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!
