A Chance to Catch Up

Dearest Rachel –

So this trip is made up of three separate sections in all; a short week in Japan (which is what we’re truly here for, since it’s about the only way for us to make a stop in Sapporo), a second, full week of sea days up north, and finally, a week involving a series of stops along the Alaskan coast before ending up in Vancouver. Today is something of an anomaly; a sea day in between the two main Japanese destinations.

And it’s not a moment too soon to have it, too. Having gone straight from the airport to the ship – which is very much unlike our traditional modus operandi when cruising – we haven’t gotten a whole lot of time to acclimatize ourselves to the situation on the ground here. Granted, the ship served as our hotel in Tokyo that first night, as opposed to having us board and immediately take off like we’re ‘used to,’ which makes it somewhat six of one and half a dozen of another, but still, it’s been a busy couple of days.

That’s not to say that I haven’t done what I can to record my thoughts as we go along, but as I’ve pointed out before, it’s difficult to work in multiple media at a time. I can write about things, I can take pictures, and I can film, but I can’t do all of them at once. Usually, I’ll write when there’s nothing to take pictures of (such as when we’re on a plane or sitting around in the port terminal), and sometimes I’ll take pictures specifically to illustrate those letters, but that’s the closest I can get to doing more than one of these tasks simultaneously. Meanwhile, I can’t imagine scripting what I’m filming, as it’s usually comprised of my reactions to the place or the meal in the moment; so not only is writing not feasible in those moments, it’s rather pointless in part because, if a picture is worth a thousand words, how many are a video worth?

Of course, that still requires that I put them together, and the days in Tokyo have been sufficiently busy – and tiring – that I haven’t had the time to edit the footage… until today. This sea day gives me a chance to catch up with everything that’s happened, and I hope you can take it in and enjoy it.

Let’s start with the first day out and about; once all the headaches were sorted out (apart from the actual, physical one that I was still dealing with even as I was filming this), I’d planned to head out with Daniel to a certain gyukatsu place for dinner. This required traversing most of the length of Harumi island, but that was fine by me; I’d need the exercise (especially after being cooped up for so long in that airplane, but also to both build up an appetite and work off the calories afterward). Besides, while the area isn’t exactly a touristy place, it still had its moments of interest.

Now, you might be wondering why we would bother to make such a trek, other than the obvious fact that, while we were in port, we ought to make a point of taking in as much as we could of where we were, as we’d have plenty of sea days to deal with throughout next week. After all, doesn’t the cruise line offer a full menu of choices without having to literally go the extra mile and pay for our own meal? Well, yes… but this was something a little special. Not quite the same as the time we had a similar meal at Sunshine City, but not bad at all. Allow me to explain…

As for yesterday, you already know about how Daniel and I simply took the cruise-line-provided shore excursion just to get out into the city proper; from there, we just wanted to work our way back toward the island neighboring Harumi. You also know about the snafu involving our Suica cards, requiring us to get train tickets to get back home. But here was my reaction in real time, if you’re interested.

But you might recall that I only mentioned having accomplished what I’d intended to yesterday, not so much what that was I meant to see and do. I’d been told about Tsukuda fishing village, and that was a slight disappointment in being so quiet and empty as we went across the bridge and into the place. The buildings were small and Showa-era old looking, but that was about it. So we made our way along the Sumida-gawa riverwalk until we found Nishinaka-dori, also known as “Monja Street,” for a local dish that seems specific to (if not outright exclusive to) the Tsukishima area.

While I’m not as insistent that this dish come to the States – if nothing else, I don’t see us Yanks mastering okonomiyaki, and until we do, we should hold off on importing this particular cousin of that entree unless we can make more of a show out of it, like with teppan-yaki and the Benihana-type outlets we have – it was certainly something to enjoy, and worth trying if one has the opportunity to do so.

But on the subject of menu items that I really wish were more available back in the States…

As with the gyukatsu, this is something we’d eaten before (more Daniel than myself, but that’s just another reason to get one for myself this time around), but needed a chance to taste it again and relate my opinion on it for the camera. And it was every bit as good as I thought I remembered, too.

I know, I talk a lot about the food over here that we don’t get to enjoy back at home; it’s especially noticeable since we deliberately avoided the usual sightseeing venues this time around, but it’s not like I haven’t filmed myself eating a lot of unusual things over time, particularly while traveling. I guess it’s that one pleasure I can get out of life these days, and when I’m somewhere that has different offerings, I feel the need to try it. It’s safer and easier than engaging in some high-adrenaline adventure, I suppose. In any event, the monja was the main objective of the day, but the soda ice cream was just a bonus on top of it.

But once that was done, there was still a couple of miles for us to walk in order to get back to the ship; so I took the time to film a few steps along the way there as well. Nothing particularly consequential, other than continuing to be amazed at how empty the streets seemed to be, especially given Japan’s – and especially Tokyo’s – reputation of being crowded and busy. Even with Daniel in tow (or, in some cases, him towing me), the emptiness of the area was palpable.

But once aboard ship, we could begin to relax. Not enough so as to get this footage edited – or maybe too much, so that the motivation to do so slipped away from me – but at least, everything is up to date for us as we prepare to hit Sapporo. I may have to do this again, given the limited time we’ll have there as well, so I guess you’ll hear from me about this on Friday or so. Until then, keep an eye on us, and wish us well; we’re going to need it.