SAKAIMINATO TO BUSAN

Sakaiminato is another city tourists never visit.  I never even heard of it until this cruise.  

Not much to say about this city, but:

• Sakaiminato is formed of two kanji characters.  The first means border, and the second is port.
• Has a population of 32,000, but was 38,000 in 1980.
• 466 miles from Tokyo, and even with the bullet train covering a good portion, it takes 8 hours to get here by train.
• At one time it had a sister city, Wonson, North Korea, which was revoked in 2006.
• 
  The most notable person from here is Shigeru Mizuki, manga creator of GeGeGe no Kitaro.  One hundred bronze statues of the characters line Kitaro Road.
• A ferry from this port is the only one which can take you to Russia from Japan.

• 
  Read this vlog describing what to do if you stay a night and day.  And the ideal spot they recommend is the Onyado Nono Sakaiminato Dormy Inn, which has an onsen and is located right by the train station.  Also offers free noodles in the evening, and, of course, a free Japanese breakfast.

Lunch today on the Diamond Princess was fabulous.  Additives in the ramen bar and desserts.

The first day we boarded, I thought I saw our 15 Craigside friend Steve.  Well, here he is again, and he sat next to our table.

My lunch with a bloody mary and beer.

See that tower in the background?  That is where we will go after lunch.  While the above cuisine was outstanding, what was spectacular was the crispy pork skin.  Many places serve this, but this ship is the only one where the crispness is not too tough for my teeth.  

Walked to Yumeminato Tower, which is a complex of shops, restaurants and viewing sites.  First stop, a fish market, where people purchase mostly Matsuba snow crab, many consuming it there with beer.  Provided are the tools you need to prepare the open the crab.

Outside the market was a swarm of local fishermen catching small fish, maybe 4 inches long,

We then paid about $2 each to go up to the top of the tower.

The round pier is where I took the fishing photo.

Every city has a mascot, and Toripi is the one here.

Sakaiminato has a long history of being international, so there is a museum where exhibits are scattered from China, South Korea, Mongolia and Russia.  In fact, many of the signs in and outside of the tower had two languages:  Japanese and Russian.  Many Matryoshka dolls.

We departed at sunset, 5PM local time.

We wondered what that building was, but never found  out.

We now have a pattern.  Start with predinner drinks at Crooner's Bar, followed by dinner.

We went back to The Savoy.

Forgot to take photos, but here is the end of my meal, which was fine.  Sort of a fusion of Japanese and Western.

Dessert was butter toffee ice cream doused with Harvey's Bristol Cream.

I was so sleepy that we immediately went to bed.  Walked a good 6087 steps today,.

Interestingly enough, I yesterday reported that I walked 9508 steps over two days.  Turned out I read the pedometer up-side-down, and I only walked 8056 steps in two days...because I forget to set it to zero in the morning.

We just arrived in Busan, one of our very favorite cities.  We spent some time Busan in 2019.  Photos of buildings and from the executive lounge of the Westin Chosun.

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KANAZAWA TO SAIKAIMINATO

Kanazawa has a population of 466,029.  I came once just to try out the new Hokuriku Shinkansen in 2015.  This line will be extended to Fukui next year, with an eventual connection to Shin Osaka in 2045.

We decided to skip the tours on this stop.  In fact, we might never take any, for we know enough about Japan, that we can get around by ourselves.

But about Kanazawa:

• It is the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture.
• The weather is said to be similar to Seattle.  A little wet.
• There has so far been no population decline.
• Kanazawa means marsh of gold, for legend has it that a peasant was digging for potatoes when flakes of gold washed up.  For that reason, dating back over 400 years, the city's artisans are famous for creating gold leaf crafts.

• 
  Sister cities include Buffalo and Ghent, Belgium.
• Kanazawa University is a national university, tracing its beginnings to 1862.
• Kanazawa Castle was reconstructed in 2001
• Kenrokuen Garden is one of three gems of Japan.
• 
  Located next door to the garden is their 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, an architectural masterpiece.
• The Nagamachi Samurai District showcases how they lived.

• 
  Visit the Omicho Market for seafood.
• The Geisha tradition continues.
• The Higashi Chaya Tea House district is a UNESCO-designated site.

Perhaps during our Japan Railway Pass series we can drop by this city.

Arrival in Kanazawa.

Lunch.

Dessert of chocolate lava cake.  Delicious.

Went to have photos taken in formal wear, followed by dinner with Wakoko and Bob at Kai Sushi.

Changed back into less formal clothes and had a strawberry margarita to match the color of my shirt.

Then to Kai Sushi.

From the left, beer, awamori on ice, hot sake and strawberry margarita.

I had a kaisen-don.  Forgot to take photos of the dozens of sushi we had.

After dinner, some karaoke singing, then went disco dancing

Ended the evening tasting three Macallans.

That pedometer showed I walked 9508 steps, but that was for two days.

We arrived in Sakaiminato.

Looking the other way,

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