I used the free morning to explore Yokohama on foot. I walked through Chinatown and a few parks. I got to see the massive robot at the Gundam factory from a distance. I walked through the historical western styled houses used by foreigners before returning to the hotel and boarding the ship. Luckily the ship fit under the Yokohama Bay Bridge and we were on our way to hopefully see cherry blossoms.
Category: Japan
2023 Diamond Princess Asia Cruises – Day 2 [Arrival in Yokohama, Japan]
Planes, Trains and (no) Automobiles. I arrived in Japan today (by plane) then took the train to Yokohama (Narita Express). I explored Yokohama in the afternoon and enjoyed the sunset at Osanbashi Pier.
2023 Diamond Princess Asia Cruises – Day 1 [Flight to Japan]
Flying on my [sarcasm] favorite [/sarcasm] airline to Japan.
2023 Diamond Princess Asia Cruises – Day 0 [Check In]
Checked in for the flight to Japan, packed, and completed the required COVID testing.
2023 Diamond Princess Asia Cruises [Japan, South Korea, Taiwan]
Starting the year off by booking 3 cruises in Japan to South Korea and Taiwan.
Japan Day 11 [Tokyo to Oman]
My round the world trip has been derailed. I’m now flying to Oman from Tokyo on my way back to Houston….. Since my flight doesn’t leave until 2220 I had time to explore Tokyo a bit more. I checked out of the hotel and left my baggage. It was a very short…
Japan Day 10 [Tokyo]
This morning I was going to go to Senso-Ji in Asakusa before all the tourists showed up, but went to the Imperial Palace to see if I could get a ticket for the tour (you get inside the palace, but not inside any buildings) Interesting small door inside large door. Nice view of…
Japan Day 9 [Tokyo / Mt. Fuji]
Today was not a crystal clear day. Unfortunately the tour to Mt Fuji was only available on this day. The sticker for our tour. I paid $15 extra for the lunch to be included… I figured anyplace the bus stopped would be a tourist trap with very expensive food. The itinerary. We went to…
Japan Day 8 [Kyoto to Tokyo]
Another beautiful day in Kyoto. You can see the Shinkansen on the tracks from my hotel window. I started the day by visiting a nice garden called “Shosei-en Garden”. It was only a 15 minute walk from the hotel. The skies were a bit overcast. You can see the Kyoto…
Japan Day 7 [Kyoto]
This time we got to the Imperial Palace as soon as it opened. They have a great guide app (bring your headphones). Since we got there when it opened there was almost no one there. Poor planning meant we went to the Golden…
Japan Day 6 [Osaka]
Another beautiful day in Japan 🙂 Today I decided to go to Osaka and see the Osaka Castle. One of the turrets around the castle. It looks like a swamp animal in the moat. The Osaka Castle The…
Japan Day 5 [Nara]
The typhoon had passed and it is a beautiful day, so today I decided to go visit Nara. There were tons of these deer wandering around the temples. There were vendors selling biscuits for them. Unfortunately some of the buildings were under renovation. This…
Japan Day 5 – Nara [from Kyoto]
The typhoon had passed and it is a beautiful day, so today I decided to go visit Nara. There were tons of these deer wandering around the temples. There were vendors selling biscuits for them. Unfortunately some of the buildings were under renovation. This was a nice irrigation channel with a deer. I love Japanese…
Japan Day 4 [Hiroshima to Kyoto]
Late start today. Checked out of the hotel at 0830. Took a taxi to the airport – rain was pretty heavy and it wasn’t that much more than the streetcar. The first available Shinkansen to Kyoto was at 0950. Another $100.53 for a train ticket. Later we found out that it was one of the last…
Japan Day 3 [Tokyo to Hiroshima]
Today I started by leaving a bag behind at the hotel. I didn’t feel the need to carry my work boots and Nomex around Japan. After checking out of the hotel I walked across the street to the Shinagawa train station. I bought the most expensive train ticket I have ever bought in my life……..
Japan Day 2 [Tokyo / Shinagawa]
Another Bento Box for lunch. I made it back to the Koyasan Tokyo Betsuin Buddhist temple before dark today. Nice antique fire truck in Takanawa The location of the 47 Ronin who committed suicide… Sengaku-Ji temple The view from my hotel room. The view from the hotel parking structure. Some very…
Japan Day 1 [Tokyo / Shinagawa]
Bento box for lunch. A true “box lunch” Sunset at the hotel in Shinagawa. The Shinagawa train station. The first course of dinner. Unfortunately my jacket was hung up – with my phone. Description of all the dishes at the dinner. Koyasan Tokyo Betsuin…. a Buddhist temple in Shinagawa. Clouds were right for…
Round the World… segment 4: HKG (Hong Kong) to HND (Tokyo)
My flight arrived slightly later than expected. I decided that I wouldn’t get to see much if I left the airport…. Boarding started on my flight 4.5 hours after I arrived and the express train takes 24 minutes, leaves every ten minutes, plus going through security and immigration and a huge airport to get to…
Tokyo, Japan – Day 2
Today we visited Asakusa temple and Shibuya Crossing. After our exploring for the day we took the bus to the airport and continued to Singapore where we would take a pair of cruises back to back visiting Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia (KL). Photos below are from the Asakusa temple: …
Tokyo, Japan – Day 1
I’m using miles on United to get to cruises leaving from Singapore. United has a small hub in Tokyo. The rules for international travel allow for stops of up to 24 hours to be considered a connection as opposed to an additional leg. I had originally booked flights from Houston to Chicago on United…