Yokohama – Tokyo

       We were up before 6 yesterday as we had a tour of Tokyo booked and the departure time was 7:00 am. We were off the ship shortly after docking at 7 and on our was for a half day tour of Tokyo. We were actually docked in Yokohama which is about 20 kilometres from Tokyo. We booked the City Drive and Tokyo Tower tour because it was the only effective way to get to Tokyo. The port lecturer who had been giving excellent advice suggested that a tour here was the best thing because of the distances involved and what there was to see. Basically we drove to Tokyo which on this Friday morning took about an hour and drove around the 'sites' of the city before stopping at the Tokyo tower. We hit all the highlights such as the Emperor's Palace, Parliament buildings, shopping districts, etc. However the tour was and all drive tour without any stops. It is not a very effective way to see any city although we can say we saw it.

   

Tokyo Radio Tower

 The Tokyo tower was a little more interesting. It looks looks a bit like the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It is an all steel structure with the main observation deck at about 150 meters. There were about 6 buses from the ship there as well as numerous school tours. They did not need to push us into the elevators but they came close to that. The views at the top were good but the smog was very much in evidence. We had a much more pleasant experience in Osaka. After that we basically drove back to the ship.

    After a quick lunch we were out walking the area near the port. The cruise terminal area is very well done with parks, shopping, a Chinatown, etc. all close by. We walked to the Silk Museum which displayed how silk is produced. There were some English titles. Then it was off to Chinatown (yea Chinatown in Japan) for a walk through. It was jammed with people. Finally we walked along a concourse where an old (1930's) cruise ship is docked. It carried many famous people between Yokohama and Seattle

1930's Cruise Ship

Washington. The park area was also preparing for a triathlon . We recognized that from the one that they have held in Clearwater Beach. By then we were getting tired so we headed back to the ship, stopping at the “Shopper's of Japan” to by a bottle of wine for the trip to Alaska. Finally we walked on the cruise terminal top which is a very unique structure. Judy found something that she wanted to buy but we were “15 cents” short so we made like the Amazing Race and found someone to give us what we needed. Picking the right couple to ask was the hard part.

     Sail away with Japanese drum entertainment was very well

Fire boat Display

done. There was also a fire boat on display as well. At night, we

took in the show with a guitar playing comedian. He was among the more entertaining acts that I liked. Finally before dinner, we did line dancing. When we walked into Club Fusion the song was 2 Black Cadillacs. It is a current line dancing song. I found out that the tech had downloaded the music I gave him the night before. As a result there were plenty of songs that we knew the steps. After dinner it was early to bed as we were tired from the long day. We also lost an hour sleep last night. We are starting to get back what we gained/lost? When we travelled west a few weeks ago.