Petropavlovsk-Kamtchatski – Russia

All through the cruise, we were warned that Petropavlovsk would likely be a very difficult port to visit.  The Russians had a reputation for taking a LONG time to process passports and immigration.  On this occasion, we ended up being pleasantly surprised… It was more organized and we got off the ship at noon instead of 3 or 4 in the afternoon like we were led to expect.  Plus, the Russian officials allowed us to go out and walk about on our own without a Russian visa or a booking with a Celebrity excursion.  Petropavlovsk, on the other hand, was a dismal, grey and dirty place. The people were friendly but everything looked terribly run down.  This port town on the eastern most point of Russia is only visited by cruise ships 5 or 6 times a year as they make their way from the orient back over to North America.  As a result, Petropavlovsk is unsullied by tourist traps as a result and is an authentic slice of remote, coastal Russia.  Everything was covered by grey grit.  It turns out that volcanic gravel is used to “salt” the roads in winter to help add grip against the ice.  Many of the cars had little studs on the tires, again to add grip during the majority months of the cold year.

One of the indigenous artists with his bone carvings.  The huskies were super cute and we were happy to buy one and support this man who had made everything you see on the table in front of him.

Below is a “market” we happened across.

There were many signs of military there too.

We concluded these are summer and winter stairs. We saw them everywhere.

Above is the sculpture representing the name of the city - Peter and Paul.  And below Lenin's statue.

Muroran - Japan

Muroran was another city that looked economically depressed.  Even so, tulips, cherry trees and other gardens helped make the place look a little more friendly, despite the grey sky.

In one of the few small shopping centres, there was a special event “Try on a Kimono” which we believe the people of Muroran (near Sapporo) set up for the swarm of tourists from Celebrity Millennium. We asked the lady who was helping us if she always wore a kimono and she answered “Practically never!”

We found one shrine and there no one around.  The bell was too tempting and I rang it.  The resonant sound was low and suspended in the air.  Minutes later, a man appeared and offered to open the shrine for us to pray in.  Not being Buddhists, we declined.  I felt a bit bad that the bell must have summoned him, but it sure sounded lovely and noble.

Another event in the local tourism/community centre that was prepared specially for us cruisers was a flea market and two ladies playing the traditional instrument named - ??? It was mesmerizing and very authentic sounding.  I also bought a 2^nd hand kimono for myself for about $10, I couldn't resist!

In these small towns it is hard to see anyone on the street.  We found out where they were hiding: The Pachinko Casinos.  The noise inside is DEAFENING!

Another thing the people of Muroran did was to host a little pavilion at the port with crafts, painting, local food.  It was fun.

After the pavilion, it looked like every school kid came out and performed dance and acrobatics on the pier in front of the ship, which we watched from one of the higher decks.  How sweet!

Inside the Oceanview restaurant of the ship, there are holes in the floor.  In this photo, it looks close, but it is 10 floors down to view the sea! We let ourselves eat whatever we wanted on this trip and are confident that we will be able to drop the spare tires when we get home… Yum!

Hakodate - Japan

The symbol for Hakodate was the squid.  In the morning fish market, there was a ton of it! Plus a huge range of squid related souveniers.  It was a shame we couldn’t support the market and buy some fresh fish.  They did have dried scallops which I had never seen before though, and we bought some of those (which would keep during the journey).

What do you know! We were far enough north in Japan not to have missed the cherry blossoms after all!

We took a cable car up the mountain of Hakodate and what you see below is the view of the city.  Notice how it is very narrow in the centre.  The town itself is not that pretty and gave a better view of a less touristy place that is focused on industry.

We took the trail down the mountain and it took just over an hour to walk down and the nature was just lovely.  Below is a bunch of super cute school kids who kept saying to us “hello, hello, hello!!!”

Hakodate was really not all pretty, as I said, but showed us a good contrast.  The super manicured and the "not so nice" part of town.

This photo below captures a memorable moment.  We were walking along and encountered this man surrounded by huge crows.  He presumably was feeding them.  He kept smiling at us and motioning to us.  Eventually we discovered what he wanted:  We were so unusual in his everyday experience that he wanted to take our picture.  In the end, he photographed us with his camera and we did the same.  All done in broken English, Japanese and miming!

Yokohama - Japan

We left our hotel in Tokyo and made our way by train to Yokohama, which is where the port is and where we met the Celebrity Millennium for a two week long trans-Pacific cruise.  This pretty ship above is not the Millennium but was photo-worthy.

There was a lovely pier with a garden full of roses, but sadly, were fenced off and I couldn't inhale their perfume.

We had enough time to drop off our luggage with the cruise line and then take a long afternoon walk around town and see the China Town in Yokohama.  The main, most identifiable difference between the Japanese and Chinese temple architecture is the plentiful and varied use of colour.

A ball park where a baseball game was just about to start.

A tall ship docked in the pier area of Yokohama.  Notice the ferris wheel clock in the background.

More Yokohama amusement park…

Our new home for two weeks.  Room 3004 on the starboard side and close to the water with a view of the ocean that allowed us to see the waves VERY close.  Loved it.  The cabin was very spacious after having spent 10 days in tiny Japanese hotel accommodations!

Tokyo Disneyland

This was a spur of the moment decision.  Cassio had never been to Disneyland and I had the experience when I was I child.  So let's see Mickey Mouse with an oriental twist!  We were not disappointed - not many line ups and a very happy atmosphere, as you can see from two of the many teenagers having fun there.

The theme throughout the park was Easter.  Eggs and Bunnies everywhere!

Fantastic entrance to this ride but Cassio DID NOT like to ride a roller coaster in the dark!

The mishmash of cultures was quite interesting.

Some have, pigeons, others seagulls, but a duck!  One of them almost hit Cassio in the face on its final landing approach!