Kurashki, an Onsen, and an imminent departure

We docked in Uno early this morning and took a tour to Kurashiki, specifically the Bihan District, which is the old merchant quarter. There are still many merchants there, but there were also temples, shrines, museums, and a chance to relax and decompress.

In the afternoon, we visited an onsen (hot springs) near the ship, along with about 20 others from the ship. It was a very pleasant and relaxing experience; I could have used another hour there! No photos from inside, of course, but here’s the exterior.

The islands and bays on this trip have been nothing short of wonderful; we took a couple of minutes to enjoy them this afternoon.

Time for our farewell dinner, and then it’s time to pack. Onward!

Fugu very much

I’m the current president of the Silicon Valley Storytellers Toastmasters club. Most of our members are local, but the pandemic gave us the opportunity for people who can’t conveniently attend our meetings in person to join the club; today, I got to meet one of those members, Chiharu, who is a tour guide in Japan. She came to meet our ship in Moji today and gave Diane and me a great tour of the area.

We started with a boat ride to Shimoneski on the other side of the harbor.

We took a taxi to the Chofu area; our first stop was the Kozanji Temple, a 14th Century Zen Buddhist Temple.

It was very peaceful; we were the only tourists there, unlike the temples we’d seen so far on our travels.

We left Kozanji and walked over to Chofu Moritei, which was built in 1903 for the 14th head of the Chofu Mohri family, Mototoshi Mohri. The Meiji Emperor was hosted there, and his room is still marked by a red carpet.

We had had to take our shoes off to enter the house, of course. I wanted to wash my hands before having tea, so I was happy to see that they’d provided slippers for their guests to wear in the restroom.

The tea came with a sweet, and Chiharu explained the protocol – eat the sweet, then turn the bowl around two times before drinking the tea. After finishing the tea, turn the bowl so the design is at 3 o’clock and put it back on the table.

The drainage ditches here are a lot nicer to look at than the ones at home!

We took a taxi to the Karato Fish Market for lunch at Kaiten Karibo Ichiba Sushi above the main market floor.

Chiharu suggested we try the area speciality – pufferfish, aka blowfish, aka fugu. It’s got fins and scales, so it’s kosher, and it’s perfectly safe if prepared by a licensed sushi chef. It’s also quite tasty! We had it three ways: sushi, sushi with roe, and deep-fried; I’d skip the deep-fried next time.

We had lots of other sushi, too – salmon, sea bream, tuna, and more pufferfish. We chose not to try the whale, though.

Chiharu didn’t want us to miss anything we would have seen if we’d taken the regular tour with our group, so she took us to the Akama Shrine for a short visit. It was beautiful and fairly uncrowded; we didn’t have long enough to explore, though.

We got back to the dock 15 minutes before “All Aboard”; the town had set up booths to welcome the ship, and we had just enough time to take a calligraphy lesson and make a couple of fans (Diane’s says “Peace” and mine says “Happiness”) before sailaway.

We found out that we did miss one stop on the ship’s tour – they had enough time to visit the Toto Toilet Museum, and people really enjoyed it. I guess we’ll have to come back and see you again, Chiharu!

Gyeongju, South Korea

We awoke this morning in a new country, South Korea. We docked in Busan, cleared immigration, and got onto buses for the 90-minute drive to Gyeongju and a whirlwind tour of Korean culture. Our first stop was the Gyeongju National Museum, which is mostly devoted to relics of the Silla kingdom, which controlled southern Korea between 57 BCE and 935 CE.

We only had an hour at the museum before we had to leave for a very important appointment: lunch at the Commodore Hotel, complete with a performance of Korean music and dance.

Our next stop was the Bulguksa Temple Museum. Once more, our visit was too brief.

Amitabha, Buddha of the Western Paradise, in Geungnakjeon Hall

We finished the day by going to the Daereungwon Tomb Complex, a series of mounds covering royal tombs of the Silla kingdom’s rulers. We took a quick walk through the Heavenly Horse Tomb, which had been where the Gold Crown we saw at the museum was buried for many centuries.

All of our hurrying paid off – we beat the traffic and got back to Busan and our ship in just over an hour.

We barely scratched the surface of Gyeongju; the rest of Korea remains a mystery.

Matsue Castle and the Adachi Museum of Art

We were only on land for a few hours today; our first stop was Matsue Castle, built in 1611 by Horio Yoshiharu as a stronghold for feudal lords, not as a gracious residence.

Today, it is a National Treasure and a popular tourist spot, complete with gardens, trees, and a Shinto shrine.

Of course, they also have the necessities for tourists.

Our second stop was the Adachi Museum of Art, which has a great collection of modern Japanese art and a truly awe-inspiring set of gardens. The building is designed to let you enjoy the gardens along with the art. The art was nice, but the gardens were spectacular, so I’m glad they allow photography of the gardens!

Dry Landscape Garden at Adachi Museum of Art

We returned to the ship, cleared passport control, and are sailing to Busan, South Korea for tomorrow’s visit.

Hagi

We anchored at [Hagi], a small city in Yamaguchi Prefecture, during breakfast. They don’t get a lot of Western tourism; the mayor greeted our tender! He was carrying a sign saying “I am Fumio Tanaka, the Mayor of Hagi. Ask to have your picture taken with me.” How could we refuse?

We made three stops in Hagi, each focused on a different aspect of the city’s culture and history. The first stop was the Tokoji Temple, which was constructed for the Mori clan, one of the leading samurai clans – and unfortunately for them, on the losing side of the civil war which ended with the consolidation of power under the Tokugawa shogunate. They were “relocated” to Hagi after the war.

Shakyammi-Buddha flanked by two disciples, Ananda and Kasyapa.

Some of the 500 stone lanterns on the route leading to the tombs of odd-numbered Mori lords

Kaipan – wooden fish struck to announce meals and services

Our second stop was the Kikuya Residence, which was the home of the Kikuyas, the official merchant family to the Mori clan.

Our final stop in Hagi was the Hagi Uragami Museum, which focuses on ukiyo-e prints and East Asian ceramics (especially Hagi pottery). Unfortunately, the ukiyo-e print galleries wwere closed today, but there was a special exhibition of all the prints from Utagawa Hiroshige’s “Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji”, as well as beautiful pottery.

Horio Takuji – Inkstone from Akama stone, “Beautiful”

A Nobel Lady and Her Attendant on a Raft amidst Falling Cherry Blossoms

Otukai Plain in Kai Province (Hiroshige)

And then it was back to the ship to sail away towards tomorrow’s adventures.