Japan

Mon, Sept 8 – Day 1 – Leaving Sacramento – The whole trip started by flying down to Ontario, CA to spend a night with Bobby’s parents in Upland, a belated celebration of Bobby’s 50th that was attended by (Big) Bob, Norma, Kat, Rich, Virg, and Tris [Bobby: Those are my parents, sister and brother-in-law, and aunt and uncle]. For the special occasion, Virg made a yellow cake with chocolate frosting, which is Bobby’s favorite [Correct].

Tues, Sept 9 – Day 2 – First Class & Delta One Class – Bob and Norma drove us to the airport EARLY to catch our 5 am flight. In domestic First Class, Bobby kept it real by enjoying cereal (Special K) with a mimosa for breakfast. During our layover in Seattle, we visited the newly-opened Delta One Lounge. It was quite swanky. [It’s advertised as “an exclusive airport lounge for Delta One business class passengers and eligible Delta 360 members offering a premium, private experience with amenities like full-service dining, spa treatments, shower suites, and attentive service.”] After breakfast and a beverage, we headed over to our gate. Boarding international Delta One Class is basically like having your own cubicle, with a door, and a bed, on a plane. We ate, drank, watched movies [Jaws – it still totally holds up], and slept in (mostly) comfort on our way to Japan.

Wed, Sept 10 – Day 3 – Tokyo! The night before our cruise, we stayed at the Tokyo Dome Hotel (36th floor). We arrived around 4 pm local time, then headed over to the actual Tokyo Dome to see the Yomiuri Giants play the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. [Very exciting if you’re at all interested in Sadaharu Oh]. Japanese baseball is like Major League baseball, only more so. More singing, more chanting, and much more interactive! The beer girls carry mini-keg backpacks and fill your beer at your seat! Also, WE GOT ON THE JUMBOTRON, 100% point blank! We waved like idiots. The Giants won 4-3 in the bottom of 9th, Bobby found a new cap, and speaking of caps, we enjoyed a nightcap on the 43rd floor of the hotel.

Thurs, Sept 11 – Day 4 – Celebrity Cruise begins! We used Booking.com [booking dot yeah] to have a driver pick us up at the hotel to deliver us to the port … only to realize that Nicki picked out the wrong port. [Oh, Nicki…]. Who knew that Tokyo had more than one international cruise terminal? Oh well. After scrambling to figure out where we were supposed to be, explaining that to the cab driver … one hundred bucks and thirty minutes later … we made it to our ship. A quick muster later, we found our room, unpacked, and met our “lovely” dining room tablemates, Ricky and Cindy from Wherever, OR. Ricky and Cindy are super-devoted Royal Caribbean cruise veterans, and Ricky was very careful to point out every single thing that wasn’t measuring up to “Royal” (we were cruising Celebrity). Of course Bobby started egging him on. Nicki was struggling with the time change and fell asleep in her soup. Time for bed.

Fri, Sept 12 – Day 5 – Shimizu Port (Mt. Fuji). It was overcast, so no one could see Mt Fuji, but then, we were told that there’s really no snow at the top of the mountain at this time of year, so who really needs to see it anyway? Instead, we explored the neighborhood around the port, including a generously air-conditioned 7-11 and a couple of very old temples. One of the temples was built in the 17th century (!) after a tsunami damaged the city center. The whole site is an offering to the water gods. Also, this is apparently Japan’s HOTTEST SUMMER ON RECORD (of course), and wouldn’t you know it, 96% humidity makes ice cream melt even faster, which we found out the hard way. We returned to port all sticky. Later that afternoon, back on the ship, we enjoyed some pool time, played some trivia, and won corny medals for getting 20 out of 20 in a “name the missing word in the series” type-game. We dressed up all snazzy, enjoyed a formal dinner, and watched The Soundtrack Band (catchy name) play cruise-style pop hits.

Sat, Sept 13 – Day 6 – Osaka. The Japanese are just like us – we both like bowling! We jumped ship, found our way downtown, and came across Round 1 Stadium Sennichimae. It took a minute to get the hang of things, but the Japanese lessons are starting to come in handy, as cell service (i.e., Google Translate) is patchy and nothing’s in English. Fortunately for us Americans, a lot of the signage is image-driven. After speaking to a helpful, mostly-bilingual attendant, Nicki managed to reserve a lane, and we pulled our rental shoes from a vending machine, which was amusing. After three games (in which Bobby did poorly), we explored the Namba neighborhood, where we ate ramen with Kobe beef and giant shrimp (excellent), and bought some birthday gifts for our friend Bryan. We found a bar, met a couple from New York, and once again headed back to port, this time in time to ride the 112-meter Tempozan Ferris Wheel. (The Japanese enjoy their Ferris wheels, and this one is the tallest in the country).

Sun, Sept 14 – Day 6 – Osaka (cont). Still hot and humid. Nicki left the ship in a wrinkled t-shirt and within 50 feet was April-fresh and wrinkle-free. Across the port from the ship was the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, and of course Bobby loves an aquarium. We saw two whale sharks, a manta ray, an ocean sunfish, stinky penguins, and a lot more. Also, a very fascinating jellyfish exhibit. We grabbed some ice cream on the go, in new and exotic flavors: Nicki had Musk Melon with Love Potion, and Bobby ordered Baseball Nut (yay!), but wound up with Creme Brulée instead, which still worked out. Back on the ship, we discovered the Solarium (an indoor, air-conditioned pool area, nice!), and played trivia again. This time we met Ed and Helen, a very cool couple from Australia. Dinner with Ricky and Cindy is becoming a running joke: Nicki devised a dangerous drinking game – everyone drinks each time Ricky refers to his precious “Royal.”

Mon, Sept 15 – Day 7 – Kochi. We’d booked a tour to visit an old Sake Brewery, but upon EXCESSIVE HEAT warnings and learning that the tour included a complimentary hike up to an un-air conditioned shanty, we decided to switch gears and opt for a slightly more climate-controlled tour on another day. So instead, we spent today Doing Nothing On The Ship. We met who turned out to be our favorite waitress, Ava (“Avaleen”), who’d only been with Celebrity for just eight days. We spent the afternoon by the pool and decided to bite the bullet and meet up with our “Royal friends” for dinner. On the way, we met a couple from Sacramento, Mary Liz [Kooky!] and Craig, who as it turns out live five minutes from us. After dinner, we ran into Australian Helen, who said that we’d made the right call by sticking with the boat. It was so hot, she said, she never even made it up the hill to the temple they’d planned to see that day. [Thank you, Helen! I’m glad I didn’t spend the afternoon sweating on a bench.]

Tues, Sept 16 – Day 8 – Hiroshima. To honor the setting, we went bowling, again! This time we took a streetcar downtown to Hiroshima Park Lanes in Naka Ward. Just for fun, there happened to be a Dodgers/Phillies game on TV. Everyone stopped to watch Shohei Ohtani bat. Bobby did much better this time, so we happily headed to a ramen shop around the corner, where we met “banana socks” Steve and Wendy from Florida, who were also from the cruise ship. This was a little weird, because we thought we were way off the beaten path, but they were cool (although they both wore oversized black bibs that looked like bulletproof vests to ward off splashy ramen broth). Nicki ordered the leek ramen, which she says was delicious but very pungent. The dragon breath was worth it. We returned to the ship and found our new favorite musician, a solo guitarist named Kristine who had a cool raspy voice. Bobby was enamored of her guitar [A PRS Starla SE] and quickly made friends. Too full from ramen for dinner with Ricky and Cindy – oh well.

Wed, Sept 17 – Day 9 – A Day At Sea. We ate breakfast in the dining room for a change: quiche, omelets, and coffee/mimosas. Très classy! But also fun; we got to sit in the tall shell chairs that blocked the view of the foot traffic. Afterwards, we played Deal or No Deal and bingo in the Sky Lounge. We won nothing! A mother/daughter team (Samantha C. and her ma) from Florida happened to win both games (shady), walking away with almost $950. Rigged game! Nonplussed, we played music trivia next, which Bobby normally wins (but now says he lost because it was all corny music, i.e. The Vengaboys). Again, dinner with Ricky and Cindy. Ricky insists that he’s the first person off the ship every morning. Cindy acts normal and smiles.

Thurs, Sept 18 – Day 10 – Yagoshima. The shuttle took us to Dolphin Port, so we found a pool hall nearby and decided to shoot some stick (Japan, you’re the best). A shaded (yay!) marketplace was nearby, so Bobby took some photos with E.T. and whatever a Shogun Warrior is. We came across a restaurant serving takoyaki – lightly-fried balls of dough with octopus, pickled ginger, and green onion inside. They were really good – and did we mention that Nicki temporarily renounced her vegetarianism on this trip? For actual lunch, we chose a place that served its food via conveyor belt, which was new for us. After paying, Nicki complimented that the meal was oishii (meaning “delicious”), and the employee stepped outside with us and bowed as we left. Too full for dinner with our Royal friends. We saw an acrobatic show instead.

Fri, Sept 19 – Day 11 – Nagasaki. Once again, Bobby wakes up to Nicki yelling for him to come out onto the balcony. This time she’s right – Nagasaki is the most scenic port we’ve seen so far, by far. We cashed in on our newly-rescheduled, climate-controlled bus tour (hooray!), and enjoyed a motorized, panoramic view of Nagasaki Bay from nearby Mount Inasa. From there, we visited the Peace Statue at Nagasaki Peace Park. Very solemn – understandably, Nagasaki’s whole message is one of peace. At the memorial, school children apparently on a field trip quietly sang at the foot of the giant statue, recited speeches, and delivered colorful banners up onto the altars. Passing by, several politely said “hello” to us westerners. In tribute, visitors left bottled water beside memorials that had been gifted by foreign countries. Nicki found a postcard to send to her flaky niece Madeline – the lady in the office upstairs licked her big ledger and sold us a stamp. Then we needed to eat, so we happened upon a food court close by. Bobby had the spicy champon ramen, and Nicki ordered some sort of crispy noodles with shrimp and veggies. Oishii! Back on the boat, we enjoyed a meal at the specialty restaurant (“Sushi on 5”), which happened to be serving an Indian menu this night. We ate too much, and Nicki grumbled that her clothes were starting to feel tight (diet time when we get home!). We saw our friend Kristine again on the back deck; she played Radiohead, Bob Dylan, and Pearl Jam. Saw big green winged beetles.

Sat, Sept 20 – Day 12 – Fukuoka. Our usual, we hopped the shuttle downtown and walked around the city. It was still humid, but not quite as hot. We crossed a couple rivers, caught a cab, and made our way to Ishikura Sake Brewery in Hakata Ward, where we sampled several different sakes and ordered some appetizers: shrimp with roe and puffer fish! (It’s amusing that a brewery founded in 1870 has a framed photo of the Rolling Stones in the bathroom.) We then continued our walking tour, despite the rain (a nice change of pace) and found a spot for lunch. Bobby had the sushi lunch and Nicki had seared tuna cheek. That afternoon, as we were leaving port, schoolkids performed music for our departing ship and unfurled a banner that said “See You Soon in Nagasaki.” Their version of “We Are The World” had everyone on the ship waving their arms like a power ballad. We took a little downtime and watched a movie (Big), and sought out Kristine’s music for the evening. Again, too full for dinner with our Ricky and what’s-her-name.

Sun, Sept 21 – Day 13 – Busan, South Korea. South Korea is very pretty, and way less humid than Japan [Still pretty humid]. This port had the most awe-inspiring skyline (check out the Lotte Castle de Mer). We took the shuttle downtown and walked around. Not much was open, probably because it was Sunday morning (late Sunday morning, but still). We found a restaurant that was open and accidentally offended the host culture by ordering beer without food [Nicki did it]. Oops. They allowed it, but it was sort of awkward. Later we found a different, hipper restaurant, where we ordered dumplings and spring rolls. If we knew how to say Oishii in Korean, we would have. Back on the boat, it was time for a nap, and then another formal dinner with Ricky and Cindy (and again, the Royal drinking game). This time Ricky alleged that everyone was cheating at trivia. We didn’t mention our 20/20. Bobby had a tomato bisque that he still won’t shut up about, and Nicki looked at the waves. Cindy was pleasant and neutral. We played another round of trivia after dinner and headed back to our perch at the lounge, where we watched the usuals dance before going to bed.

Mon, Sept 21 – Day 14 – Day at Sea. The weather was nice today, amazingly, for the first time. We hung out by the pool most of the day (the real pool, not the air-conditioned one) – our one last day before packing and going to bed early. Ready to go home!

Tues, Sept 22 – Day 15 – Seoul & the longest Tuesday ever. We had to be off the ship by 7:30 am, so we loaded up and caught an early cab to Incheon Airport. Bobby was very over the disembarkation process, but he rallied. The upside is that when we got to the airport, we had access to the Korean Air VIP lounge, and he was able to take a shower with top-notch amenities! [The amenities were superb]. The flight back to LAX was nice, with food and drink and fully-flat reclining seats, so we were able to sleep. Bobby fully endorses Korean Airlines. We had a layover in another Delta One Lounge at LAX, followed by a short flight to Sacramento and our wonderful cats. Weirdly, we left Seoul at 2:30 pm on Tuesday afternoon, yet arrived in Sacramento at 1:30 pm, earlier the same day: time travel! Ever the rock star, Nicki fell asleep sitting up at 7 pm that evening. Nicki and Bobby both slept for about 15 hours that night.

The End.