Viking Gems of China and Japan Day 22 – Obi Castle Town - no Kenobis to be found
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| Welcome to Miyazaki |
Sailing into Miyazaki this morning was a little reminiscent of sailing into Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. The water was dotted with small, rocky islets, making for a picturesque arrival.
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| Our approach from the port side |
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| And from the starboard side |
After breakfast, the ship was cleared, so we took the shuttle bus into town. We wandered a bit, not finding much to see.
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| You know that you're in Japan when you see vending machines on every corner |
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| Every imaginable kind of cigarette |
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| Gohiratsu Temple |
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| Gohiratsu Temple over the Horikawa Bridge |
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| Hey - the ship isn't that far, and it looks close on the map - let's walk! |
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| Steps up to the Kanrakuji Temple |
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| Inside, there were a handful of worshipers |
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| There's something you don't see too much - a working phone booth |
After walking seemingly forever, we realized that the tourist map wasn't at all to scale and the ship was a good, long way away. We kept trudging.
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| Eventually, we made it back to the ship, already logging nearly 9,000 steps, and it was only 11:15 |
We grabbed lunch in the World Cafe before heading out on our 1:30 tour to Obi Castle Town. This description is credited to Visit Kuyshu.
Obi is a town of well-preserved samurai houses in Miyazaki’s Nichinan City. Obi Castle dates back to the 15th century, when it was built by the Shimazu family of Kagoshima to protect them from their long-standing enemies, the Itoh family. The Itohs captured the castle during a war in 1484. Almost 100 years later, the Shimazus recaptured it, but quickly lost it again to Hideyoshi Toyotomi, a famous warlord and ally of the Itoh family, who then ruled from the castle for the next fourteen generations. Among the homes you can visit are Yoshokan, the home of the head of the Itoh family, which features a meticulously landscaped Japanese garden and Matsuo no Maru, a large, modern replica of a nobleman’s residence from the Edo period (1603-1867), and the Obi Clan Historical Museum, where samurai armor and weapons are displayed.
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| Approaching the entrance |
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| A traditional Samurai |
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| Stone construction with volcanic ash stones that were easy to cut |
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| These cedars were similar to the ones we saw yesterday, although these were much smaller |
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| Four large cedars, one in each of the four courtyard corners, channel their energy to the small stone in the center - standing on it allows you to gain their energy |
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| Obi Clan Historical Museum |
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| Traditional wear |
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| This entire Samurai armor weighed 23.1kg or 51 pounds |
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| A hand-carried carriage for transporting one person |
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| Silk hand-embroidered with gold thread |
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| A little wildlife outside |
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| The Samurai home |
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| A main room |
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| A warming fire pit |
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| Bamboo floor mats and paper wall screens |
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| Tea room |
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| The toilet - servants emptied a sand-filled pot under the floor |
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| A steam bath |
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| Walking to the feudal lord's home |
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| The home |
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| The garden, complete with a stepping stone path |
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| A central well |
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| The home |
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| A tea room |
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| Like the temple yesterday, this was protected against fire by whirlpool charms on the room corners |
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| Interesting tree trimming |
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| They love their persimmons here, and loaded persimmon trees were all over the place |
We finished our walking tour and took the tour bus back to the ship. All told, we did a little over 12,000 steps today in and around Miyazaki. Our impressions of Miyazaki are that the people are very nice and welcoming, but there sure isn't much to do or see here. It was a new port for us, so that was nice, but we don't see a good reason to return.
It was almost time for a well-deserved cocktail in the Explorers Bar. We headed up and enjoyed a nice sunset behind the mountains surrounding Miyazaki.
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| Nice, golden light on some of the small rock outcroppings in the harbor |
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| This reminded us a little of Cabos San Lucas, Mexico |
We decided to step outside our comfort zone, and after drinks in the Explorers Bar, we actually went to The Restaurant for dinner. For new readers and those unfamiliar with Viking, the main restaurant on Viking Ocean ships is cleverly named, The Restaurant. We rarely dine there because we prefer the buffet-style of the World Cafe. Plus, much of the food is the same between the two, so you can more easily sample at the World Cafe. Plus, pacing is up to you versus the typically slow-paced meal at The Restaurant.
We were pleasantly surprised to find that our server would be Diana, our favorite server in the World Cafe at breakfast and lunch. That got the evening off to a great start. The second surprise was the pacing. Courses came quickly, and the food was hot and very good. We both opted for the daily selection of crab cakes for the appetizer, and the always-available Viking tenderloin and fries for our main courses. The crab cakes were a bit of a variation on what we typically have had, but they were good. The steak was excellent, and both were perfectly cooked. We both enjoyed today's specialty dessert, Chocolate Flabbergast. We were in and out in just about an hour, which, for us, was a terrific pace for dinner. The only issue we had was placement. We were at a two-person table next to the window. The next table toward the center of the room was a six-person round table. No issue there. But the table was placed so close to ours that after they were seated, one woman was sitting no more than six inches from Arlona. We felt like they were sitting right on top of us. It wasn't their fault. Viking placed the tables too close together. We let the restaurant manager know as we left, so they could adjust in the future.
After grabbing something to drink in the room, we returned to the room and watched today's port talk on tomorrow's port, Kochi. This will be another new port for us in Japan. We will be taking a highlights tour tomorrow, getting a taste of Kochi.
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