Japan

Kagoshima was our first stop in Japan. On a visit to some military housing, there was a gutter on the main street that had live fish in it. They were for decoration purposes - people did not fish in these areas. The gardens are beautifully groomed all over Japan.



















Our first overnight stop was Kobe which is the port city near Osaka. Japan is very crowded but very organized. One city just runs on into the next city. We had a beautiful evening in Japanese gardens with typical Japanese cuisine - I had gotten quite good with chopsticks by this point. Dinner was followed with samari warrior dance/entertainment.














It was beautiful weather throughout Japan so the flowers were in full bloom. We did a lot of walking here to see the highlights of the city. It was interesting to find a Chinatown here in Japan. Our stop in Japan was planned to take in the lovely blooming of the Cherry Blossom trees.


















And our final stop was the most fun in Hakodote. One of the high schools let the students have the day off when the ship was in port. The girls were all available at the visitors center to answer questions and direct us tourists around their charming city. There was one corner with 4 totally different styles of churches - one on each corner. This was a chance for the giggly girls to practice using their English skills. This was probably the most enjoyable day in Japan - a great way to end our visit there - in spite of the snowflakes!