Why Sakaiminato?

My Pal

   More immigration, more waiting seems to be the theme so far of this cruise. It took over an hour again this morning to clear immigration here in Japan. All the tours had priority again. Because we left and then came back, we had to go through the whole entry procedure again which means photo and fingerprints. In 3 days time we will have to do the exit procedure for Japan once again. I wonder if we will need to do that when crossing the International Date line? After an early breakfast, we tried to get off the ship as fast as possible. So much for being ready!

     

Main Attraction

After immigration and the bus transfer into the city, we wondered if they paid Princess to dock here. The expression “one horse town” came to mind. They dropped us in an area “Mizuki Shigeru” where there are small statues (of spirit monsters) or mystical creatures from stories written by a local author. If there had not been a steady rain and a place to have a local beer, it would have made more sense. The statues were interesting but the area was very run down and filled with stores selling stuff (and we didn't find any interesting stuff!) We did stop for a big puffy dumpling filled with crab and pork. We put that down as tasting the local cuisine.

Bamboo Eater

Judy tried to eat the bamboo that was the base! Needless to say I think we missed the reason for the stop that was described as “endlessly captivating sights .... in this charming city”. We never found a modern downtown (if there was one) or the castle. The place did not “astound” us.

We spent the afternoon reading, doing puzzles, etc. and enjoying a slice of pizza. We looked but could not find the high volcanic cone in the area, the clouds were with us all day. The rest of the time before dinner was spent enjoying some wine and a glass of champagne. Dinner was good but the waiter does not seem interested. We have had much better servers in the past.

   The evening entertainment was called “Stardust”, the music of Doris Day and Perry Como. They should retire that one as we are not that old. When we got back to our cabin, a Princess bottle stopper was there. I won it for answering the question of the day and being selected in the morning draw. Tomorrow is a sea day as we head north to our next port which has the potential to be really good. Captain announced that we may be in for some weather in the next day or so.