On March 31, 2024 the MS Riviera made a brief stop at the port of Shimizu. This would be the last stop on a very thorough exploration of the Japanese archipelago. In a way, this picturesque place was a fitting end to the itinerary. Gym and his dear wife had started the trip viewing the north side of Mount Fuji from Tokyo and in Shimizu there were some wonderful views of the south side of the iconic volcano, looking north, across Suruga Bay.
Shimizu was the smallest port visited on the entire cruise. It is a beautiful place. There is an ancient evergreen forrest on the edge of town, that our travelers explored before they visited a small museum between the trees and the town. Then it was off to Mount Kuno, the original resting place of Tokagawa leyasu, the shogun that united Japan and was such a key figure in its history.
Our travelers rode a cable car to Kunozan Tosho-gu, the Shinto shrine at the top of Mount Kano and climbed up and down a whole bunch of stairs to view all of the various buildings in the shrine complex.
It was a good workout!
They returned to the ship that evening and soon were underway again to enjoy their last evening on-board prior to finishing the voyage in Yokohama. The next morning the cruise was concluded and the dynamic duo had one last night in Tokyo before leaving Japan. In that last 24 hours in-country, they were spoiled as guests of the chi-chi Okura Hotel, situated across the street from the American Embassey. As our heroes explored the area around the hotel on that last day the Cherry Blossoms had finally arrived in the capital and the springtime visit to Japan was complete.
