Day 67 6 October Tokyo-Singapore-Brisbane

We had an early start so as to catch our transfer to Narita airport at 4.45am. We shared the minivan with two elderly Melburnians. We were going to be on the same flight except they were in Business Class. We gave them a hand with the luggage. By the time we got through security/immigration we only had to wait an hour. We had three babies sitting in the row in front of us on the plane, but the little ones weren't too bad. The meals were quite good. We had a four-hour stopover in Singapore where I watched the updates that told me that Melbourne Storm had lost the grand final...a shame.

Our next leg I found the meals ordinary and, in some cases, inedible. The people in front put their seats back which impacted both leg room and giving trouble getting out of the seats far more difficult. The strange mealtimes they chose made it difficult to sleep and in fact neither of us got too much sleep at all.

It wasn't jet lag that affected us, it was just a lack of sleep, something I have never experienced on a flight before. We got through Brisbane security quite quickly but then had to wait at the luggage carrousel which seemed like an eternity. We arrived home at 7.30 am on the King's Birthday holiday, and at that stage we felt good, but as the day wore on, we both became more tired and were forced to nap.  It was an excellent holiday, especially the weather we encountered.

Day 66 5 October Tokyo

Today we had breakfast and met a young couple from Wisconsin who looked like they might have won the trip in a competition, as they definitely didn't fit the demographic. Way too young and far too mobile. We chatted during breakfast and they, like us, wore masks during the cruise. They seemed very nice. 

We took a taxi to the National Museum and that went fairly smoothly. It just started to rain a little as we arrived.

It was somewhat crowded, but people did take the time to read a lot of the display labels so sometimes you had to wait a while.

Clothing design of the Ainu people who were the indigenous people of Japan. 

An upcoming exhibition later this year; we may have to come back.

A terracotta horse tomb object from the 6th Century.

These are a modern copy of 5th-6th Century shoes. Only if you are the emperor; and only if you are dead!

A clay figure with goggle eyes 1000-100 BCE.

Cypress Tree screen 16th Century.

Samurai armour.

An elaborate Japanese screen.

A 17th Centry bowl with a kingfisher. It has been broken but then repaired with a traditional method of kintsugi (gold mending). An artisan has glued it back together with lacquer and then dusted with gold powder for effect. The Japanese appreciate imperfection in perfection. 

Example of Japanese art.

An 18th Century Kimono with Cherry Blossoms, Chrysanthemums and flower carts.

A guardian for a tomb.

 A Chinese Ming dynasty 16th Century water pitcher. Obviously not a cheap Chinese import.

It was raining lightly when we left the museum at 2.45 pm and it took about 10 minutes to flag a taxi down, so we were quite lucky. I had a map with our hotel circled but an address in Japanese would have helped him as his English was imperfect and my Japanese non-existent. Both drivers we had were not mucking around and seem to drive us as fast as possible (legally) to our destination. Both trips cost just over $40 and it was money well spent.

Not having had lunch, we took a short walk to a bakery and had cappuccinos with a citrus cake and a fudge brownie. The food items were of high quality and the price comparable to here, or slightly better actually.

Day 65 4 October Tokyo

Today we left the ship that has been home for us for the last three weeks. We had a great time and today we have a tour of the city that will take us through to 5.00 pm.

Here is the Fuji building which has a very unusual design. Only spoilt by the raindrops on the windows. Japanese tourist buses are the cleanest we have ever encountered. When we got back on the bus at a stop later in the day, the driver had cleaned all the windows and the raindrops were gone.

This is the Meiji Shrine, built in 1920 to commemorate Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. It is surrounded by a forest of 100,000 donated trees.

The Ministry of Justice that was rebuilt after being destroyed in World War II.

We were off to lunch, and we saw a wedding party. Here is the bride. It wasn't their actual wedding day, just the day of the photographs.

We had lunch at a very elegant events venue. This is what we had for lunch. It was the most colourful meal either of us had ever had.

There was an artificial lake in the grounds of the venue.

These fish were huge!

Their bonsai garden came with its own security guard.

This bonsai is reputed to be 530 years old, according to "Best Used by Date".

We did go again to the Imperial Palace Plaza. We did witness the changing of the guard.

I am glad we are not on that bus.

Our last stop of the day was the Asakusa Kannon Temple. It was very crowded indeed.

The smoke is for purification.

There were lots of young women dressed in Kimonas having photoshoots. 

The Aashi Brewery building and whatever the heck that is ...

This a fashion shop for people but they also sell fashions for dogs.

The view from our hotel room on the 20th floor. The Japanese parliament, the Diet is in the background. They replaced their Prime Minister four days ago.

Our room in Tokyo Five-star hotel.

The Diet, reminiscent of the Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance.

For dinner we walked to McDonalds about 800 metres away but because we had to backtrack to cross a very busy road, it took a little longer, as we also went up not the most ideal street. In the back streets there were lots of eateries, not all with customers. The Mexican restaurant seemed to be very popular.

Day 64 3 October Tokyo

We arrived in Tokyo Bay and docked at 11:00 am.  Here we are arriving in Tokyo Bay.

We had a bus tour this afternoon that gave us a ride around to some of the sights.

  

What animal is this? I thought the Japanese had outlawed genetic experiments.

Our first visit was the Meiji Jingū Shrine dedicated to the first Emperor of Japan. The Torii gates are 750 years old, but the timber came from Taiwan.

Entrance to the Imperial Palace and Guard House.

 

This statue is of the legendary samurai Saigo Takamori, one of the most influential samurai of Japan, often called ‘last true samurai'.

The Imperial Palace is in the background.

You can see there are two manned guard boxes.

We saw some of the Tokyo Olympic venues and the Ginza. 

We had a light shower during our walk, but we had an umbrella with us. It would have been worse for the groups after us. On several street corners they have small police stations. This one looks especially modern. Grand Designs Kevin McCloud would have liked it. 

We shared our last chocolate that we had bought in Kodiak, Alaska. The box refers to the popular fishing show "The Deadliest Catch".  Some of this series was also filmed in Dutch Harbor. 

We leave the ship tomorrow and we reflect on how lucky we have been with the weather and sea conditions.