Hakodate
Welcome back for us and I have to say it was a chilly welcome for me. Ventured out onto the deck at 4 am to get the sunrise shot and it was blowing a gale and so cold I thought I may have been frozen to the spot as an ice sculpture. Of course the warmest place to be was snuggled under the doona and I was happy to thaw out and snooze.
Good morning #Hakodate. Snow on mountains in the distance
@Mac went solo at breakfast and I used the time for a little extra sleep in and a slow time in the bathroom and we didn't leave the ship until just about 11.
We have been avoiding the shuttle buses provided by the cruise ship. A ride to the city today was $35 US each for the return trip. @Mac got us there for the equivalent of $2.80 and then $3.10 for the return on the local bus and we travelled in a pack of fellow map followers so were not the only ones avoiding the ship's service.
Boat people become bus people
The goal was to revisit the Star Fort at #Goryokaku Park because @Zac had advised us to come back in about a month if we wanted to see the cherry blossoms.
What a display the park put on. Avenue after avenue of trees in full bloom. Absolutely crystal clear blue sky and a gentle breeze which meant we were in the coveted constant fall of the petals. So perfect and about another 1000 pics of these trees in full bloom. @Mac was hoping for a purple waterfall of wisteria, but think we would need to give that a couple more weeks.
Bigger crowds here today because Golden Week continues in #Japan which means locals flock to their cultural hotspots. Lots of families, people dressed up (tried to get sneaky photo of one particular costume) and we even got to trail a bride and groom around the park.
No wisteria but lots of interesting costumes
We walked the star moat and were glad we didn't have to join the line to access the lift and the tower. It was a crush and a huge wait time.
Our thoughts did turn to lunch and we had thought to chase down a "ramen" as it might be our last chance. On the way in we had spotted one that had a lineup of about 30 people and marked it for later. We returned after our two hour park stroll and rhe lineup was now twice as long.
Opted instead for a backstreet non descript little wooden Asian Bar. No ramen but definitely soup curry was the go. No line up here, we were immediately shown into a two person private booth. Served by a young lady with no English and bizarrely no glass in her very large black glasses frame and loved our "lucky language dip" choices. Sent off pictures to @Zac and he actually correctly named the bar and guaranteed we were onto a winner. And that we were - ate every spoonful!
Took a different bus route home but nonetheless arrowed in to the pier without any major problem. You do need to have the correct coinage to pay your fare as you exit the bus. @Mac's navigation map indicated a fare of ¥280 and we had that covered in change. The fare board is displayed and it's sort of an "honour" system - you calculate your fare and pay by the board as the stops progress. Disturbingly for us, the board ticked over another ¥30 each and we scrambled to make it - had ¥6 left in the change purse. All good until one of the ¥10 copper coins slipped out of my hands and we were scrambling on the floor to retrieve it. I think the driver would have been OK- but felt nervous that our "scammer" reputation may have preceded us.
Of course, no exploration ashore is complete without a few flights of stairs and with our walking onshore complete felt no need to hit the outer deck for some exercise.
It's okay, we shared - 2 each per day ... sort of like a nightmare really
In fact, we did just the opposite and rewarded ourselves for a great day ashore with a shared "special dessert." Our package includes a 15-a-day limit on the drinks package and a 2 per day limit on what they deem as "special desserts." We are not in the hunt of maxing out on either. This thing was decadent!
The Captain came on the loud speaker at 6 pm to announce a change in schedule. He was extremely apologetic in advising that the last port on Friday at #Kushiro was closed due to predicted high winds. Means that tomorrow will be our last day in #Japan.
Plenty of assistance with navigation and comditions
A little concerned about the "high wind" warning and what that means for our anticipated calm crossing of the 'Pacific.' Instantly screamed to our Aussie Crew of @CandG to try and work out what all this meant. They have been tracking our journey and keep us informed of ship traffic in the area, confirm where we are and now have added ocean conditions to our updates. @Mac has the #Google Maps on his phone going and checks the navigation on the in-room TV. Because he is so well informed and we are perched right above the bridge, @Mac has sent a message through to the Captain to let him know he is ready if he needs any backup navigation services. We haven't heard anything back ... yet.
Of course, had enough energy to find our way to dinner and accepted the challenge of tonight's special offering. We had been given the heads up last night that it was "on the way." A beef tartare. It was a raw beef pattie and I have to say we actually enjoyed it. If you concentrated on the taste rather than what it was - it had loads of flavour. Not sure we'd race out and order it again - but I did #Dr Google and there are loads of recipes out there.
Guess our tummy will tell us tomorrow if this was a sensible choice.
All calm as the sun sets here tonight
Weather: 18 degrees
Steps: 13 677
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