Not quite visited vomitron….yet

There’s that moment in a cruise when you contemplate the odds of a reenactment of the titanic (minus the iceberg). Two days of rough seas was a good trigger for thoughts of the likelihood of my husband doing a ‘Di Caprio’ and letting me float on a door in the middle of a freezing ocean. Deciding a ‘Di Caprio’ was very unlikely, I was forced to ponder the likelihood of one of the ‘survival crafts’ (wishful thinking when they named them) surviving 6 metre swells. Two days of high winds and rough seas has brought two sea days of closed decks, an increase in vomit bags and rummaging through the medicine pack for seasick tablets. Regardless of the rough seas, the fun still goes on and we have had plenty of time to relax, soak up the increasing Xmas spirit and enjoy the crew entertainment show. We have even managed to win trivia three times and score two bottles of ‘sparkling wine’ (conveniently given to other suckers who enjoy vinegar) and two classy Princess drink bottles.

Rough seas also resulted in a 6 hour delay in arriving back into Yokohama. Not a problem for us, but I am sure that tonight’s dinner will bring a barrage of complaints from the newly embarking passengers who believe that the captain can control Mother Nature. We headed straight to Chinatown. An easy 15 minute walk from the cruise terminal, we made our way to one of the gazillion (possibly a slight exaggeration) pork bun stores that line Chinatown’s streets. Initially the ¥500 price tag seemed excessive, but we were handed buns the size of your face that could have possibly fed a small town.

Our next stop was the German Christmas Markets. These are always an interesting experience in Japan, given they don’t actually celebrate Christmas. We contemplated trying the ice skating but decided that, since we are still suffering from the ‘Westaway disaster travel disease’, the risk of a broken arm or leg was just too high. Rather than participate in physical activity we decided that calorie consumption was safer. You’ve got to love a market that sells glasses of Mumm, Veuve or Tattinger with their bratwurst and pretzels. Given we were still full from the small village feeding pork bun, we shared a hot mulled red wine and continued on our exploration. Given this is our fourth time cruising out of Yokohama, there wasn’t a lot to see that we hadn’t already seen.

We did have a brief stroll through the bayside park before making our way back to the ship. We didn’t happen to see any pet elephants as permitted on the sign. Maybe next time! Speaking of the absurd, we decided to go to the restaurant for breakfast this morning. We got chatting with another Aussie couple who started talking about their dinner table waiter who had moved them onto another table after noticing they were ready to deck a fellow on their table. As they described him we had visions of an ignorant, racist douche bag who made everyone feel uncomfortable at the table. Low and behold, they were talking about our solo, ignorant, racist kiwi friend (yes throwing that word around very inaccurately), which brought a laugh to us all!

Domestic bliss…or not

Getting from Tokyo to Yokohama ended up a bit of an adventure. Having done this trip before we knew what to expect. It is pretty easy on the trains and only takes an hour. That is, unless you are so over excited and don’t actually read the platform signs at the train station and end up getting onto the train that is just about to pull away from the platform (note to self: any old train is not always the right train). Feeling a little uneasy with Simon’s navigation (not that I was doubting him…much), I thought better of relaxing back in my seat and chose to actually check the journey board. Low and behold we were on the wrong train. An impromptu train change rectified the situation and we got to take the scenic route and see the inside of another train and station.

What does one do when they are in Japan and a tad hungry, especially before boarding a much anticipated cruise? Visit an American diner of course. Deciding on a fish burger (fish is good for you right) I was greeted by a very odd looking burger with a fried chunk of fish topped with what appeared to be mashed egg in mayonnaise. Mind you it was delicious so there won’t be any complaining. Not like our cabin neighbours (more to come later).

Having booked this cruise with around 450 days on the countdown, it seemed unbelievable that the day had finally arrived. We were greeted in Yokohama by the Golden Princess and got a little lost as we attempted to get our bearings on the ship. I did however find my way to the free ice cream shop and cake stand! I can’t help but put the mandatory food photos in the blog so be prepared for the onslaught of food porn!

Our first port of call was Shimizu, a small town (well in Japanese standards small) along the east coast of Japan. What a view to wake up to, with beautiful Mt Fuji visible in the near perfectly clear skies. Wanting to avoid the cattle herding ship tours, we decided to venture out on our own and explore what the town had to offer. A visit to the fish markets was first up and Angela finally got her wish to eat the slimy snot balls (aka oysters) fresh from the ocean.

Desperate for a non dishwater coffee (if you thought canned coffee was bad then you should try a ship coffee) we went in search of a coffee shop. We pass a fella taking his tortoise for a walk (because that’s something you see every day) and a sign about thirst (was this telling us something?). But could we find an actual coffee shop? Giving up on the possibility of the others getting a decent coffee hit we opted for the quality (insert a load of sarcasm) coffee and WiFi (if you call it that) at McDonalds. The $1 price tag for coffee should have been the first clue that the coffee was not going to be good. It was about this point that I was grateful that I am not a coffee drinker. Low and behold, crappy coffee consumed, we walk out of the shopping centre to be greeted by a huge sign saying ‘This is a Cafe’. Too bad, so sad, bit late now!

On another note, I once read a book about the life of a Geisha (it’s a good read). Having always thought that the Geisha were ladies of the night, it was an education to learn about their traditions and their lives as entertainers. What a thrill it was to be surprised on returning to the ship to have 5 Shimizu Geisha (called Shimizu Gaiko) put on a special performance. WOW what an experience!

Sightseeing done, stomachs topped up with food, entertainment complete, we decided to retreat to the balcony so I could write my blog as we sailed out of this beautiful town. As I sit here now, Mt Fuji is smiling above my keyboard creating the perfect serenity……that was until the elderly couple on the balcony beside us decided that they would have a domestic. I’m thinking that I might need to practise my ‘man overboard’ yell as it would appear that they really don’t like each other (guessing some couples like insulting each other)…..or anything about the cruise so far. Hey, it’s been a whole 22 hours so there must be SO much to complain about (yes that’s sarcasm again). Now I am married to an English man, hey some of my best friends are English, but I really have to say that the couple next door give the term ‘Whinging Pom’ merit! It is highly entertaining though and I’m sure will add entertainment to relaxing on the balcony.