Japan By Sea 2017

Off to Japan very early from Reno -  April 12, 2017

 One of the benefits of getting up early is seeing the sunrise from 14,000 feet!

 Kyoto - I love their box lunches!

 Lunch in the Shigetsu Temple located on the Tenryu-ji Garden grounds.

 Walking through Bamboo grove on the way to Hokyoin Temple & Gardens

 So lucky to have the Cherry Blossoms on full display.

 Our most excellent tour guides: Akiko-san, Chieko-san and Sumiyo-san

 Welcome dinner presentation of Giesha

 Beautiful, even in the rain at Nara

 The Great Buddha

 And another fine lunch!

 Sternos at every seat made for a very warm experience, the air conditioning kicked in and soon cooled us off!

  Horyu-ji: Japan's oldest surviving Buddhist temple and the world's oldest wooden structure

 Always a pleasure to be back aboard!

 A submarine!

 High Tide at the Tori Gate in Miyajima

 Spring festival of Shin noh in taka-sai with performance of Noh drama

 Up to the Buddhist Temple and on the way cute statues with knitted hats to keep their little heads warm!

 Happy Badger - these are to welcome you into restaurants and bars letting you know a good time can be had here.

 Just a wall decoration, but I loved the expression on the dragon's face. He looks worried about something!

 Prayer wheels on the way to the top

 A Cat Cafe' - you pay to go inside, have a soft drink and pet the kitties.

 All were beautiful Bengals

 Hiroshima

 Hagi is home to a very a 400 year old tradition of pottery and has one of the best samurai and merchant quarters in Japan. And I love their welcome ceremony!

 Merchant House

 Toko-ji is a temple that is distinctive for its hundreds of moss-covered stone lanterns that guard the graves of the five mori lords.

 Artifacts inside one of the merchant houses

 Look outside to the gardens from this multi use room

 Gardens behind the merchant houses

 Arrived in Ulsan, South Korea - Picture of al the excavators for my grandson, Jack!

 Gyeongju National Museum - king Songdok's bronz bell. Said to be Korea's largest and most resonant in all of Asia.

 Peonies

 Lunchtime entertainment - Korean Style

 Tumuli Park: The tombs contained the remains of kings and noblemen of the Shilla Kingdom 57 BCE to AD 935

 Bulguksa Temple - these are the greeters

 Beautifully maintained - Buddhism was officially accepted by the Shilla Dynasty in 527.

 Special lanterns in place to celebrate the Buddha's Birthday. You buy a lantern and write your wish on the tag.

 Back in Japan we visited the Matsue Castle complete with Samurai actors

 The view from the top of the castle

 Adachi Museum - looking out the large windows to the garden

 My personal favorite painting inside the Adachi

 Kanazawa we went to a tea ceremony at this newly created facility.

 Just a doorway

 Special Sushi snacks from our Caledonian Sky chef!

 Farewell ceremony

 Sado Island welcome by the Nipponia nippon or Japanese crested ibis

 Farwell

 Sado drumming practice session

 Tub boat ride or Tarai-buni - circular wooden tub boats used to collect shellfish and seaweed. They're rowed with a single ore, and are designed to be capable of tight turns. They are freely operated along the Ogi coast which is full of deeply indented and complicated shore reefs

 Sake brewery tour

 silly hats we had to wear on the tour!

 Walking tour through Edo-era fishing village. The cemetery is supplied with fresh flowers every day.

 Garden view after lunch in Tokyo at the Happo-en Hotel

 Kabuki presentation and dance at the Farewell dinner

 Our team of tour managers and organizational reps. The best!

 Welcome home to even more snow!