April 11, 2023 Omaezaki, Japan

April 11, 2023

The ship docked in Omaezaki today. Omaezaki is a city in Shizuoka Prefecture, on Japan’s Pacific coast.

This morning’s temperature was 17° C, sunny with a few clouds. The ship was cleared for passengers to leave by 7:30 a.m. On the large area by the pier a market was being set up with about two dozen stalls. The cruise director said that entertainment was planned by the port officials from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This was the first time that Westerdam has been to Omaezaki. We saw three mascots posing for photos with passengers and locals. Festivities did not start until after our four hour excursion was gone.

You need a smart phone now on a cruise ship, since so much information is on the ship’s app. Even excursion tickets are in your Navigator app. No more paper tickets. There is still a daily news letter of activities on paper.

Those passengers going on excursions met in the theatre, people reminded that they needed their passports for Customs inspection, phones were checked for the tickets and then the old fashioned coloured numbered stickers were given to you to affix to your shirt. then you waited for your excursion number to be called. The busses were lined up on the pier. The drive to the first stop was about 30 minutes. About ten meters from the road, a two meter wide bicycle path could be seen for the whole drive.

Our four hour excursion took us to Tea Museum Shizuoka where tea is grown. The Shizoika Prefecture produces 40% of Japan’s green tea. Tea seeds were brought back from China by a monk in the 1200s. There was a look at a tranquil Japanese garden and a teahouse besides the museum tour. There were blooming cherry trees on the property. From the third storey of the museum Mount Fuji can be seen on a clear day, but not today. It last erupted in 1707, but could erupt again.

The drive to Horai Bridge was short. It is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest wooden pedestrian bridge in the world. It was completed in the Meiji era in 1879 and is more the 800 meters long. It spans the wide Oi River. At the bridge’s centre is a board with Japanese letters telling people they have reached the bridge’s centre.

The final stop was Ogane-ke, built by a samurai for his family over 300 years ago, 24 generations have lived in the house which today is a museum. It is entered through its Nagayamon Gate and on a very clear day you can see Mount Fuji, The gate and the main house are designated National Important Cultural Properties. As is typical in homes and temples, we had to remove our shoes before entering. The 20 minute drive back to the ship took a road running parallel to the Pacific Ocean.

Back at pier we browsed the kiosk area. There was a long tent highlighting Shizoika tea. You could even literally try your hand at rolling and mixing tea leaves, like we saw in a video at the museum. At the first kiosk there were samples of delicious Aloma melon which looked like cantaloupe on the outside with a light green flesh inside that was juicier than a honeydew melon. There were several local Shizoika tea farms selling different kinds of dried tea. There were three roly-poly Japanese mascots with their helpers, two of whom posed for photos. We had seen them arrive around 7:30 this morning. At one of the kiosks was a beautiful red and gold silk kimono, which women were encouraged to try on and have their picture taken.

We returned to the ship and had lunch at the Lido buffet on Deck 9, then climbed the stairs back down to Deck 3’s promenade to watch the activities on the pier that were winding down. The ship left at 4 p.m.

Tonight’s attire was dressy, there are no more Formal Nights on most cruise ships. A cocktail dress or pants and fancy top for women or dress pants and a nice shirt for men is all that is required. No more gowns and tuxedos although they can still be seen.

Happy hour from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. has drinks for 50% off for those passengers who did not buy a drinks package. Tonight was a special Dressy night celebrating Holland America’s 150 years in business. Tonight’s feature entrée was beef tenderloin with Shrimp Newberg. We sat a table of six with Pete and Linda form Houston and Kelly from California and her friend. The conversation was entertaining, especially when Kelly’s friend related a dating experience when her discovered that her date’s political leaning was opposite to her liberal ideas. There was an hour of recorded ballroom music after dinner. There were two couples dancing when we arrived and another couple came later. They all left at 7:30 p.m. for the main stage presentation “Humanity” by the ship’s dance troupe. We went to the theatre and got seats at the back for a possible quick exit. We lasted five minutes before a little more dancing and hen retiring to our stateroom.

Total steps for today were 14,689