Kagoshima, in southern Japan, was probably the best port of call so far. Not for the quality of the tours etc, but for the warmth of the welcome.
Our arrival was heralded by a large brass band, and our departure by a traditional drum band. There were plenty of english speaking locals at the terminal to help, guide translate, and generally be useful. Admittedly, away from the port, the level of english speaking dropped rapidly, though most of the signs were bi-lingual. The area is not geared up to tourism from overseas, so we did not have to cope with touts or street vendors. Wherever we went, we saw the real country and people, which made it much more fun and interesting.
The time of our docking was about 1.30pm local, though by the time we had completed immigration and gone ashore, it was around 2.15pm. At this point a small mystery was resolved. The ship was not docked where we thought it was, from the map we had been given. We were about 30 mins drive, at the new cruise terminal, and were the first ship to dock there. Having resolved this we were ready to start exploring. Joining forces with a Belgian couple we have become friendly with, we hired a taxi to take us to the ferry terminal. This was to take us the 4km across the harbour to an island with a live volcano. It was having a busy day, and blowing out a lot of ash and steam, though fortunately in the opposite direction. Apparently, the year before last it 'erupted' only 11 times. Last year it blew 29 times. So far this year it has performed 52 times, and our arrival day was its busiest and most spectacular. We went for a stroll round, on a promenade along the sea shore, pausing occasionnaly to look at the volcanic activity, and also the port traffic. It had been nice when we set out, but as the sun went down, it started to get cold, so we decided to return to the main land, and walk into the city centre. The central shopping area is arcaded, to prtect the shoppers from valcanic ash if the wind is in the wrong direction. Very attractive it makes it all. There is a large department store in the same part of town, which looks a bit like Harrods. We went in to explore, and were intrigue to find that it had lift opperators. They were immculately turned out girls in a uniform of grey skirt, lavender jacket, white blouse, white gloves, and a lavender and grey hat!
Day two dawned very differently, and for the first time we had rain! Our planned trip was to the Satsuma Peninsular, and was most enjoyable. We started in a village where there were 300 year old Samurai houses. We did not get to see the inside of the houses, as they are still lived in. To the Japanese, the highlights were the gardens. At one property, we were admiring the garden, and having it explained to us, when a walll of the house slid open, and the lady of the house appeared, and took photographs of us! She kindly left it open, so we could see a bit of the interior. The only disappointment was lunch, which was western style, in a big, barrack block 70s style hotel. Main course was a small piece of steak and four crinkle cut chips with a little piece of brocolli and a cherry tomato. Starter had been a bowl of minestrone soup, dessert was an orange! There was coffee!!
The tour finished with the obligatory, and unscheduled, shop stop. This time it was the Satsuma Pottery factory. It was actually a good stop, and we bought something.
As was said at the beginning, the port and city of Kagoshima made sure we were sent off in style. Without any bidding, the rails and balconies were packed with the passengers, and in a funny way, it was a bit emotional.
To day is a sea day, and we have encountered the worst weather so far, though it is moderating. The wind is about 30 knots(33mph) and the sea state is rough. The ship is rolling quite a bit. It is supposed to calm down this afternoon and evening.
Yokohama for Tokyo is next.