Kobe Japan

After one day cruising at sea we arrived early in the morning in Kobe our first stop in Japan.

 

 A short walk from the Cruise Ship Terminal and we are Downtown and able to catch the above 'Loop' bus the conductors on the buses are young girls dressed almost like little dolls.

 Shopping markets are rather 'up' market and appear to be a street with a glass canopy.

 Very modern department stores and office buildings downtown.

 The super markets are part of the department stores and we were most interested in the creative meat displays.

 While downtown a parade of black vans with very loud speakers take up much of the street. We were told that they were old soldiers telling of their exploits and the strength of Japan.

 As our ship leaves port it is obvious this is a major export city, construction equipment and cars are lined up for shipment overseas.

We passed rows of container cranes similar to these as we left the port.  

Shimizu

 Our second port of call in Japan is the City of Shimizu.

 A modern well organized port area welcomes us.

 Close to where our ship is docked is an interesting yacht basin and marina.

 Today we didn't take any organized tours, but had a good walk ashore. From the marina you cab see our ship the Celebrity Millennium.

 Geisha Girls welcomed us back to our ship after our walking tour.

On a clear day Mount Fuji can be seen from the City of Shimizu.

Yokohama and Tokyo

After breakfast on board we board a tour bus for a guided trip from the Port City of Yokohama into Tokyo.

 Our first stop is at the Tokyo Tower, a tower that looks vert similar to the Effie Tower in Paris.The Tokyo is actually taller at 333m as opposed to the Eiffel Tower at 301m. 

 Looking down through the glass floor to the parking lot at street level.

 Our tour continued around the city core of Tokyo, returning to our ship by early afternoon. We couldn't resist a close look at this very small car....probably great for large city traffic.

 The above photo was taken from one of the top decks to the docks and the very interesting terminal building.

 A farewell is being played as our ship casted off her lines.

 A harbour fire boat salutes our departure as we leave Yokohama Harbour

While on shore we were in the right place to get a full length picture of our ship.

Petropavlovsk, Russia

After leaving Tokyo we were at sea for 3 days. Each day was getting a little cooler as we traveled in a Northerly direction towards the Kamchatka Peninsula. Petropavlosk is the largest settlement on the Peninsula and a major Russian submarine base.

This remote Far Eastern Russian outpost sees few cruise ships: the only way in or out of Petropavlosk is by plane. Several entertainers were leaving the ship, flying to Moscow (8 hours) or Tokyo or Hong Kong. The port is home to a large fishing fleet with most of the catch exported to Japan. Many of the cars in the city of 240,000 were right hand drive cars from Japan.

A visa is not required to visit the city for passengers from the cruise ship. But, there is very strict passport control for everyone going ashore. This procedure took several hours.

 The Russian Flag is raised on the ship as a courtesy as we approach the port.

 While at anchor we can see the large fishing fleet and part of the Down Town area.

 Skiing is a major winter past time in Petropavlosk, with the ski runs just out of town. It is now the first week of May and there is plenty of snow still around. The large banks of snow in town won't be melted until early June.

As you can see we are prepared for cool weather, and anxious to get ashore.

With temperatures just over freezing a few hardy souls take up the challenge for an early morning swim. Many more of us are spectators.

 Our first stop on our tour was at a newly constructed Russian Orthodox Church

  The church interior was very ornate and beautifully finished.

  There are no pews and very few seats in this church, as those in the congregation are        expected to stand.

  The churches ceiling was on a par with the rest of the interior...beautifully done.

 Apartment buildings and one of many mountains surrounding the city.

 Just a little snow left over from last winter.

 Looking down on a very protected harbour.

 The Regional Museum showing the military history of the area.

 Murals, pictures and armaments that have been used in previous wars.

 Pictures of the local military and submarine base.

After our visit to the museum we headed back into town and a visit to the local market/shopping center. A wide variety of stores and products were available but the very large sea food store stands out in our mind. Fresh sea food of every description was on display in long rows of glass cabinets. This was proof of their large fishing resources in the North Pacific.
 

Crossing the Pacific Ocean to Vancouver

Our day in Russia came to an end as we boarded our 'lighter' for the return to the Celebrity Millennium at anchor. On boarding the ship we were met by Russian Border Officials and our Passports were returned. All passengers were accounted for before the ship upped anchor we started our 8 day passage to Vancouver.

Our route from Petropavlovsk took us North East to the Bering Sea and across the International Date line where we picked up an extra day. From the Bering sea we changed course to South East passing through the Aleutian Islands chain in the early evening. This would be the last land we saw until we reached the West coast of Vancouver Island 5 days later.
Our last full day on board we were anchored off Cordova Bay, Victoria as Agriculture Canada needed to board the ship to spray for any possible Gypsy Moths that may be hitch hiking from Asia. 

 The next morning just after sunrise we were on deck as we entered English Bay. In June 1972 we sailed into English Bay for the first time on the P&O Ship Oriana.

Approaching Stanley Park and the Lions Gate Bridge.

 Do we have enough room to clear under the bridge?

Canada Place Vancouver's Cruise Ship Terminal is our final destination on the trip. Just before docking we are pictured on deck wearing a poppy as we had left N.Z. 10 days before ANZAC Day the 27 th of April.

Bill and Susan sailing Speedbird in the Bay of Islands. We have know them for many years going back to the Vancouver Rowing Club where we both moored our boats. We had a good 'catch up' with them this evening.

House sitting

While we were out for a few days sailing in the Bay we stopped in to see our friends who were house sitting this very impressive property just on the other side of the peninsular from Russell.