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Shin-kawa

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    • TravelerWeltentdecker Route Asien '24
      2
      Day 10

      Kagoshima/ Japan

      April 18 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

      Heute hab ich mir gemeinsam mit 2 Bekannten ein Taxi geteilt. Zum Senganen Garten. Ein typisch japanisch angelegter Garten. Danach zu einem "Shrine". In Japan sind die verbreiteter als Tempel. Mit einem kurzen Blick in sogenannte Onsen, heiße Quellen bzw. "Waschhäuser". Japanischer Spa. Und dann mit dem Taxi zurück, er sah aus wie richtiger Chauffeur. Und noch einen Blick auf den Sakuramjima Vulkan. In Japan ist gerade Kirschblüte, leider hat ein Sturm vor 2 Wochen viele Blüten abgepustet.Read more

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    • RTW Redux ... 2023
      Day 186

      Kagoshima: Delayed Departure

      June 15, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F

      After a great day exploring Kagoshima, our third port in Japan, we returned to Insignia for the 3:00p sailaway.

      It’s now 5:00p. Instead of looking out at the waters of the Pacific Ocean, we are looking out at the Kagoshima Cruise Terminal facilities … with Sakurajima, an active volcano, rising tall behind the buildings.

      Turns out that Insignia’s elevators are not working. No elevators = No sailaway. The deck department is I’m sure working furiously to fix whatever is wrong.

      In the meantime, our sailaway happy hour on the veranda has become an in-port happy hour. Cheers!

      UPDATE @ 5:30p … elevators are operational. Engine team is still working on a technical glitch. We remain dock-bound for the time being.

      UPDATE @ 6:15p … we are on our way. We left our berth around 6:00p. How/if this delay impacts tomorrow’s call on Hiroshima has yet to be announced.      Read more

    • Sonia Gelman2023 Adventure ATW
      Day 152

      Naze, Amami Oshima, Japan

      June 14, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F

      Tomori Beach is the main feature of the Amami Oshima Island, due to the fact that it's considered to be one of the most famous and beautiful beaches.
      The weather promised to be good with rain starting around 1:00pm.
      Younga, David and us hired a taxi and in about 45min we were on the beach. It was empty, clean and beautiful. The water is crystal clear. We spent two hours swimming and waking on the beach.
      The taxi was waiting for us and we asked the driver to take us to a restaurant not far from the port.
      Most restaurants were closed, finally he found one that was open. When we got a menu and translated it with a help of Google, we understood the restaurant has an Italian menu. No, we are in Japan. We need Japanese food.
      We walked out, it was raining. Few blocks away we found another restaurant with strange looking food. We decided to try.

      It happens to be one of Japan most popular cuisines. Local “okonomiyaki”. It’s like a pancake, which includes a mix of seafood like prawns, octopus, scallops and a thinly-sliced pork and shredded cabbage. It served with a video instruction showing how to use the heating table. We had to follow instructions on supplied iPad. Definitely an interesting and delicious experience!
      We walked back to the ship in the rain, but full and happy. It was a fantastic day!      Read more

    • Around the World
      1
      Day 152

      Kagoshima, Japan - Overview 1 of 2

      June 15, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F

      We are in Kagoshima, the southern most major city on Japan’s large island of Kyushu. This area was ruled for over 700 years by the Shimadzu clan and became a big trading port at least since the mid 1800s. Kagoshima was highly influential in the Meiji Restoration (a major political revolution in 1868 that led to the overthrow of the shogunate period) because of its early access to foreign cultures, ideals, knowledge, and technology brought by sea trade. Japan was forced to open up to the world after US Commodore Matthew Perry’s Black Ships arrived in 1853.

      Kagoshima is the second largest producer of green tea. Sencha (in particular Gyokura) and Macha Black teas are also popular (i.e., Bancha, Genmaicha, and Himefukki). Personally, I would rather drink their sake. There are two types: Futsu-shu and Tokutei mesho-shu (the better stuff). Ginjo-shu and Namazake are served cold and Honjozo-shu and Junmai-shu are served warm.

      We spent our day here visiting the most iconic symbol of Kagoshima, the active volcano Mt. Sakurajima which towers 3,500 feet above the city and bay. As you can see here, a highlight was getting to Mt. Sakurajima, which took a bus and then a ferry to the island and a drive up to the volcano. The ferry was a pleasant 20 minute ride where we were told we had to try the noodles ... really, noodles on a public ferry. We were told they were the best and only took 30 seconds to make. In our case it took 32 seconds .. but we didn't mind since it tasted delicious! Life on Mt. Sakurajima is not easy when there is volcanic dust continuously falling (see posters in the photos).      Read more

    • Around the World
      1
      Day 152

      Kagoshima, Japan - ERUPTION 2 of 2

      June 15, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F

      Our time on the active volcano Mt. Sakurajima, which is not just 3,500 feet above the bay but 31 square miles, 32 miles in circumference and 3664 feet high was a unique experience.

      Smoke and ash are seen almost every day, sometimes along with louder mini-eruptions. They consider an eruption when the cloud of smoke raises 1,000 feet in the air. This day we were told it looked close to 1,000 but they can’t tell until the reports come in in subsequent days. Either way, we were safe …no lava flowing past us! The last major eruption was in 1914 where 3 billion tons of lava poured out and was so massive that when the lava hardened it bridged the bay connecting an island to Osumi Peninsula. The Arimua Observatory was the place you start your journey up and which was built on a volcanic hill created by another eruption in earlier times.

      We enjoyed this interesting excursion to a volcano and our third stop in Japan. When we got back to the ship and got on just before we were leaving we found out that there had been an “outage” on the ship, no elevators and everything running off of generators. This only delayed us a few hours as they corrected the problem and tested it. One of the interesting things was that the welcoming committee that had been at the dock from early in the day, insisted on staying until we left. They kept the red carpet rolled out, played music and even danced as the last few greeters held out until we pulled away. That’s hospitality!      Read more

    • Cherry Blossom Trip
      1
      Day 15

      Kagoshima

      March 26 in Japan ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

      Back in Japan, have to pass through immigration again. Windy, dry looks like might brighten up this pm. Taxi to the Sengan-en gardens. Japanese lunch pork Katsu with rice, pickles and salad. Washed down with a cool beer. Mike had warm sake. Impressive gardens over 15 acres, interspersed with tasteful shops. Imposing view of the active Sakurajima volcano…. thankfully not churning out any ash or lava today.Read more

    • TravelerKleine Weltreise Asien 2023
      Day 6

      Erster Stop in Japan Kagoshima

      April 16, 2023 in Japan ⋅ 🌬 20 °C

      Gegen 7:30 Uhr hat unser Schiff in Kagoshima Japan angelegt. Nach dem Frühstück sind wir von Bord gegangen, um die Einreiseformalitaeten zu erledigen. Am Cruiseterminal befindet sich eine schöne Parkanlage, wo wir die Japaner bei ihrem Sonntagssport beobachten konnten. Anschließend unternahmen wir eine Busfahrt durch den Ort.Read more

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    • Glaciers & Geishas
      Day 33

      Miss Cherry Blossom 🌸

      October 18, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

      Ever since we left Tokyo I have awakened every morning thinking, “Today can’t possibly be as good as yesterday was.” Yet each day we have found that every new place we visit has its own special charms. I will confess that while yesterday’s “Blood Pond Hell” may not be everyone’s cup of tea, the people of Beppu and the welcome they gave us will stay in my heart forever.

      I had the same thoughts when we sailed into Kagoshima this morning, “There is no way today could be as good as yesterday,” but as soon as I awoke, I threw open the curtains and saw a mile-high smoking volcano staring me in the face. Mount Sakurashima dropped into our bedroom to say hello, and I knew this would be no ordinary day.

      At first I thought the clouds surrounding the summit were just—well—clouds, until I realized that those clouds were going UP out of the mountain. She was venting steam and pumping out pumice ash. Suddenly I thought, “I don’t care if the mountain’s name means ‘Cherry Blossom Mountain,’ this girl is locked and loaded.” This lady could be lethal.

      She was alone on her own island until 1946 when she spewed out enough lava to make a bridge to the mainland. So now, even though the locals talk about Sakurashima Island, technically it is not an island anymore.

      Later in the morning as we were on the way to the Kagoshima Museum our guide told us that the local weather report gives a daily index of the volcano. Level 1 means the Lady is asleep. Level 5 means “Get the heck out of Dodge.” The guide told us that today the mountain is at level 3. He said “There will be some ash fall today. If the wind is from the west there will be no problem, but if it comes from the southeast, we will all be sweeping our walkways tonight.” In Kagoshima the residents are accustomed to living with Miss Cherry Blossom 🌸.

      Despite her tantrums, however, and largely because of Miss Cherry Blossom, Kagoshima is one of the most beautiful places on earth.      Read more

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