Hyūga

We left the ship at about 9am for our tour to Takachiho Gorge and Shrine. It was another dull overcast day with a little drizzle. Sarah and Ann joined us again which was great. It was about an hours drive to reach the gorge. Our guide Norry was excellent. He is a TV presenter and commentator as well and gave us lots history and other general information about the area. We stopped for a short break on the way and we bought a Japanese sweet that a lady was cooking. It was about the diameter of a piklet and as thick as two with sweet white bean paste inside. I would describe it as interesting. Next was Takachiho Gorge. We walked down some steep steps into the gorge. Even though the weather wasn't kind it was still spectacular. We walked (slowly)through the gorge for around an hour and then a small shuttle bus took us back to the carpark. It was about a 10 minute drive to the shrine, our next stop. Although small it is very old and surrounded by cedar trees. One tree has two trunks and it is said that if you walk around it three times holding your partners hand you will have a successful relationship. Yes, we gave it a go! On the way back to the ship we stopped again at a small shop. On Norry's recommendation we bought a small bottle of Sake which we managed to sneak back on board. We also bought one of the largest apples I have ever seen for 200 yen. When we arrived back at the ship I purchased some grilled chicken which I took to the Lido for lunch. This was accompanied by the apple (very sweet). After our late lunch we went to the lower promenade to watch the sail away. There were some drummers performing on the pier. I headed back off the ship for some photos. Whilst there I was approached by a school boy to fill out a survey as part of his English studies. Not long after that two school girls approached me to do the same survey. I asked if I could photograph them and you can see the result. I also got a good shot of Sarah, Ann and Cathryn watching from the lower promenade. We were waved off by quite a few people which was great. We are sailing through a two metre swell at the moment and the ship is moving around quite a bitRead more