kleimontravels: 2025

October 10-11, 2025 Atlanta/Tokyo

Our rendezvous at the Atlanta Airport went smoothly, and we quickly checked into the Delta Sky Lounge. Our flight had a delayed departure, due to a change in aircraft which caused 31 passengers to have to volunteer to take a flight the next day, as well as receive a free hotel, food vouchers and $3000. Unfortunately, this cause us to sit at the gate for an extra three hours, so our final travel time changed to almost 18 hours. Not the way to start your trip, but we were finally on our way. The arrival at Haneda (Tokyo airport) was a bit confusing, due to a required QR code that we had on our passport stamp all along, but had not been informed of this code. Finding a taxi was quite easy, and in 30 minutes we arrived at our Belken Hotel in the "Electric City" district of downtown Tokyo. We missed our evening excursion, due to our flight delay, so we decided to look for a place for a late dinner as it was not 7:30 PM on Saturday. We asked the sweet clerk at Starbucks if the restaurant next door was good, to which he replied, "It is not too famous (code for don't eat there) but the one down the street is fine." That restaurant had pictures and buttons to push for your ramen dinner. We required a bit of assistance from one of the servers, but finally managed to be seated in front of the food preparation. We were feeling like we were blending in when the chef, after watching us struggle with chopsticks and our slippery ramen, asked if we would like forks. He had two forks, a normal sized one that I received, and a cocktail fork for Kim. I'm sure we were entertaining the locals!!

Back at the hotel, we enjoyed wonderful showers, and amazingly comfortable heated toilet-seats!

October 12, 2025 Tokyo/Yokohama/Westerdam

Surprisingly, we slept through the night until the alarm went off at 8:00 AM. We walked to the Starbucks and had coffee/light breakfast while watching the hustle/bustle of a Sunday morning in downtown Tokyo. We return to our hotel to wait for our driver that we had arranged from last night's driver. He picked us up around 11:30 and we traveled to the Port of Yokohama. Wow! Yokohama has really changed during the past 40 years. It was fun to watch the families enjoying October Fest on this glorious sunny day. The check-in on HAL's Westerdam was the fastest EVER, and in no time we were in Cabin 4051, our home for the next 15-day voyage as we circled Japan.

We unpacked, explored the ship and then enjoyed a delightful dinner with a couple who had been on the previous leg of the trip, from Vancouver to Yokohama. After dinner, we went to listen to the pianist and watch the Magician/Illusionist in the World Stage Theater.

October 13, 2025 - Extra Sea Day to due Typhoon Nikko

Our planned stop due to Omezaki had to be canced due to the high winds of Typhoon Nikko, so we enjoyed an extra day at sea which is always fine by me. We had a leisurely breakfast, salads by the pool, and a fascinating dinner with a couple who are hearing impaired and work closely with the deaf community. We noticed that there were quite a few passengers on board using sign language. Tonight's entertainment was a talented vocalist from Australia who sounded exactly like Adele. Once back in the room we watched the port talk for tomorrow's port, Kobe.

October 16, 2025 Kobe

We sailed into this port with sparkling water glistening from the beautiful sunshine. We decided to have a room service breakfast so that we could be in the World Theater for our early excursion departure to Kyoto. The Excursion folks were a bit disorganized this morning, but luckily we were one of the first groups out because the lines extended practically to the end of the ship! Our bus ride to the ancient city of Kyoto took an hour and a half, so our sweet guide gave us a great history lesson. At our "comfort stop" I laughed at all the vending machines - everything from sake to video games!

Traffic was pretty heavy, so the guide rearranged our stops to include shopping/lunch at a beautiful resort. I found a few treasures at the gift shop before our bento box lunch. The presentation was lovely, but most of the food was unidentifiable! I did enjoy my rice and water.

Next stop, the Golden Temple. Previously, the beautiful grounds and temple were home to a shogun, but when the feudal system ended, it became a Buddhist temple. The gardens were exquisite!

Next stop, Nijo-jo Castle, where the move "Shogun" was filmed. It was quite toasty while touring the castle. Today's forecast was definitely incorrect as it was HOT not the cool, cloudy weather prediction.

Our final stop was a Shinto Shrine, the official religion of Japan. The Shinto Shrines always have a very distintive "Tori Gate" at the entrance. These grounds were so peaceful and relaxing. We enjoyed hopping on the stones as we crossed the coy pond.

The leaves are just beginning to change and won't be at their peak until December! Our guide, Jesse, was delightful, and we were sad to leave her once we returned to Kobe, one of Japan's busiest industrial port. One of my favorite "Jesse phrases" was, "Please excuse my English. It grew up here in Japan." Because we had such a light lunch, we were ready to head into the dining room. Tonight we dined on the third floor, next to a window. At last, the jet lag caught us with us, and both of us were totally exhausted! We skipped our evening entertainment, showered, and were in bed reading by 9:00 PM!

October 15, 2025 - Kochi

We woke to the sound of Japanese music, so we ran to our balcony to witness the sail in of this southern port! What a sight to see beautiful Japanese art flags twirled welcoming us to this charming city!

I had tears in my eyes as these sweet people welcomed us! I couldn't wait to visit this port, but first a hysterical breakfast sitting next to this absolutely darling Australian couple. We introduced them to grits (which really weren't very good) and laughed throughout our breakfast! What a fabulous start to our morning. Today, the Excursion folks did an excellent job and we were on our beautiful bus, complete with cute curtains, ready to explore. Today's guide, Shotoka, was positively darling! First stop, Washi Paper Museum, where we learned to make Japan's famous washi paper. This highly durable paper is used around the globe for many purposes from repairing art work protecting famous documents. It is made from a specific tree in Japan, and resembles porridge. We had a lesson on how the paper is made, and then we actually made eight postcards each! It was quite fascinating. We needed to let our paper dry, so we took a lovely, scenic ride along the Tiyoda River to a quaint ice cream store where we enjoyed banana ice cream while watching fishermen fly fish in the river. We also rode over to a very interesting bridge over the river. It was only wide enough for one car, yet passengers and cars traveled across the bridge WITHOUT guardrails or handrails. The only thing I kept thinking was, "Wow, OSHA would have a field day with this!!" There were a few spots where passengers could stand while the cars passed, but overall, it was quite harrowing! We returned to the Washi Paper Museum to pick up our postcards. They actually turned out pretty good!! On our return trip to the port, Shotoka read us a children's story and sang, "Fly Me to the Moon" - so adorable. Upon our return to the port, we quickly dropped off our treasures, had a quick hot dog, and dashed back to the taxi stand to visit the cute town of Hochi. Now, English was a problem for most of these Japanese, as they rarely see tourists. It was quite entertaining using Google translate to maneuver our purchases! We laughed and had such great time with two of these sweetest merchants!

Back on the ship, we took a short rest, then went to the Dining Room where we enjoyed a fabulous dinner with four other single lady travelers. Two were from Australia, one from Mississippi, and another from Michigan. After dinner, we watched the singers and dancers perform, "Timeless," an entertaining medley of songs. Another awesome day on the Westerdam!

October 16, 2025 Day at Sea

We "slept in" - HA! - we were both up at 7:00 AM so we went to the Dining Room" only to be disappointed because today was an Asian Brunch from 9:30 - 12:30. Well drats, as we trudged up to the Lido. Neither of us enjoy foraging for our food, but we ordered omelets and sipped our coffee, as the shipped travel around the southern part of this Japanese island. After breakfast, we decided to visit the Shops, only to be told that only "Essential" items could be purchased because we were so close to land. Well, this set off a hysterical exchange of all them items we could deem "essential" and even the clerk was laughing and joking with us!

We sailed through the Karmon Strait, which was especially cool since we were able to go onto the ship's bough. We didn't stay long because it started to rain. We went to the Crow's Nest to get a Rummikub game, and then positioned ourselves next to the Future Cruise desk so that we would be the first in line when they opened at 2:00 PM. We had a couple of cruises in mind but decided on a cruise from Hong Kong to Singapore in January 2028. We returned our game and had hot chocolate in the Crow's Nest. We met up with the two Australian gals from last night's dinner and visited with them until it was time to get ready for dinner.

October 17, 2025 Fukuoka, Japan

We sailed into beautiful Fukuoka on a brilliantly sunny day. We ate our room service breakfast and headed to the World Stage for our excursion. HAL excursion team has everything running smoothly now, so in no time, we were on the bus for our first destination, the Fukuoka Tower, Japan's third largest tower.

The views from the top were amazing, as well as the adorable photo ops that only the Japanese can do so well.

This last picture was fun, because you placed your phone in a device, held hands, and pushed the buttons on the side which completed the circuit for your picture to take! Next, we rode past the castle on our way to the Kushida Shrine.

We also toured a Japanese Fold Museum and were fortunate enough to witness a lady weaving an Obi which is the beautiful wide belt worn with kimonos.

There were miniature exhibits carved from wood. Fukuoka is a beautiful, bustling port city!

Once back on the ship, we had lunch and decided to lay out in the sun on the bow. We read outdoors in perfect weather until our sail away at 4:00. The warm sunshine soothing, especially since this was NOT the type of weather we had expected.

Tonight, after I attended Sabbath services, we had dinner in the Canaletto Restaurant. Our meal was the BEST that we've had on this cruise. Thank you, HAL, for a perfect day!

October 18, 2025 Sokcho, South Korea

We sailed into sheets of rain!! The poor welcoming drummers were good sports to be out there, drumming away.

October 19 - Day at Sea

Today, we decided to channel our artistic side by taking a water color class! We arrived a little early, so we worked on coloring projects.

October 20 - Kanazawa, Japan

Our excursion began today at 8:30 headed to the Kanazawa Castle and Kenrokuen Castle. We stayed with our guide for a while in the castle area. We met several groups of adorable middle school students on a field trip and enjoyed practicing their English skills.

We crossed over the castle bridge to the beautiful Kenrokuen Gardens where we immediately a Japanese bridal couple having pictures made. We joined in as their paparazzi to capture a few pictures.

We strolled through the gardens where Kim spotted some unique hats. She proceeded to try on a hat, and it you look closely at the picture, the shop owner is pointing out the "Do Not Try On" sign that was not obviously displayed.

Kim quickly returned the hat, we scurried away, and the international incident was avoided. Our last stop was a market that promised souvenirs, but unfortunately, most everything was consumable; however, Kim found some chopsticks to take home to her grandkids.

Back on board, we played Rubbikub with our new friends and enjoyed amazing hot chocolate in the Crow's Nest. At dinner, we met a delightful Jewish Scottish couple. Who knew?

October 21, 2025 - Sakata, Japan

As we disembarked for our excursion, several locals afforded us the chance to practice on their drums. So, we embraced the local cultural tradition.

Again, we stopped at a market with hopes of treasures, but most everything was consumable, so Kim purchased some Sake to take home, and I did find a lovely banner.

Off we went to the Kamo Aquarium which hold the title of the world's largest jellyfish collection. It was quite fascinating. Afterward, we could have had vanilla ice cream with jellyfish sprinkles. We passed on the sprinkles, but had vanilla ice cream for lunch since we couldn't quite understand any of the lunch entrees.

We enjoyed dinner with our new friends, Ceva, Sue, Jenny, and Sue.

October 22, 2025 - Hakodate, Japan

No excursion today, so after breakfast, we wandered into the cute little town of Hakodate. The sweet information guide in the terminal suggested we visit "The Red Brick Warehouses," which was like an indoor mall.

We were thrilled to find gloves, socks, and tights as the temperatures are definitely dropping. I fell in love with these adorable white birds (snow fairy), indigenous to the island of Hokkaido. I bought several items with the birds, and a beautiful music box, which this town is known for, which plays Pacobel's Cannon C.

We enjoyed a delightful dinner with two Aussie couples who teased us good-naturedly about our unusual American habits.

October 23, 2025 - Otaru, Japan

Today's excursion took us to Sapporo, about an hour away. Our first stop was to the Hokkaido Historical Village, where old establishments from various places on Hokkaido. Think Colonial Williamsburg or Jamestown. We were greeted with darling Japanese ladies dressed in traditional costumes. They giggled throughout our photo shoot.

The snowcapped mountains in the distant made a gorgeous backdrop for the beautiful Autumn foilage.

Next, we dined at an amazing hotel for lunch. The beautiful buffet was the nicest restaurant we have visited thus far in Japan. We enjoyed chatting with a lovely Indian couple.

What's an excursion in Japan without visiting a fish market? I never realized just how much they treasure their fish markets. We sort of power walked through the displays, trying not to inhale or look at the fish. Ugh!!

Last stop was a park honoring Dr. William Clark, a man who helped establish colleges in Sapporo. The park was lovely.

October 24, 2025 - Aomori, Japan

This was probably our most Japanese iconic excursion featuring the lovely Hirosaki Castle grounds. Everywhere you looked was a postcard.

Next we visited a five-story pagoda and Buddhist temple where we saw a cute Japanese family having professional photographs. In the distant background, we could here the Buddhist monks chanting.

This is also the region where Fuji apples are grown. Not to far away you could see a miniture Mt. Fuji. The apples on the trees were HUGE!!!

We visited a beautiful road filled with traditional Japanese homes, cemeteries, and a memorial honoring the veterans from WWII.

Next came lunch where our typical meal has included rice and vanilla ice cream because while there is an abundance of food offered, none of it looks, smells, or sounds edible! The ice cream is quite tasty and the cones are always exquisite!

We watched a traditional music concert, and Kim had an opportunity to once again practice her drumming skills!

Sabbath Services were conducted by both an American and Israeli leader. It was heartwarming to chat with Jews coming to worship from all over the world. I have a special place in my heart for the Israeli group, especially as I am reading "Hostage" - a biography from one of the hostages.

Our dinner at the Pinnacle Grill was wonderful, as always. The candied bacon, crab cakes, steak, and chocolate souffle were beyond delicious!

October 26, 2025 - Miyako, Japan

As we disembarked with were greeted by a group of locals, all holding signs welcoming the various groups. A kind fellow passenger offered to take our picture.

Our first stop was the Ryusendo Cave where we walked deep inside to see various lakes, stalactites, stalagmites, and yet, sadly, we did not see any of the bats. Kim took a small souvenir home, a little scratch on her forehead! As she turned around to make sure that I was still following, she accidentally bumped into a stalactite.

The mountains and leaves are so colorful! Our next stop is for a cruise around the cliffs which was absolutely breathtaking. From the sea, we could appreciate the new tsunami walls built to better protect the town. In 2011, a tsunami basically destroyed the town as it brought 90 meter ways to the land.

Our lunch was in a hotel that the tsunami had reached the third floor in 2011. A very sweet, 80 year old lady, who remained in the hotel by herself during the evacuation, performed for us.

As we returned to the ship, high school volunteers wrote our name in Kangi.

The departure was beyond description. Apparently, the entire town came out, students performed, and it truly brought tears to my eyes!

October 26, 2025 - Day at Sea

We slept in, had breakfast, and heard back that Judy and Joan want to accompany us on our trip in January 2028 from Hong Kong to Singapore, so we booked it. Then it was time to spend our own board credit. We shopped, packed to go home, and relaxed.

Before dinner, we met our new cruise friends, Sue, Jen, Ceva, and Sue, in the Crow's Nest before dinner. It was a fabulous way to end an absolutely perfect cruise.

October 27, 2025 - Port of Yokohama, Tokyo

After a leisurely breakfast, we were off the ship and on our way to the New Sanno Hotel in the Hiroo District of Tokyo. It looked even better than I had remembered. The sweet staff stored all of our luggage. We took a quick look around the awesome gift shop before grabbing a quick lunch. The receptionist was gracious enough to write us a note to give the taxi driver for our meeting in Harajuku. We had a little time to kill, so we dashed into Ikea to buy Kim a duffel bag, grab something to drink at Starbucks, and return to the train station to wait for our tour guide. There was some miscommunication, but soon enough, Rumi started our tour of Tokyo. After three trains, two taxis, one subway, and over 12,000 steps we explored Harajuku, Meji Jingu Shrine, Takeshita Street, Asakusa, Senso-ji Temple, Shibuya Crossing, and Pop Mart.