April 20, 2023 Otaru, Japan

The next three ports are close together, especially Aomori tomorrow and Hakodate on Saturday, which are across the Tsugaru Strait from each other.

Today, all passengers, whether getting off the ship or not, had to attend the Japanese Immigration and Customs process because the ship’s last port was Busan, South Korea. We are officially re-entering Japan from a foreign country. People had lined up before 6 a.m. on the first Sea Day, April 15, to obtain a card for a time slot for this inspection. Rachel, the cruise director, announced this morning at 9:30 a.m. that the Customs officials were setting up in the theatre.

Before breakfast, we walked for 45 minutes on the Promenade Deck watching the ship’s approach into Otaru harbour. Temperature was 8° C, wind southeast 12 km per hour and cloudy. We saw the pilot boat drop off the harbour pilot, then it followed the ship to the pier. The ship docked at Katsunal Wharf.

The people with tours were the first to leave the ship. By 10:30 a.m., group cards #1 and #2 were called. We had group card #9 which initially was predicted to start at 12:45, p.m but today the ship arrived an hour earlier than scheduled, so we expected the time would be 11:45 a.m. On average, it seemed that a group card number took about 10 to 12 minutes before the next one was called. We decided to go to the Crow’s Nest for lattes when the first numbers were announced. Just as we were going back to the stateroom to gather our jackets and backpack, our number was called. It took about 25 minutes from then to snake our way through the theatre to get to one of the 18 or 20 Customs and Immigration stations. You got to the front of the line you were assigned a station where your passport was checked, you got fingerprinted and photographed , a sticker was attached to your passport and you were on our way. We were walking away from the ship at 11:45 a.m.

Otaru is on the northern island of Hokkaido. The city centre was close by, about a 20 minute walk. Otaru is a major port on the island and it is a half hour drive to Sapporo, where the Winter Olympics were held in 1972.

As we walked along Rinkosen Street, a light rain started. We found the Music Box Museum and shop and looked around it for over half an hour. The main floor was the store while the second floor balcony housed the museum pieces. We saw old Victrola-like machine that had large LP record like discs that had knobs for playing like a music box, from the early 1900s. There were all kinds of music boxes in a variety of shapes, sizes and prices. There were some that were 10 cm high Ferris wheels that played a tune.

Across the street from the Music Box Museum was the LeTAO candy store with a tea salon on the second floor. It was at the beginning of Sakaimachdori shopping street which boasted free Wi-Fi. Larry was able to upload four days of text, but pictures would not upload. However, the Information centre advised that the LeTAO tea salon had free Wi-Fi. We decided that since we had missed lunch we would see what the tea salon was like. At the top of the staircase was a reception desk where you took a number after indicating the number of people in your party. Then you waited for your number to be called (in Japanese). There were several parties ahead of us, but their numbers were easily visible. We watched as they were called and stood up when our number was called and were shown a table and had the menu explained to us in gestures. Fortunately the menu had pictures, with English words, of the cakes and tarts and an English description of the teas. We ordered Carillon tea and Pistachio cake. The bill (about $20) came when the order was delivered and we paid when we left. The Wi-Fi connection did not work, but the tea and cake were delicious. We walked along Sakaimachdori shopping street which was teeming with visitors. There were souvenir shops, restaurants, a post office and the famous Kitachi Glass store which sold beautiful glass pieces. One of the ice cream stores sold matcha ice cream cones. There were many sushi restaurants with their food, made from plastic to look good enough to eat, displayed in the windows

There is an old canal in Otaru from the days when ships arrived and the cargo was loaded into smaller boats which used the canal to move the goods to the warehouses lining the canal. When the port was enlarged the canal was no longer needed the community did not want it filled in and managed to save it. It now has shops and restaurants in the old warehouses and there are boats that give canal tours.

The canal was across the street from where Sakaimachdori street ended, so we walked along it looking into the old warehouses that had been converted to parking garages, restaurants and shops. Some had plaques in Japanese with a bit of English explaining their original contents. Then we returned to ship along a different street than before. As we crossed the Katsunai Big Bridge, which was about seven car lengths long, the ship’s captain was walking toward us. He was wondering if he was going in the right direction to see the canal so we gave him directions. Returning to the ship was the normal check of your key card and be carded back on to the ship.

We left our coats in the stateroom and climbed nine flight of stairs back to Crow’s Nest Lounge for Caramel Lattes. We found a table by the window and watched the passengers returning on foot or by car, taxi or tour bus.

There was a farewell show on the pier which we saw from the Crow’s Nest Lounge so we went down to the Promenade Deck to watch. There was Japanese dancing and a drum concert. Returning passengers watched as they entered the ship and others looked on from the Promenade Deck and their balconies.

The ship departed about 15 minutes early as we went to the dining room for dinner. After passing the breakwater and entering Otaru Bay the water gradually got rougher for the next hour. By 8 p.m. the doors to the Promenade Deck had been roped off due to the three meter waves in the Japan Sea. We were one of four couples at the Ballroom dance hour. Pat and Pete from England were there, as usual. Tonight’s show was songs sung by the male quartet, Cantaré.

We walked 20, 744 steps and climbed 36 flights of stairs today.