We had intended to post lots of blogs during our trip, but fun and sleep got in the way. To begin, we had to get the hang of cruising, like finding the best place to eat and enjoy the entertainment. Then, we had to figure out what time we should arrive at which venue. And, of course, there are all those interesting ports to explore (which is why we’re here in the first place!). On shore, we have been walking five to eight miles every day, which is good, because there are six food venues… Our bedtime is getting earlier and earlier; we have been sleeping very well, thank you!
Our stop in Shimizu was a good example of how our day goes:
6:30 – Chai tea and espresso drinks in the Explorations lounge (about 800 feet from our room…)
8:30 – Breakfast in the Lido buffet
10:30 – Go ashore and grab a taxi to a Mt. Fuji viewpoint on a mountain above town
12:45 – Take a tramway from the mountain top down to a beautiful Shinto shrine
1:45 – Return to the mountain top and board a local bus to an ancient Shogun fort that is now a park (eat a protein bar)
2:30 – Explore the fort area and look for geocaches
3:45 – Board a train near the fort, return to the waterfront, and walk a mile to the ship
4:30 – Back on board the ship
5:30 – Dinner in the main dining room
7:30 – Fireworks on shore as we pull away from the pier
8:30 – Check out the “end of cruise” sales in the shops (this is the last night for some, but we stay on)
9:30 – Exhaustion sets in….
(Forms of transportation used: boat, foot, taxi, tramway, bus, and train. Distance walked: 7-3/4 miles.)
Travels with RK Caton 
Oh, my gosh! How wonderful! You two remind me of Dave and I. Cramming as much in as humanly possible, but it’s so worth it. I would love to see the mountains and the shrines as well. They would be top on my list as well….
It sounds like you are making the most of every minute. That’s awesome. Maybe a quiet sea day will give you a chance to catch up on your sleep! We lost an hour due to time change but on a sea day, who cares? (except the staff of course who have an hour less time to do the same busy job. Yipes. )
Hi Sue! Hope you and Frank have a great trip. We have a sea day tomorrow. Time to rest….
Sounds like you’re having a fabulous trip exploring!!! Envious
Did you find any geocaches?
We’re looking for caches at every stop, about 70 found so far.
BTW – Caching has brought us to some of the most interesting shrines and temples and we have engaged in conversations (through translator app) with the locals. It’s really been fun!
Hi Joe!!! Please say hi to all our friends at the FB. We always miss you all.
I will certainly do so. Y’all are well missed, but I’ve loved keeping up with your travels.
Wow, what a day! It all sounds fabulous. Post when you can (we love following along with you!), but most of all, enjoy your journey. 🙂
Hi Laurel – Your blog is the BEST! We have a couple sea-days coming up, maybe we’ll get caught up…