DAY 22 - OFF THE COAST OF QINGDAO, CHINA

(In about 8 hours we'll be piloting into Qingdao. Quick update on Japan. Look for pictures soon, but the internet connection is too weak to upload anything right now).


Ja nee, Japan!


Absolutely LOVE loved Japan. Can’t wait to get back here and spend some legitimate time. It’s frustrating to work every day knowing there’s a brand new city right outside the ship, but we have 4-6 days in most of the other ports, so I’m sure I’ll get more of an opportunity to roam. Either way, a quick taste or not, Japan was fantastic.

TOKYO. Lives up to the hype. I have no idea why but the whole day at work in Yokohama I was giddy for no reason. We took a train to Tokyo around 5, and I just fell in love with the country right away. It’s amazing what a packed commuter train can really tell you about a culture. The train was clean and quiet- still packed, but so quiet. People talked to each other at such a respectful level that it was barely audible. I loved just watching all of the people on the train – businessmen, families, adorable little old Japanese men. And everyone seemed so at peace.

Then we got to Tokyo. It was bright, it was brilliant, it was neon and absolutely absurd, but it was still so quiet for such a busy, busy place. Their city itself is loud, imaginative, so stimulating, and it’s all purely visual. We ate some amazing Okanomiyake, drank sake, roamed around. There’s karaoke and casinos on every corner, lit up so bright I can’t imagine you don’t leave with a headache (and no yen). We found a great little dive bar. I would have loved to check out a swanky Japanese bar, karaoke, but it wasn’t in the budget for the night. Another time for sure. We headed back to Yokohama at a reasonable enough hour to not want to die at work in the morning.

YOKOHAMA. Spent my break on the 13th roaming around this really cute port city. It’s one of Japan’s biggest cities, but it’s small and quaint and has the whole nautical thing going on. Found some cute little shops, a great second hand British thrift store with tons of stuff from the 60s & 70s, and some fantastic restaurants. Yokohama also has a really fun Chinatown and an insane quarter mile long graffiti wall along the train tracks. Japan has a thing for throwing mini amusement parks in the middle of their cities, always featuring a great big ferris wheel that offers astonishing views. Unfortunately it was closed while I was out, but it still adds such an interesting charm to the skyline. Ate a great secret noodle place below ground. We were pretty much the only ones in there who weren’t Japanese businessmen. Such a cool scene – floor seating, shoes off, smoking cigarettes, pounding Santory and slurping noodle soup. Japan gives me this odd feeling that my life is a movie. Love it.

More on Kobe soon. I get to China in the morning, so after the next couple of days there will be lots of updating.

Ja nee,
MR