Roaming Ruth: May 23 - With Pictures

May 8 - Tokyo - We arrived in Tokyo in the late afternoon and were taken to the Happo-en Gardens for a stroll through the gardens, cocktails, appetizers, a light buffet and entertainment (Geisha & Maiko dances). We spent a good portion of our time waiting in line to have our caricature done by a Japanese artist. We were totally impressed with the bright lights and fashionably dressed people on the streets on our drive back to the ship. Driving in Tokyo on the way to the gardens, we noticed that every business person was dressed in a black suit and white shirt - business casual (let alone colored shirts) has not hit Japan.

Arriving in Tokyo

Tokyo from ship

Happo-en Gardens

Hostess in traditional dress.

May 9 - Tokyo - I took an all-day tour to the city of Kamakura, the home of the Kotokuin Temple and the Great Buddha. We also visited the Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu shrine (a Shinto shrine), Komachi Street (a fun shopping street) and had lunch at the Kamakura Park Hotel. On the drive to Kamakura, we did catch a glimpse of Mt. Fuji even though it was a bit hazy.

The Great Buddha - Kamakura

Wow, the Amish have arrived in Kamakura, Japan.

Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu Shrine

Raised walk in middle of street for empress (or in this case, Aaron)

Beach in front of Kamakura Park Hotel (where we had lunch)

May 10 - Sendai, Japan - We were just in Sendai for an afternoon, so we took the shuttle into town and did some wandering around the extensive covered malls.

May 11 - Hakodate, Japan - another misty, rainy day. We took a tour which took us to the Hakodate City Museum of Northern Peoples, took the Hakodate Ropeway (huge aerial tram) to get a better view of the mist, and shopped in the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse area (that was a fun area) before returning to the ship.

View from Hakodate Ropeway

View on a clear day (from a postcard)

Performance by dancers as we left Hakodate (it was freezing - they all probably
have colds by now)

May 14 - Petropavlovsk, Russia - a cold, snowy day, but an interesting stop. I wandered around town - I don’t think this port gets may visitors. I think it’s only been in the last 20 or so years that foreigners were allowed here.

View from balcony on way to Petropavlovsk

Here we are in Petropavlovsk (port for Kamchatka)

Town of Kamchatka

Lenin Square

Fishing boats

May 17 - Dutch Harbor, USA!! (Aleutian Islands) - Great to be back in the USA where the local currency is the US Dollar! We cleared customs and then went in to the village of Dutch Harbor. There was a very nice museum, the Grand Aleutian Hotel and all the Eagles you could hope for (the highlight of the visit). A native threw some food down which attracted the Eagles, so we were able to get pretty close to them. We learned that the brownish Eagles are juveniles. They look bigger because the have “training feathers” which they will eventually lose and change color.

We had rough seas crossing the Bering Strait. This was probably the roughest seas we had and lasted for 3 days. I didn't quite get seasick, but I was thinking about it!

Bald Eagle

Juvenile Bald Eagle

I think they are playing.

Another Bald Eagle

Henry & Karol walking down street towards museum.

Not sure this captures how rough the seas were crossing the Bering Sea.

May 19 - Kodiak - another trip into town and a nice long walk in the fresh air back to the ship. Packed up the rest of my luggage that will be sent back to Chicago and taken off the ship in Seward.

Approaching Kodiak.

Kodiak Harbor

View from Harbor

Someone got creative with driftwood along the highway.

View from Ship

May 20 - Seward, Alaska - what a great day. Regent had an event for the world cruisers - an all day boat ride in the Kenai Fjords National Park. It was a red-letter day, the Gulf of Alaska was calm (rare) and we saw Orca Whales, Humpback Whales, Sea Otters, Sea Lions, Puffins, a mountain goat and a black bear and, of course, a glacier.