Last night we went to the Captain’s dinner. We both expected to have a dull evening being polite in the formal restaurant. We were both wrong. We had a lovely time. The captain is only 49 years old ane he is very cute. And he can be fun. We, all the ladies at his end of the table were teasing him about one thing or another and he took it very good naturedly. The food was wonderful and plentiful. And he wines that went with dinner were the best we ever had. So we had a wonderful dinner and then went to the ship’s show. It was OK.
By the time we went to sleep it was late. But that didn’t matter. We got up at 4am and 5 am and 6am. No, no one was sick…….we had to see how Tiger was doing. So, by the time we started our day, we had had a long day already.
Anyway, today we arrived in Yokahama at 2pm. We were greeted, again, at the dock, by a band.
We met Ken. Ken is a “goodwill guide”. Here in the major cities of Japan you can set up a tour with one of these guides by internet before you get here. We did not know anything about this until our friends, Juby and Tom, told us. They had a guide waiting here for them. They had been guided by him previously. They were nice enough to ask us along.
We passed the site where the Amity Treaty was concluded in 1854. This opened Japan to western trade and made an amazing change in Japanese life. In the thirty years that passed after the signing, Japan went from porter carried chairs to trains and steamships. From swords to cannons.
So we met with Ken and went to a Japanese garden with him. The way it works is you pay his way and that is all. He gets to work on his English and you get a tour. Did I mention that all day we walked about in pouring blowing rain? No? Well, it didn’t stop us.
We also got to see old temples and houses that were moved to the gardens by the original owner who had tons of money from the silk trade. Now the gardens are owned by the city.
Can you see the crane……it is very good luck.
This picture shows how the gardens are right next to and in the middle of the city and harbor area.
At the garden we had a Japanese Tea Ceremony just like in the movies. These are 2 of the ladies that performed the ceremony. Sorry but pictures were too dark to come out. We do have a video, but as I said before, we cannot publish them at this time. These pictures are of the ladies at a bus stop. We were also waiting for the same bus. The outfits they are wearing are actually rain coats that fit over their kimonos.
One interesting thing we found was a heated toilet seat. Arleen is doing a tour of toilets. They are sometimes very interesting.
Other toilets are not as advanced. Even in the same bathroom, you have advanced western types and squat toilets
In any language, you know what this sign means.
Home gardens are lovely here, too.
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