick with me baby, what could go wrong”😁

  • Ron LissCruise to Japan via AlaskaTraveler

    HUBBARD glacier

    September 7, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 43 °F

    As we entered Disenchantment Bay( named by a Italian explorer, Alessandro Malaspina in 1792 upon finding at this bay did not provide a hoped for passage to the Atlanticper Alaskan Guide),it was overcast and gray.

    Hubbard glacier is the largest “tidewater” (meaning that the glacier ends in the sea/ocean) glacier in Alaska and one of the few glaciers that are growing every day-7 feet a day! This is also the largest glacier in Alaska- 17 miles long and 5 miles wide at the base where it calves into the ocean. Our remarkable Captain was able to bring this huge cruise ship within 2 miles of the face of the glacier and then slowly spun the Westerdam 2 complete circles to allow all the passengers to see the action from their own balconies if they preferred!
    For the truly adventurous, for only $700 (for 2) a few people were able to get on a specially designed catamaran 3 decker ship that took us right up to the glacier face to watch and feel and hear every calving . From our vantage point we watched 64 separate calving episodes in the 1 1/2 hours we sat there(see videos attached).
    On the way to glacier we were privileged to be brought close to a rookery of sea lions squawking to each other as they enjoyed a sunny break. The weather cooperated wonderfully throughout our stay, even though it had been iffy on our approach.

    The sun glistening on the magnificent deep blue very dense ice of the glacier was incredible. As each calf or the glacier let go, if we were lucky we would see it start collapsing towards the water. Next, we would start to hear the deep rumbling of the ice shattering as it fell, collecting more and more ice as the avalanche fell. As the calf continued into the waters, very large waves were thrown up by the tons of hypercompacted ice that rocked our ship every time. It was a heck of a ride without any real danger, as the catamaran design was built specifically for this purpose. I have seen several other glaciers calving in prior trips to Alaska but never so close or with such dramatic effects!    Read more

  • Ron LissCruise to Japan via AlaskaTraveler

    Dutch Harbor, Unalaska

    September 10, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F

    Here we are near the far end of the Aleutian Islands at the island of Unalaska. Similarly to the rest of our stops the history of this island is one of Natives pushed out by the Russians who then sold Alaska to the US. This island is the home of one of the largest fishing fleets in America featured on Deadliest Catch for their dramatic weather and severe conditions for these brave fishing people. Consistently with their normal it was raining when we arrived. Then, we did not have a dock available to us so we had to tender in( this means that we have to load up onto lifeboats who then take us in groups of 50 to the dock). With no shuttle buses available and walks of 2 miles in the rain anticipated we decided to decline going off the ship. We relaxed and enjoyed our time together as we have on the long cross Pacific journey so far.Read more

  • Ron LissCruise to Japan via AlaskaTraveler
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    Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan

    September 17, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F

    Our first stop in Japan after 7 days at sea is Kushiro . Hokkaido is the most northern of the 4 major Japanese islands, site of the Sapporo Winter Olympics. We started out at a fresh fish market, then really enjoyed the Kushiro City Museum for some background into the history and culture of the earliest Japanese(Taino tribe), and then finished up by visiting some real red-headed cranes, symbol of Japan, and similar to our Sandhills cranes in New Mexico.Read more

  • Ron LissCruise to Japan via AlaskaTraveler

    Hakkodate

    September 18, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F

    The day after Kushiro we cruised to Hakkodate, still on Hokkaido Island. We chose not to take an organized excursion today but went to the island to look around and shop on our own. A short distance from our ship we found this converted warehouse district made up by 7 old huge brick warehouses that have been converted to shopping venues along the harbor.Read more

  • Ron LissCruise to Japan via AlaskaTraveler
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    Yokohama Harbor, Japan

    Sep 20–21, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 81 °F

    We arrived in Japan’s largest harbor, and 2d largest city, Yokohama,for an overnight stay. Yokohama is the port city for Tokyo, 1 1/2 hours away. While on board the Westerdam arranged for a drum troupe to play for us in our theatre. Their name was the Dragons and Drummers-amazing in scope and impact!Read more

  • Ron LissCruise to Japan via AlaskaTraveler

    Yokohama, Japan

    Sep 20–21, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F

    Our expedition to a spectacular Shinto shrine, a shopping street, and then a magnificent Buddhist temple in 95 degree heat with 90 % humidity led to Paula’s getting heat exhaustion. We had a great time seeing these beautiful shrines and but it took a toll.

    Japan is incredible in its’ proliferation of shrines and temples everywhere that we went throughout the country. At the Shinto shrines there would be an entry called a Tori Gate( large red structure), sometimes several gates in a row through the city. As we entered there would be a purification structure that would have some water flowing through a trough with long handled cups that visitors would use to pour over their hands to purify ourselves before we entered the main shrine area. There were always a huge building that is the main shrine, almost always up over a hundred steps, with other structures that included large prayer wheels, prayer racks and ancient stone obelisks with prayers chiseled into them. Believers come to have there photos taken in front of these great shrines and temples.
    The Buddhist temples are all remarkable for at least one very large Buddha statue, some greater than 40 feet tall. Frequently they have multiple statues of Buddha in different postures and expressions.    Read more

  • Ron LissCruise to Japan via AlaskaTraveler

    Shimuzu-Sunpu Castle & views

    September 22, 2024 in Japan ⋅ 🌧 81 °F

    The second bay south of Yokohama’s harbor is Shimizu, still on Honshu Island. Here we started out seeing a historical castle owned by the Shogun who started the Meiji period in 1868 that opened Japan to foreign trade. From 1602-1868 Japan was governed by an Emperor with no real power, all decisions being made by the shogun in charge.
    We began our tour in the rain-our first photo is us hiding under the building eaves between gusts. We were able to move out between squalls and see this magnificent castle with its’ great gardens and beautiful very old trees. We finished the day with a performance of local dancers performing on the pier next to our ship while we watched , applauded and hooted approval from the promenade deck or our own balconies of our suites. Lastly God exceeded all the man-made structures and shows by his spectacular sunset!    Read more

  • Ron LissCruise to Japan via AlaskaTraveler

    Kyoto the Ancient Capitol of Japan

    September 23, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F

    After boarding our bus for the long drive over to Kyoto from Osaka, we were excited to see this city that has been described in several guides as the most beautiful of all Japanese cities. Niko-Jo Castle was the main residence of the shoguns who ran Japan for the entire Edo (1603-1867) where samurai ran the country. After we explored this magnificent monument to history we walked a couple of blocks to the East, to the Royal gardens. These were manicured within an inch of their lives and gave absolutely spectacular images around every corner, every twist and turn of every path , and in every reflection in every lake incorporated into the garden. Inconceivable beauty!

    As if all of these images did not throw us into overload we then traveled a short distance to a series of Shinto Shrines that completed our quota of amazing pictures for the morning so we went to a sit down dinner of the equivalent of a box lunch. It had 3 courses of lots of different raw substances. I scarfed it down briskly, being hungry, but I was one of the lonely few that consumed such delectable treats😁. After a nice sojourn in the local gift shop, where , of course, we scored some Incredible Bargains, we got back on the bus for our next Kyoto adventure- the Golden Pavilion, covered in Gold. That wrapped up our day and we headed home for an excellent supper back on board and an early night.    Read more

  • Ron LissCruise to Japan via AlaskaTraveler

    Osaka Harbor and Night views

    September 24, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 52 °F

    Osaka is the 3d largest city in Japan. It has an enormous harbor with the prerequisite Ferris wheel of almost all Japanese harbor cities.
    As we approached this City of Bridges It was very apparent that as we approached this City of Bridges that the 3 rivers that divide Osaka divide it into multitude of neighborhoods. We had a slow approach so we had lots of time to examine the many unfolding different views of the harbor. Once we got settled at our berth right underneath the giant ferris wheel we disembarked and headed for a day at the Japanese Ancient Capital of Kyoto. We returned in time to take a night tour of Osaka including a complex walk, then 3 elevators to the top of the tallest skyscraper in the city. The next footprint will feature a summary of the Kyoto visit, while this one limits its’ coverage of the Osaka harbor and night views.Read more

  • Ron LissCruise to Japan via AlaskaTraveler

    Kochi on the island of Shikoku

    September 25, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F

    Our next stop was the only stop on the island of Shikoku, the smallest of the 4 main Japanese islands. We were a little burned out by the huge number of stairs involved in visiting castles, so we took a day to explore the very clean town of Kochi.we took a shuttle bus to the center of town and then walked a good ways to find a Japanese mall with a red bridge with a long history. We found them both and saw the bridge and canal area while Paula did some excellent shopping. This was a relaxing day with a mellow schedule.Read more

  • Ron LissCruise to Japan via AlaskaTraveler

    Hiroshima, on the southern end of Honshu

    September 26, 2024 ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    After Kochi we sailed back to the island of Honshu (the largest Japanese island) to visit Hiroshima. Most of the tours centered around the atomic bomb devastation and their Peace Park. We were more interested in their famous Floating Shrine called the Itsukushima. This is located on a nearby island just a 15 minute ferry ride away. Paula and I took a cab to the ferry terminal, bought our tickets and were soon on our way. This ferry carries a couple hundred people . Once we got close to the island we were able to see the famous floatingTori gate that represents the Itsukushima Shrine. It was about 45 minute walk from the ferry terminal, along the shoreline and thru a busy shopping area. We approached the shrine and enjoyed the magnificent view of this huge gate set on concrete pillars that appears to be floating during high tide. During low tide people can walk right out to the gate if they’re don’t mind getting covered in mud-we passed on that fun. Along the waterfront there were wild deer everywhere. We were warned not to feed them because they get very aggressive and the males have antlers. Any deer can bite if teased or if they think they should be getting snacks. No, I did not feed them. We then enjoyed some cold drinks and ice cream to offset the very hot temperatures and high humidity. Back to the ferry and a bus ride home to the ship with many interesting harbor views.Read more

  • Ron LissCruise to Japan via AlaskaTraveler

    Sakaiminato-The Manga capitol.

    September 28, 2024 in Japan ⋅ 🌬 79 °F

    Sakaiminotu is known for SHIGERU MIZUKI a famous creator of Youkai Monster manga game and was a MASTER of that genre. He died in 2015 at the age of 93 but has a street named after him in this small fishing village and 153 sculptures of his characters line his namesake road. We took a cab on our own to the far end of his street and walked it entirely, enjoying the creative nature of his crazy and weird stone and bronze sculptures. Almost every store along the way had different .products for sale with very large eyes and comical features. So, of course, we picked up some exquisite “bargains”.Read more

  • Ron LissCruise to Japan via AlaskaTraveler

    Toyama,continued, thatched roof village

    September 29, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F

    After we explored the woodcarver’s town and temple, we were driven to this very old farming village with very steep pitched roofs made out of thick thatch. The drive there was up challenging mountain roads past a ski area and it was easy to see why this village required the steep roofs to shed the snow load all winter. While we were walking around we were treated to the sight of large eggplants on the vine ready to harvest and other crops in fields , all in small flat spots, on their mountainside.Read more

  • Ron LissCruise to Japan via AlaskaTraveler

    Toyama,Japan

    September 29, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    We had some rough weather as we were arriving. It didn’t bother our ship much but the tugboats on arrival had a challenge. As we left the ship there was a welcoming committee awaiting us on the pier. From the harbor at Toyama,we got on our bus tour to Inami, a woodcarver’s village and the temple adjacent to it, and then traveled over to Ikenoshiri, a steep, thatched roof village.Read more

  • Ron LissCruise to Japan via AlaskaTraveler
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    Kanazawa gardens, castle and shopping.

    September 30, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

    This is our last stop on the west coast of Japan( Sakaiminato,Toyama and Kanazawa all are on the west coast) and unlike any other stop we saw a huge castle, beautiful gardens and very busy market-wait a minute, we have done that at most stops. Well, these are much larger than the others😁Read more

  • Ron LissCruise to Japan via AlaskaTraveler

    Nagasaki

    October 2, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

    This is the only stop on the second smallest island, Kyushu, at the Southern end of the main islands of Japan. Most of the excursions available from the ship again involved the atomic bomb museum or “peace park”. We chose to visit , you guessed it; castles and markets😁 and Chinatown.Read more

  • Ron LissCruise to Japan via AlaskaTraveler

    Naha, Okinawa, Japan

    October 5, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 84 °F

    Our last stop in Japan was the remote island of Okinawa. The unique position of Okinawa puts it closer to Taipei,Taiwan and Shanghai, China than to Tokyo, Japan! Here we tour Shurijo Castle and Cape Manzamo, where we hiked along the beautiful sea cliffs and see the Elephant Head Rock. And, of course, we have to finish off the tour with shopping at the Dori shopping center. We also see a folklore show from a group of Drummers.Read more

  • Ron LissCruise to Japan via AlaskaTraveler

    IWO JIMA driveby

    October 7, 2024, Philippine Sea ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    Our captain arranges for us to sail very close to the historical site of Iwo Jima where the US Marines attacked the entrenched Japanese for a 2 month long battle before the US won on their way to liberate the Pacific. Mt Shurabashi, the high point of the island at 550 feet above sea level, was the site of the “raising of the flag by the marines” as memorialized in a statue in Arlington National Cemetery in Northern Virginia. Only official visits to this war monument are allowed by the Japanese because of all the dead warriors throughout the island, but we were allowed to get approximately 1 mile away to see and photograph the sites while getting history lessons in our theatre about the war for several days while enroute.Read more

  • Ron LissCruise to Japan via AlaskaTraveler
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    Honolulu, Oahu, Hawai

    Oct 15–17, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

    After 10 days at sea from Okinawa we arrived at Hawaii. We had 2 nights and 3 days there. Having spent 3 weeks in Hawaii on one of our honeymoons 21 years ago we concentrated on scenes and activities that we had not seen before. We did a full day bus tour called the “Grand Circle” of Oahu that took us to a magnificent Valley of the Temples, The Dole Plantation for pineapple ice cream, and the North Shore, site of the greatest surfing contests in the world-Banzai Pipeline, and Sunset Beach.Read more

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