Nagoya is south-west of Tokyo on the other side of Mt Fuji. It's the fourth largest city in Japan and had lots of tours on offer. I picked the "Discovering Ancient Nagoya" which had a shrine, a temple and a castle. Let's do this. The Atsuta Shrine is a big deal if you follow Japanese … Continue reading Nagoya

We are back in Tokyo, dropping off 250 guests and picking up 250 more for the three-week journey back south to Singapore. I decided to not take an organized tour to have a wander. So I got to enjoy the... Japanese taxi! If you read tourist information books or videos made before 2020, you will … Continue reading Tokyo 2

By stepping off the Silver Whisper in Hakodate, I've now walked on all four of Japan's main islands. However, they have over 14,000 islands; so, don't be too impressed. That's only counting islands with at least 100 meters of coastline. However, only around 200 or so are inhabited. We stopped at the Museum of Northern … Continue reading Hakodate

We've been sailing up the west coast of Japan, with the ports getting smaller every stop. Last night we turned east and are now on the top of Honshu. Aomori is in a protected harbor facing the north, with the central mountains coming right into the sea. The below image is only half of the … Continue reading Aomori

Akita is even smaller than Niigata. You may recognize the word "akita" from the dog breed. There is a bronze statue of an akita dog "Hachiko" in Tokyo - the story is worth reading about, but I'll leave that to Wikipedia. Today is a relaxing day, because I need a bath. An "onsen" is a … Continue reading Akita