Chasing the perfect Fuji shot

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The rest of the buffet.

 

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In Yokohama my sister and her husband boarded. this was their first ever cruise. so that night we shared dinner in Atlantide. So much to catch up on so no photos of the meal. I did have the filet which my sister also had and we both thought it excellent. however the reason I ordered the filet was because it was not on the menu but it is on the in room dining menu and anything on that can be ordered in the restaurants. So that was the practical demonstration that it can be done. The lesson was even better as our waiter was on his first contract and said we couldn't order the filet so I suggested he go to the kitchen and ask. He did and we had our filets.

The next morning we were in Shimizu. As usual we had our breakfast in the Arts Cafe. Simple but nice and no temptation to overeat. My sister and her husband had breakfast in their suite every day. A little treat that they thought was excellent.
Shimizu is known for it's views of Fuji so I was looking forward to this day. It was cloudy but appeared to be clearing as we set off on our excursion to the Mt. Fuji Sengen shrine followed by a sake brewery.












But already the clouds were getting worse plus mist appearing at higher altitudes.




Well at least the cherry blossoms were nice. But this gate normally frames Mt. Fuji on a clear day.

 

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The shrine and it's gardens.

 

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Now to the gardens.

 

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Nearly to the end of the Sengen shrine.

 

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Across the street I spied a few food establishments so over I went. Got a nice local pork bun.


Then it was off to the sake "brewery". It was just a glorified souvenir shop with tasting of some ordinary sakes.

 

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Across the road from the brewery it looked like an Ashgrove cow had made tthe journey to Japan.


Then back in the bus to head back to the ship. They grow tea, oranges and the best strawberries come from Shimizu.

 

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The fish market.

 

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The last of shimizu Port.

 

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We left Shimizu at 1pm and had lunch soon after in Atlantide.




I went for the carrot soup. not my favourite.


The I had the penne. As it was served.


And with nearly enough parmesan.


A quiet afternoon but the new team returned to our winning ways. All our previous members had lost so the new team included my sister and her husband, another Australian couple who were in the runner up team on the previous voyage and an English couple who lived in the USA. Although we didn't get high scores we won 2 out of 3 days and second on the others. Even more importantly the team got on very well and had lots of laughs.
Golf was also fun. I became known as the professional. Anyone who has played golf with me knows how ludicrous that is. Luck was with me most days.
Just a couple of shots from the balcony.






That evening was the Captain's welcome and a formal night. The trio were playing but only 2 pictured.

 

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There was a horrendous queue to get into Atlantide so we went to Indochine - the first time on a formal night. once more lots of talking so no menu photos and only a couple of photosMrsdrron satarted off with seared beef and I tuna sashimi and then a Pho. Din't look like a pho but tasted pretty good.




Mrsdrron then had the despiced lobster and I the chilli king crab legs which were delicious.




Then we both had the ginger and kaffir lime creme brulee. This was my downfall.


We awoke about 6 just after the sun.




About 7.30 am we were coming into Kobe Port.

 

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The views as we arrived at the dock.

 

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now this was a day we had been looking forward to as we were booked on an excursion to Himeji Castle and Gardens. We had no interest in the castle as we have been there twice but the gardens are in the top 100 places in Japan for Sakura blooming.
But things didn't quite go to plan. There was a big line for Immigration and then customs which as everyone had already entered Japan was a bit silly. We were through the formalities and then Mrsdrron slipped and hit the floor face first. Not knocked out and only a small bruise above the left eye but big eggs over both patellas. But that ended our excursion. Apparently a bit later another woman also slipped and was taken to hospital but returned to the ship a couple of hours later.

So after a couple of hours and no further problems I went walking around the deck. Some of the things I noted. They have an automatic train Identical to the one we rode over the Rainbow Bridge.




We then went to lunch in Atlantide. On this cruise the ship is nearly deserted on Port days.




I had the spicy shrimp fritters all right but lacking spice.


Mrsdrron had the fisherman's basket.


Whilst I had the spaghetti pictured before and after parmesan again.




Then mrsdrron had the Japanese cheesecake.