Day 6 - Busan, South Korea

Our final stop was Busan. I snapped a few pictures as we were entering the port.
It is definitely a port city.

We hopped on a bus and headed to Gyeongju which took quite a while (an hour). I'm not sure how it happened but Devin was in charge of holding up our group number. He wasn't too thrilled with that position. It was quite funny.

Our first stop was the Bulguksa Temple.

It was built in 528 during the Silla Dynasty.

The detail of the artwork and color was my favorite part.

The site is a designated World Cultural asset by UNESCO.

I really like this picture. I love the cane and his stance. I would have loved to have known what he was telling the 3 girls that he was speaking with.

We visited Tumuli Park which is home to some "20 Royal Silla" tombs. We went inside the "Flying Horse Tomb" to see the construction of the tombs and some artifacts. No time to take pictures - Kate and I had to run to find a bathroom which was about a mile from the bus!

Our last stop for the day was the Jagalchi Fish Market. It's the largest seafood market in Korea.

Lots of variety!

Some spiffy(sp?) dressers at the market.

Sea Cucumbers and shell fish.

Heading out of port - there is a lighthouse on the far right.

That night was formal night. We missed the first one due to seasickness:) It was a fun evening.

We had a great show that night too. The performer was Linda Gentille and she had been on the excursion with us the day before in Fukuoka. She wouldn't tell us what she does during her performances. She wanted it to be a surprise. However, when we got back to the ship, the tv had a little blurb on her. She is a concert pianist/entertainer. She amazed us all. She is known as the "piano princess" and is well loved in China and around the world. We were fortunate to have her join us for lunch on our last day at sea. We look forward to seeing her again when she comes our way again!

Day 5 - Fukuoka, Japan

Our first stop was a Japanese Garden in Ohori Park. We didn't wake up to beautiful weather but it wasn't too bad - a very lite rain.
I could see it on Jason and the kid's faces - "wouldn't it be fun to run......"!!

I was able to capture a great picture of the kids.

Jason & I even got a good one! It was a very nice garden. Very peaceful.

Our next stop.... I can't believe I got them to stick their heads in. It was a pretty tight squeeze.

The observation deck is 123 meters high with a 360 degree panoramic view.

I think this picture reminds me of a Godzilla movie:)

A quick pic of Jason before the Kushida Shrine.

It was nice to visit the shrine at dark with all the lights.

The shrine was built or established in 753. We wish we had Lily with us. It doesn't seem right without Lily being in the picture. We all sure did miss her!

Inside the shrine.

I believe this is the Kazari Yamagase. It is a beautiful float that was constructed without a single nail.

Our friends Carlos & Bethe joined us on the cruise. It's always nice to have friends/family on the boat. They were lots of fun and laughs.

We ended our busy day with a few lessons on "napkin folding" in the dining room. We had some great waiters!

Oops - forgot about the yummy chocolate dessert.

Day 3 & 4 - Osaka and Kyoto, Japan

We arrived in Osaka around 4:30 pm on the 3rd day. For immigration purposes, we all had to leave the ship. We decided to eat a quick dinner in the dining room and go on shore. Since it was late in the day, almost all the stores had closed. We just decided to walk the are around the port. It felt good to get off the boat. I thought this was a beautiful man-hole cover.
There was a huge ferris wheel where we docked. It was closed for rides.

This is the only picture I have of our boat.

Right at the port there was a small shopping mall. We had gone in there looking for an ATM and to use the restroom. This blog wouldn't be complete without me posting some pictures of the bathroom. I liked this idea of the little kids seat.

More controls and push buttons. There was even an intercom button for help!!

I have to say that Japan has the cleanest public bathrooms I've ever been to:) If you look at the picture on top, it shows how to sit "correctly".

After doing our business, we decided to head back to the ship and see the late show. It was a wonderful drum performance! We loved it!

Too bad the exchange rate isn't 1:1.

The next morning we hopped on a tour bus and took about an 1 1/2 hour ride to Kyoto, Japan. Our first stop was Rokuon-Ji Temple. Also known as the Golden Pavillion. This bell greeted us as we walked thru the entrance.

As we followed the path, it took us to this very serene temple.

The walls are covered with gold leaf and topped with a bronze phonex. It is one of Japan's most famous traditional masterpieces.

Now this Bonzai tree is either the oldest or the biggest in the world. I just can't remember:)

A different angle.

Katelyn by one of the waterfalls in the gardens that surround the temple.

The next stop was the Kiyomizu Temple. We had to walk up this street to get to the temples. Tourist trap?????

We had quite a few steps to climb. We didn't find out until we got to the top that there is a paved path on the outside. We definitely took that back down.

There were quite a few school groups at the temples. Devin was chosen to be interviewed by one of the boys for a school project.

View of Kyoto City. The weather was absolutely perfect!

I took a picture of the admission ticket. I thought it was so pretty:)

They love hats in Japan. This yellow hat was a good idea. I wanted to get a picture of the teachers. They had to wear a hat as part of their uniform. I never got one.

Inside the temple.

The cemetary for the monks.

In Kyoto is the location for the "Geisha" school. Our guide says there are quite a few imposters on the street. Our friend captured a picture of one with the white make up but had a costume style kimono. This kimono looks to be real but I am not sure if she is training to be a Geisha or dressed up for an important occasion.

Some detail on the temples.

The taxis look very different with their rear view mirros out in front like that. Some friends of ours found out that they aren't cheap to ride in.

The last temple of the day was Heian Shrine which was built in 1895.

The shrine is a replica of the first Imperial Palace which is also located in the city.

While at the train station, we heard that the Prince of Japan was going to be walking thru. So while we waited, I asked this woman if I could take her picture with Kate.

That is him waving, we think:)

It was our first time for all of us to ride a high-speed bullet train. It wasn't anything special other than it only took us 20 minutes to get back to Osaka!!!

On the bus ride back to the ship from the train station, Kate and I were having a good time playing with our picture in the bus driver's mirror. We were in the front seat:)