We sailed overnight back to the Japanese mainland, aiming for the city of Kagoshima, close to the southern tip. As usual, several of us were out on deck to enjoy the sunrise and our passage into port. Today, though, the ship paused as it arrived in port. Our berth in the port was taken by another ship, whose captain was missing! Several emergency vehicles were visible on the pier, leaving us mystified about the situation. Our bridge crew, and expedition team, pivoted remarkably quickly – and the ship moved around to the other side of the city and docked at the shiny new marine terminal (that is, a cruise-ship terminal). Although a beautiful location, it was farther from the center of town and thus farther from the ferry we were intending to catch. The expedition team did a fantastic job reshuffling all the schedules for the day, and soon we were on a bus to the ferry terminal. It all worked out… read on!
Continue reading “Japan, day 7 (September 9): Kagoshima, Sakurajima, and Sengan-en garden”
David Kotz 