Around the World in 128 Days - Ishigaki, Japan

 

Travel Day 51 - February 23, 2024 - 24,315 Steps

Greeting as we left the ship for our first of a number of stops in Japan.

Beats me what it says. It was a card in the seat pocket on the bus.

Looked like sugar cane.

And it was sugar cane

A truckload of canes heading to the factory. Whereas the cane fields near where our RV lot is in the Rio Grand Valley are quite large, here they are very small.

Rice fields.

An open air museum was the first stop on today's excursion

You could say the Japanese house they had on the grounds were open air houses.

They were all around us, but tended to move very quickly.

An apple orchard it isn't.

I's a Crested Serpent Eagle according to the sign by the cage.

Farmer's house.

Cane crusher.

Where they boiled the syrup down to make sugar, I think.

Farmhouse kitchen.

Our lawn ornaments look so stupid compared to theirs. Think pink flamingos. 

A couple of ferocious lions, at leas one of the is when I set her off by doing something stupid. A not so rare occurrence on my part. Bad Bob. Normally Sweet Linda.

I think it is an art photo. Perceptive Bob.

Second stop on the excursion, a boat ride.

Not just any boat, a very nice glass bottomed boat.

Looking down into the water.

I think it is a cool photo. It is my blog after all.

Definitely a very pretty place.

Two signs Linda just had to take photos of in the woman's restroom.

Just like Pringles, it is everywhere, fatten up people and ruining their teeth. Who needs betel nut when Coke will turn your teeth just as dark.

Hey. It's a picture and there is bird. I takes 'em when I sees 'em.

Cemetery. Our guide said each plot is for a family and all members are burried their.

It's the entrance to a cave.

How that first photo turns out when you haven't changed the settings on your camera after entering the cave.

Trying to give you an idea of what the cave looked like. We took over a hundred photos while inside.

Noticed my shadow of the wall of the cave so why not take a selfie and call it the Cave Ghost. I think it rather cool.

Video showing the colored lights in action.

Have to love the name.

she's just so pretty and just so lucky.

When a bridge abutment is also a work of art. They sure do like those creatures. 

I bag that's more than just a bag. It is hand painted with homemade dye.

The two symbols mean yes. After he proposes marriage she goes to a weaver and has one of these woven with her answer. When he receives it from her he finds out if she says Yes or No.

Back home again from what was by far the best excursion we have been of during the entire cruise to date. And it just wasn't what we saw, it was the guides knowledge, manner and the fact she it very clear when we should be back on the bus by saying the time as 11:50 instead of the 35 minutes all the other countries guides use. for the first time no one was ever late getting on the bus. It was a geat start to our 12 days of Japan.