In answer to an email question: No, it is not the first time we have crossed the International Date Line. I did it in 1971 on a trip to the Orient (Hong Kong, Tokyo, Kyoto, Bangkok, Singapore, and Taipei) with my mother. I crossed again in the late 1970’s on a trip to Australia and New Zealand with a friend. Elaine I crossed it on a trip to Australia in 1998 and then again on a separate trip to New Zealand in 2010. And Elaine crossed it on her trip to Viet Nam with Mianne in 2016. Those were all by plane. This is the first time we have done it on a ship.
Ho, hum. Another day at sea. Still calm seas. Still good weather. Sunny this morning, cloudy in the early afternoon, and sunny again by 3 pm. Today marks the halfway point to Japan. Three more days at sea upcoming.
Today we attended a lecture on Japan Geography. Japan is 1,900 miles long and made up of 14.125 islands. Wow, that’s a lot. The four main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku. The rest are classified as remote. The climate varies from humid continental in the north to humid subtropical and tropical rainforests in the south. We will visit Sapporo on Hokkaido Island (the boat docks in Otaru) and Tokyo on Honshu Island. The population of Japan in 2006 was 128.2 million. Today it is 123.6 million. A small decline, you say? Actually Japan has a severe population crisis. The fertility rate in Japan is 1.3 births per woman – far below the population replacement requirement of 2.1 to maintain a stable population. So the population is aging and declining. And Japan allows almost no immigration.
Lots more reading. I finished my second book and am now reading this that I found on the Viking bookshelves:
Breakfast & Lunch. Normal stuff. Here’s the view down the World Cafe dining area where we ate lunch today. Also there’s a view of outdoor infinity pool and hot tub at the stern on deck seven. A little too cool and windy for outdoor action today.
Dinner tonight in the Italian-themed Manfredi’s specialty restaurant after cocktails in the Living Room. Scenes from the restaurant.
Elaine had the eggplant appetizer and the ravioli from the pasta selections as her main. She skipped dessert. I had pasta e fagioli soup to start and the traditional bone-in bistecca alla florentina as my main. I had some ice cream for dessert. We had a wonderful bottle of Gevrey Chambertain pinot noir. First time I ever remember not being able to finish a steak. It was huge!
See you tomorrow.
How many on ship? Sounds like several restaurants and you order steak in an Italian restaurant??
Ship holds 940 passengers. The Italian restaurant is noted for its steak.