“So much of what you are is where you’ve been.” Triprebel

We are just docking in Kagoshima our last port in Japan.  Typical of every port in Japan it is cloudy and they say we have an 80% chance of rain!  We noticed last night when we checked the weather that there is a typhoon headed straight toward Tokyo .  We had a little bit of rough seas last night but it felt like somewhere after midnight the seas calmed. We are hopeful that we are out of the way of the winds and storms.

Our last two ports have been pretty insignificant for us.  We decided against organized tours because of the weather conditions.  There are never any tour vendors once we dock; it is very different from any other port we have been to.  There are sometimes a few taxi’s but many of the drivers don’t speak English so you have to show them a destination on a map or use the little translation card they provide us with very simple statements and requests on it.  

Each port has had a very friendly group to welcome us once we dock and often they have a ceremonial or traditional send off for us too.  

Our last two ports were Beppu followed by Hososhima.  We noticed that the smaller port towns had more homes in the area than apartments and most had nice small garden plots.  All the workers are cleanly dressed with hats and white gloves; the taxi drivers wear white gloves, hats and have their seats covered with removable white covers.  The vehicles are usually very clean too inside and outside.  

We arrived in Beppu at about 12 noon.  The ship stayed in port late that day leaving around 10:45.  I think we were already asleep when the ship pulled out.  I think if we were to see Japan in the sunshine with things actually blooming it would be a beautiful site but there really isn’t anything blooming and mostly we see large puddles and dripping trees followed by masses of people under umbrellas.  

Beppu is home to abundant hot springs and this was the focus of lots of the tours.  They say they have 8 distinctive hot springs here each with their own unique water qualities and atmosphere.  Beppu has a Zoo, a fragrance museum, a cable car which can take you to Mt Tsurumi which is 1300 meters high, an outdoor theme park for kids and family with the world famous Hello Kitty character  and a marine aquarium.   None of these were offered as tours and of course you wouldn’t be doing outside things with the wet conditions.  They were hading out free postcards in Beppu which were advertising the Rugby World Cup to be held in Japan in September of 2019 in the Oita Prefecture (Prefecture is like a state or county)  Below is a photo of our welcoming group (older ladies in kimono’s) that waved and bowed as we left the ship.  

Our captain is seated beside a Japanese officially inside the terminal and was receiving a plaque from the town as this was the first time our ship had come to their port.  Miss Beppu was also present; after the ceremony many of the officials toured the ship.  

We had to laugh at this Aflac center!!  We have seen the Aflac information in almost every town we have docked at.  

They provided a free shuttle bus to the downtown area for the passengers leaving about every 20 minutes from the ship or the downtown area.  

And here is Dan sporting the typical Japanese umbrella !  Ha ha 

 A few shops set up outside on the docking area serving some food items or selling trinkets.  

Under the tent is the free wifi area for passengers and crew..

 Our rom is the one to the right of the life preserver with the little white towel animals in the window :)

 A poor photo out the window of the free shuttle in the port of Hosohima the next day.  This is an area where they surf!  

 The free shuttle also went to the Hyuga Sun Park which has a restaurant, hot pools and baths (onsens). We just looked around some and got a good view of the ocean. 

 The characters here are the mayor and other officials and pretty funny advertising!

 Outside views...

 A very large bougainvillea !!

 Another famous Baseball player!!

 Every store or business has free loaner umbrellas!

 More homes here rather than apartments.  

So Hososhima too was a wet and rainy day.  We took the shuttle also to the mall area where Dan go more cough drops (he’s feeling some better) and looked for Robitussin cough syrup but even with an English speaking pharmacist we couldnt’ find anything in Japan that came close to the ingredients in our product so we went without.

The show last night was the Vox Fortura a classical four man group that was interesting.  They did mostly opera and show tunes but the crowd was appreciative.

That’s about it from here.  Time to get ready for our tour in Kagoshima :)