Tea Plantations, Shrine and Fish Market

14-04-24 Sunday

We are docked at Omezaki at 6.30 am this morning and it looks like we will have a lovely clear warm day for our first tour. We are greeted on shore by the local drummers and many flag wavers as we dock. Our tour departs at 8.30, so an early breakfast and then down to collect our tour details and to board the bus. We are driving about an hour out of the port and almost immediately the port area changes to tea plantations. (P:- to be more precise GREEN tea plantations! I have finally found a positive for Green Tea! The plantations are aesthetically beautiful, precise, well manicured added to that we drive thru freshly planted rice paddy’s, vegetable plots and even some early onions-a beautiful road trip). Tucked away on terraced hillsides, beside the Highway, between houses and alongside creek beds. They are very picturesque as they are highly manicured into even rows. This area is renowned for its Green Tea throughout Japan. Also mixed with the tea plantations are small rice paddies, most not planted out yet, and greenhouses.

Our first stop is the Nihondaira Ropeway where we ride the cable car across the valley to the Kunozan Toshogu Shrine. This shrine was built in 1617 for Ieyasu Tokugawa. This area is considered a national treasure. Lacquers and gold leaf were generously used to give these buildings their splendid appearance. From the Ropeway stop there are multitudes of steps to climb to reach the top and every step is a different height or shape. Makes climbing interesting. Thankfully we didn’t have to climb the 1000 steps from the base of the mountain to reach the top. (P:-the only not precise, numbingly accurate thing I have noted so far are the steps, hundreds of them all shapes, step rises and pitches, one has to watch every step to avoid a potential Japanese medical emergency). The area is very beautiful and the buildings interesting. The buildings are all original and are repainted and relacquered every 50 years. Back on the cable car to return to the car park. Next stop is the observatory just around the corner. Great views of Mt Fuji from here, when there is no pollution haze (P:- we were told the pollution is courtesy of China and it drifts across in certain winds – Must be bad in China!) or clouds. We could see the top for a few short minutes but too far away for photos. Lucky we saw her on the last tour.

From here we wind our way back down the mountain and along the Strawberry Coast. This is a tiny stretch of land along the coastline crowded with plastic tunnel houses for growing strawberries. They inch there way up the hillsides. Where ever they can get a grasp on the land. There are suppose to be very delicious strawberries.

Next stop is the Yaizu Sakana Centre. Sakana means fish, so we are visiting the local fish market.

All types of fish are on display here and some are available for tasting. Philip tasted a couple before we purchased some Sashimi to enjoy before reboarding the bus. It tasted great and we wished we had purchased two. Unfortunately we only had half hour here to look around and it really wasn’t enough time but the ship departs at 3.30 so we have to make our way back to port.

After boarding we spend some time on our balcony watching the crowds of locals who have come to wave us off. The drummers are back and the local mayor makes a speech to thank us for visiting and wishes us a great cruise. Kids wave flags and family’s wave us away.

Now to relax for a few hours before dinner.

(P:- The drum bands are precise ( surprise surprise) and extremely loud- ear plugs in the pocket ready for action are standard equipment for me here!

Back on the Westerdam we enjoyed a private spa session which we purchased and we can use every day of our cruise, Dinner of Escargot, Fillet steak and fresh vegetables and a dessert we didn’t need. We have a permanent booking in the dining room by a window for a table of two. We learnt early in our cruise life that random dining at a mixed table of 8 or 10 wasn’t for us – too noisey and I don’t care to listen to everyone outdoing each other with who has the “biggest” of just about everything. Dinner for two with Judith suits me just fine).