After a very smooth overnight sailing, we tied up at the Osaka terminal which is located next to a giant Ferris wheel, Legoland, an acquarium, and a huge shopping mall. We had an organized tour with other 9 other Cruise Critic participants to see highlights of Kyoto. Kyoto is the old capital of Japan sandwiched between Nara and the current capital of Tokyo. Our mini van was comfortable and quiet and whisked us to Kyoto in a little over an hour with our guide Mi giving commentary along the way.
Our first stop was at the former Imperial Palace. We had to leave our shoes behind and get herded (literally) through the palace. There were dozens of tour groups and it was exceptionally crowded. We then visited another temple with its Golden Pavillion which was quite scenic (cherry blossoming is in full swing here), but it was also quite crowded. We then made a lunch/shopping break stop at a large shopping area at Teramachi. Once again it was super crowded but there were lots of interesting shops and items including a store with lots of Manga items which delighted our granddaughter.
The final stop for a couple hours was at the Kiyomitzu Temple at the top end of a very traditional shopping street. A part of the temple is under reconstruction and it was a cool experience to drink using ladles cleaned by ultra-violet rays from the pure water flowing out of the hillside. Again it was very crowded. At just before 4pm we headed back to the ship and were there by 5:30pm where we said our goodbyes to Mi and our driver. We re-boarded the ship, dropped off our purchases and backpacks, and headed back out for some late exploring. We exchanged some money at the terminal so we could have more Yen and then went to find the Manga store devoted to one series called One Piece with its pirate theme. We easily found it and my granddaughter bought a few things. We ate some spicy chicken at a nearby street vendor that was quite good before going to explore the building containing the entrance to the Ferris wheel and Legoland. There's a very cool full size lego giraffe located in front of the building. The first floor is largely filled with eating places of all kinds including Subway, First Kitchen, and many uniquely Japanese cuisine food shops. General merchandise is on the second floor as well as the entrance to Legoland and the Ferris wheel. Tickets for the Ferris wheel must, however, be purchased on the ground floor. There was a cruise ship price of 700¥ per person (100¥ discount) which was a nice gesture. We took a ride and enjoyed the sights before eating some pork patties over rice with odon noodle soup. We put our granddaughter back on the ship while we checked our email and Facebook accounts.
Back onboard we watched a 9:30pm performance of the Ikura circus in the main theatre before retiring for the evening. A 10 year old girl passenger named Megan was chosen from the audience to participate in one of the stunts as a Ninja and she was fabulous!
Tomorrow, we'll explore a bit of Osaka using public transportation before needing to be onboard by 3:30pm.
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