Maizuru, Japan

July 30, 2015 -- Maizuru, Japan (8:00AM~11:00PM)

Sky: Overcast

Temperature: 29C

Maizuru is situated north of Kyoto by the Sea of Japan. Being so close to China, Korea, and Russia, it naturally became an important military port. There are not that much to see in the city itself so many people would be going on their excursions to Kyoto while the ship docks here. I suppose that was why we had a long day in port, to give people ample time for the long trip to Kyoto and back.

We, on the other hand, planned on taking the train to Amanohashidate and spend the day there.

Entering Maizuru Wan

Some villages along the coast.

Finally docked at 9:40AM, almost two hours late due to a failed engine during the night which slowed down the course. Everything had to move back two hours, including all the ship excursions and the scheduled time for the immigration process. They were making announcements continuously regarding changes. Most tours had to cancel their scheduled lunch and one tour was just canceled, period.

Tour guides were already waiting at the pier. They would have a long wait there that morning.

They were still smiling though, thank goodness!

This is in Kyoto Prefecture.

Taxis all waiting patiently outside the port.

Health officials getting ready to board the ship. Since we were coming in from South Korea where cases of MERS reported, they were being careful and scanned everyone of their temperatures as we entered to clear immigration at Club Fusion.

Immigration officers getting off the waiting buses to board the ship.

We went down to Club Fusion at 10:30, as assigned, thinking that by the time we get to the front of the line it would be around the push-back time of 12:30. The line was so long that it went all the way from Club Fusion to the Theater, almost the length of the whole ship! We were in line for an hour and a half at least. More unhappy people.

We decided to have some lunch at the buffet after the immigration check because it was raining heavily by then. Another bowl of yummy ramen. We thought maybe we had to forget about our plan to Amanohashidate.

Fortunately, the rain stopped as we finished our lunch. We then proceeded to the terminal and purchased our one-day Amanohashidate Pass for 1,600 Y each, which included the train ride, the ferry, the chair lifts, the cable car, and the bike rental. Not a bad deal!

This was the drop-off point in front of the train station for the free shuttles.

In front of the Nishi Maizuru train station.

Our 2:04 one-car train going to Amanohashidate.

Quite crowded!

After some people got off at the various stops along the way.

Passing by some coastal villages.

Sit on the right side of the train, better views.

We arrived Amanohashidate train station at 14:45. The tourist information desk here was very helpful in pointing out our routes and gave us clear directions of where to go. Clean restrooms here also.

Then we crossed the street in front of the train station and walked to the right.

Then made a left turn onto this street which goes to the boat dock.

We made a little detour and turned right before reaching the temple gate to check out this bridge.

Then we walked past the temple gate to the boat dock on the right. It was just a short 5-minute walk from the train station to the boat dock.

With the one-day pass in hand, we just boarded the boat to Miyazu, where the Kasamatsu Park is.

Green trees and green water.

We went up to the top of the boat, an excellent view from there.

the sandbar

Getting closer to the other side of Miyazu. We will have to take the cable car (right) or the chair lifts (left) to go up.

Getting off the boat.

On the right of the dock is the walking path to the sandbar.

Go straight out on this street to the Kono Shrine and the park.

We had to go through the Kono Shrine to get to the cable car. A short cut.

Supposedly no photos beyond this point.

Put your ear to the top of the bamboo stick that's to the left of the shrine, you will hear soft music sounds coming through like water piano. Very impressive! I was following the rule of no photography, so no pictures.

Came out from the left entrance of the shrine.

We decided to take the cable car up.

Good view of the sandbar.

This is what you must do when you are up at the observation deck.

Bend over and put your head between your legs, then look straight and you will see "the Bridge to Heaven".

This is the normal view...

... this is the Bridge to Heaven.

Observation deck

Buy some flat rocks and see if you can throw them through this loop for good luck.

flat rocks for sale, 3 for 200Y

After enjoying a chocolate-covered ice cream cone, we took the chair lift back. It was a lot of fun! It is a single-seat ride with no bottom for your feet and no protective bar in front. Only a bar on the right hand side for holding on. But it was never too high to cause alarm and there were nets where they thought could be a problem. I would have gone up and down one more time on the chair lift just for fun if we had the time.

Have to be careful getting off though. A quick and sturdy jump off.

Map of the park.

Walking through the shrine again.

While the rest of our group decided to do some shopping and resting near the chair lift station, ChC and I decided to walk through the sandbar instead of taking the boat ride back.

Here is the boat dock again.

Then we made a left on this road. If I remember correctly, there are bike rentals nearby which is also covered by the one-day pass. Unfortunately, I don't know how to ride a bike, so walking it was.

Beginning of the walk

On the map it says this would be a 50-minute walk and it certainly was pleasant walking this shady path lined with old pine trees.

Some people were swimming at the beach area which looked very nice and clean.

The tree branches almost touching the water.

Yes, it was about a 50 minute walk for us to reach the bridge here.

Back to the river

and the temple. We basically beat the others in our group because we had to wait for them at the boat dock. Now I wonder why we did not go inside this temple? It would have been a nice place to visit.

After checking out a couple of stores we took a leisurely walk back to the train station.

Sign at the train station

and took the 6:00PM train back to Maizuru. The train ride was scenic but the A/C was definitely too cold for us on our way back. We arrived Maizuru at around 6:53 and caught the shuttle back to port.

Now, what is going on?

Volunteers were serving beef stew to passengers. How nice! It was delicious too!

Come to think of it, this was the only port in Japan where we did not have a local meal.

Beef, potatoes, carrots

Yum!

Even though we would be leaving late, they still put on some kind of performance at the pier.

It was open-seating again in the MDR that evening. After checking the menu, we opted for dinner at the buffet. After dinner, ChC and I went to the Maizuru Folkloric show in the theater.

They were local performers of all ages who put on a nice show.

The youngest was this two-year old girl. Cutest ever!

The main performer, the "swordsman". He speaks fluent English.

When it was time to leave port, I jumped out of my bed and went to the balcony. This was what I saw...These volunteers were running alongside the ship, yelling and waving "Good-bye" to us until our ship pulled far, far away. It was a touching scene indeed and it was 11:00PM.