From Japan to Super Cyclone

This is a bit longer than usual so feel free to skip to the parts that interest you.  That’s why I use headings.

We are finished with the “Visit Japan” portion of the cruise and entering the wait out the “Super Cyclone” part of the cruise.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Today is Wednesday, October 8 and yesterday was our last port in Japan before we get off the ship in Tokyo.

Sunday and Monday we were in the port of Muroran, with the closest big city being Sapporo.

Muroran - Day 1 - Sunday

We had a tour scheduled for Monday so we decided to stay on the ship on Sunday.  It was nice to have so few people on the ship that it nearly felt we had it all to ourselves. We explored places on the ship we hadn’t been yet and I finished another book.

Lots of people took the train into Sapporo on Sunday. It was about a 2-hour train ride.  Apparently that was a nightmare with long lines to get on a packed train since a big chunk of cruisers did this. It was on this train trip that the husband of a couple we have been talking to on the cruise, sat next to the husband of the person who was helicoptered off the ship.  He was traveling to meet his wife at the hospital, who had had a heart attack. They would not let him travel on the helicopter with her.  I can’t even imagine how I would have felt watching my ailing spouse fly away from the ship not being able to be with him.  I would be so worried.  Happy to say she is expected to recover!

Muroran - Day 2 - Monday

Monday we had a tour of the countryside, visiting Hell Valley (reminisent of parts of Yellowstone), a “Bear Park,” and Mount Usu. Although I loved the tour overall, the bear park was not my favorite stop as I felt they were just there to perform for the visitors.  It wasn’t a show or anything but it is clear they knew what to do to get the biggest kibble ever, sitting on their butts upright like a person and either lifting one big paw as if to wave or putting both paws together like they were praying. Essentially begging for food. It just didn’t feel right but the visitors were squealing with joy.

When thinking of our visit to Japan, I never thought about there being any natural beauty aspects to it.  I just thought of super-clean bustling cities with fancy toilets and tons of automation.  The countryside is lush, mountainous, and rather scenic.  We fell in love with it during the tour and thought, we may want to figure out how to spend more time in Japan than what we have scheduled.  If this is how it is going to be the whole trip - loving a place and wanting to spend more time there - we could be in for some hard decisions.

Lake Toya

Hakodate - Tuesday

Yesterday we were in Hakodate for the day.  We did not do a tour or excursion.  We took the free shuttle bus into town and wandered around.  

The first thing we did is find an ATM and get some yen.  There are 7-11s everywhere in Japan so we got money there and I bought a drink.  This was my foray into their crazy automation.  I went to pay and looked for the tray, my research told me would be there to put my money in.  It wasn’t there.  While there was a person behind the counter, just like every other 7-11, you didn’t give her the money, you put it in a machine that then gave you your change back.  Not too unusual but I was not expecting it.

The big draw in Hakodate was the morning market which was the cleanest market we have ever been to.  We saw the biggest green grapes, peaches, and apples I have ever seen in my whole life.  And they were beautiful and writing about it now, I could kick myself for not thinking to take pictures.

Hakodate Morning Market

However, the morning market took some shine off the glow I was feeling about Japan.  Before I tell you why, I have to preface it with a bit of background.  Sunday, as we were lounging around on the boat, I took the time to research Japanese customs.  I know their culture is so very different from ours.  So polite. So respectful.  I did not want to do anything to offend such thoughtful people. And I am fascinated by the bowing.

Japanese Customs

Some of the things I learned are:

1. No tipping. It is insulting.

2. When paying for something, never hand them your money.  There is a tray for the money, you put your payment on the tray, and they put your change on the tray.

3. No talking except for whispering on public transport.

4. There is a queue for everything, including taking pictures at typical tourist points. 

5. When you hand someone something like a business card, you hand it to them with both hands and the person receiving accepts with both hands and a bow (they bow for everything) and you NEVER write anything on it or simply toss it in a bag in their presence.

6. Personal space is very important to them - don’t touch them if you can help it.

7. There is a whole taking off your shoes thing that I will let you google for more information but apparently there are cubbies in restaurants and other public places for your shoes. And because of this, it is important not to have holes in your socks.

There are more, but those are the highlights and they give you a good idea about how structured their society is.

Cantelope is the New Koala (maybe not)

So here I am trying hard to be respectful, following all their rules so as not to offend anyone. We are in the morning market, oogling all their fruits and seafood. I see that the cantelopes still have their stems. I comment on this to Blaise who is walking in front of me, and reach over and touch the tip of a cantaloupe stem. A woman comes out of nowhere and starts yelling at me “No touch! No touch! No touch!”  She had on a medical face mask but I will never forget the hate an anger in her eyes!  No one has ever looked at me like that. Then she’s yelling at me in Japanese and pulls out a sign, two feet from where I touched that damn stem, out from behind some other fruit. After that she starts yelling at the lady in the stall across from hers and I know it’s about me be she shifts those angry eyes back and forth from that other lady to me. You would have thought I murdered someone.  Clearly I assaulted the cantelope. I am sure I am on a Most Wanted poster in Hakodate today.  I can’t ever go back.

The lesson - while I think Japan invented the term “polite society,” if you don’t follow their rules, the politeness ends and ugly begins.

And what did I get served at breakfast this morning in the main dining room? Cantaloupe juice. Not even kidding.

A street in Hakodate
Clean, clean, clean - everywhere

The Super Cyclone

Today we are at sea again, which was going to be our last day on the ship since we were scheduled to get off tomorrow in Tokyo.  However, yesterday morning before we got off the ship to explore Hakodate, the Captain came over the loud speaker and announced due to the “super cyclone” we cannot dock in Tokyo on Thursday, it will not be safe.  We are now getting off the ship on Saturday.

I think Royal Caribbean has done a good job at helping people navigate the problems associated with this change.  They let people off early yesterday if they wanted to get off the ship.  Rumor is about 400 people hopped off.  They are giving up to $200 change fees for domestic flights and up to $400 for international. They also gave anyone without an internet package 60 minutes free to change all their plans.  I do think 60 minutes may not be enough but maybe so if you have multiple people in your party and combine that time, you would be fine.  They extended internet packages for the remainder of the cruise for those who already had internet at no additional charge.  Lastly, they provided an extension of beverage packages at a reduced daily rate.

A couple of ridiculous complaints I’ve heard:  1) They should give us the extra 2 days of beverages for free since it is not our fault the cruise was extended. 2) There are too many retirees on this ship who don’t care if the cruise is extended.  For the first one, we all (the cruise line and passengers) assumed a risk traveling during typhoon season and I appreciate their willingness to make a tough decision to keep us safe even though it is a very expensive choice for them.  They are extending the package at a reduced rate so quit bitching about it. It’s not like you don’t have beverage choices without it.

Regarding the second one, really?! Not sure there is much to say about that one.

We made our arrangements to arrive in Osaka 2 days later. We had not yet purchased our train tickets so we were fine there.  We will leave for Bankok as scheduled on the 17, so only 5 days in Osaka.

There was so much to tell this time around and I feel like I am forgetting things.  If I remember, I’ll jot it down.

I hope everyone’s week is going well. Until next time . . .

 

Ending the Pacific Transit

 Kon’nichiwa!

Today is our last day of the Pacific voyage part of the cruise. This is the time I get sad on cruises - when I know we are at the tail end of the cruise and we have to look to getting off the ship. I know we don’t get off until next Thursday, but this is the end of the main part of the cruise - transiting the Pacific.

Japan, here we come!

Last 5 days of the Cruise

We overnight tomorrow in Muroran (near Sapporo) Japan, getting there about 7:30 AM. We spend Sunday and Monday in Muroran. Tuesday in Hakodate. Wednesday is one last sea day before we arrive in Tokyo on Thursday morning.

Tomorrow we will do Muroran on our own. Monday we have a tour scheduled where we will see some place called Hell’s Valley.  I get the impression it is Yellowstoney.

Tuesday we will do Hakodate on our own.  We found a website with information about the location.  They have a free shuttle to city center and buses.

These are not places we ever identified as destinations we had to see so anything we experience is a bonus.

I am a bit nervous about being able to read signs to get to places.  While I understand countries like Thailand and Vietnam are great about using English and their national languages on signs, Japan is not.  We might be using more private transportation in Japan than what we usually do.  We love to use public transportation when we travel.  If anyone has been to Japan and has some helpful hints, we would be ever so appreciative if you are inclined to pass them on.

One Week in Osaka for Medical Purposes

Once we get Tokyo (we’ll be back in the spring), we leave immediately for Osaka via train, where we will stay for a week when we will both take care of some medical procedures.  We are both fine and healthy; it is preventative.  Both of us will get coloscopies and I will get a breast MRI.

Why in Osaka?  Blaise found that there are locations in Osaka that do medical tourism. We are both due our coloscopies this year.  I tried to schedule mine back in March at home and insurance will only cover a colonoscopy once every 10 years even if pollops were found.  Well they found 3 non-cancerous pollops when I had mine 5 years ago so they told me to get my next colonscopy in 5 years, not 10.  It was going to be $2,500 out of pocket.  Then Blaise, the research fiend that he is (which I LOVE), found that we can do our coloscopies in Osaka at a reputable hospital for $153 out of pocket. SOLD!

I am also going to get my breast MRI done.  Last year I did some genetic testing.  I had zero markers for any cancers but because of my strong family history of breast cancer (on both sides of the family) my gynocologist recommended alternating every six months breast MRI/3D mammogram.  So I will get the MRI done in Osaka for just a few hundred dollars (can’t remember the exact price) and then in 6 months we will be in Kuala Lumpur  (also known for medical tourism), where I will get my 3D mammogram, along with bloodwork and a general physical. Blaise will have similar work done, not the mammogram though

What we have learned in our research (read Blaise’s research) is that the US medical system is no longer the best in the world for everything. For many cancer diagoses, it is still the best, but for so many other things, you can get better service at a better price elsewhere in the world, even without using insurance.  Think about it.  I can get a colonoscopy in Japan for $153 out of pocket, not using insurance at a reputable hospital.  It’s not like Japan is a third-world country.  And what we have found is in most places the medical personnel speak English, which if they didn’t, would be a big drawback for me, if not a showstopper.

I’ll report back on our medical experiences with this in Osaka.

(FYI, we do both have medical insurance. I had chatgpt help me find what will work for us being outside the US for the next 8 months.  It is also SO much cheaper than what I was paying for US only.  But this one gives us US AND international coverage.)

We also learned that the World’s Fair will be in it’s last days when we hit Osaka so I am hoping to see what that is all about.

Osaka is the third largest city in Japan at a population of 2.7 million.  They call their states or provinces, prefectures.  I just learned that one.

Osaka to Bankok Thailand

We will be Osaka for a week before flying to Bankok, which is currently in their rainy season which we hope will dissipate while we are there for a month.  More about Bankok later but we just booked the remaining of our stay there at an AirBnB. We have to have our exit of Thailand booked before we get to Thailand and request entry.  We can only stay 60 days at a time in Thailand.  I have a whole spreadsheet for entry and visa requirements for all the countries we are going to.

Keeping it Real

To keep it real so everyone doesn’t think this is all rainbows and butterflies - Blaise was sick with a headache all day yesterday and I have managed to develop a cough.  Shocking.  I feel fine; I just have a cough, which people around me LOVE! Blaise is back to normal today so far.

Then there is the laundry.  With Celebrity Cruises, we each get 2 laundry bags free.  We can stuff as much as we can in those bags and they are laundered for free.  Even on a 2-week cruise, we have never washed 4 bags of laundry. Back when we only had one bag each of free laundry I got really good at stuffing as much in a bag as humanly possible.  

Even though we only get one bag each on Royal Caribbean, I knew this was not going to be a problem. I was wrong.  When I read the small print, we can fit as much as we want in those bags but it could only be shorts, t-shirts, socks, underwear, and pajamas. Well neither one of us wear t-shirts unless we are working out so we only have 1 t-shirt each. No dresses, no pants, no skirts, no jeans. We’re screwed. We could have paid regular price for those things but that can get expensive so we are washing some things in the sink until we can get to Osaka.  First world problem, I know.  I am not bitching, just a bit annoyed.  Perhaps, I should have checked this earlier than yesterday.

I’m going to get going so I can enjoy the last sea day before landho.

Sayonara!