We woke up at 5:00 and were down to breakfast by 7:00. We were one of the last ones at the buffet. As I mentioned before, people from Hawaii tend to arrive early rather than late. Our decades of living in the Midwest have us aiming for just being on time.
Our Yokohama tour guide John and Tohoku Travel escorts, Clarence and Wesley kept us supplied with morning juice and coffee. Clarence even dispensed vitamins for those who wanted it.
One thing I got to like on this trip was the soft boiled eggs. All the soft boiled eggs were in a bowl with another bowl on the side to dispense your empty shells. You would then add some soy flavored sauce onto your egg. Yummy!
We left the Spa Resort Hawaiians to go to Aquamarine Fukushima.
We were feeling safe since John said we were 32 miles away from the Fukushima Nuclear Plant.
The aquarium was quite impressive with its glass tunnel like covering.
We've seen a number of aquariums on the mainland and in other countries, but the Aquamarine Fukushima had very nice displays of different kinds of marine life.
This sea lion was huge!
I thought these black spotted garden eels were plants at first.
The jellyfish floated gracefully around the tank.
It was sort of otherworldly to walk through this ocean tunnel.
Speaking of otherworldly, these spider crabs looked like alien creatures.
The shrimp looked tasty. Just kidding.
Art read at the front of the aquarium that there was a coelacanth exhibit.
When we saw this grouper, we thought it was the prehistoric fish from the deep.
Nope.
The Indonesian coelacanth was preserved under glass.
Lunch was at the Phoenix Restaurant in the Iwaki area.The teishoku meal was very nice indeed.
Teishoku is a type of Japanese meal where all the dishes are served as a set. There's a main dish with miso soup, rice, pickles, etc.
A bit of a bus ride took us to the Iwaki Marine Tower that gave us a bird's eye view of Fukushima. It was opened in 1985. It was fun to see plantings below in the shape of sea life.
Storm clouds appeared to cover Mt. Bandai.
We arrived at Hotel Listel Inawashiro where a huge dinner buffet was awaiting us in the evening.
My onsen friends told me that it would be much less crowded if we visited the hot springs baths before dinner. They were right! It was very relaxing. Dinner afterwards closed the day with smiles on our faces.
Art and I were one of the few people who were traveling with Tohoku Travel for the first time. We would eventually get hints from other veteran Tohoku travelers that made things even easier for us.
It was a lovely day and we were beginning to know our 37 other fellow travelers better and loving it. One fellow was a Waipahu grad(uate) like me and knew my brother. Another traveler knew Art's cousin. One lady was also from Sendai like my mother and the same age! What a coincidence!
Just awesome!
Our Yokohama tour guide John and Tohoku Travel escorts, Clarence and Wesley kept us supplied with morning juice and coffee. Clarence even dispensed vitamins for those who wanted it.
One thing I got to like on this trip was the soft boiled eggs. All the soft boiled eggs were in a bowl with another bowl on the side to dispense your empty shells. You would then add some soy flavored sauce onto your egg. Yummy!
We left the Spa Resort Hawaiians to go to Aquamarine Fukushima.
We were feeling safe since John said we were 32 miles away from the Fukushima Nuclear Plant.
The aquarium was quite impressive with its glass tunnel like covering.
We've seen a number of aquariums on the mainland and in other countries, but the Aquamarine Fukushima had very nice displays of different kinds of marine life.
This sea lion was huge!
I thought these black spotted garden eels were plants at first.
The jellyfish floated gracefully around the tank.
It was sort of otherworldly to walk through this ocean tunnel.
Speaking of otherworldly, these spider crabs looked like alien creatures.
The shrimp looked tasty. Just kidding.
Art read at the front of the aquarium that there was a coelacanth exhibit.
When we saw this grouper, we thought it was the prehistoric fish from the deep.
Nope.
The Indonesian coelacanth was preserved under glass.
Lunch was at the Phoenix Restaurant in the Iwaki area.The teishoku meal was very nice indeed.
Teishoku is a type of Japanese meal where all the dishes are served as a set. There's a main dish with miso soup, rice, pickles, etc.
A bit of a bus ride took us to the Iwaki Marine Tower that gave us a bird's eye view of Fukushima. It was opened in 1985. It was fun to see plantings below in the shape of sea life.
Storm clouds appeared to cover Mt. Bandai.
Mount Bandai is a stratovolcano located in Inawashiro-town, Bandai-town, and Kitashiobara village, in Yama-Gun, Fukushima prefecture. It is an active stratovolcano located to the north of Lake Inawashiro. Mount Bandai, including the Bandai heights, belongs to the Bandai-Asahi National Park. --WikipediaTours from Hawaii always stop every hour or so at a rest area. We are seniors after all and need a bathroom break. AND there's always a gift shop. We loved the soft serve cones and this one was grape. We couldn't remember ever having a grape soft serve.
We arrived at Hotel Listel Inawashiro where a huge dinner buffet was awaiting us in the evening.
My onsen friends told me that it would be much less crowded if we visited the hot springs baths before dinner. They were right! It was very relaxing. Dinner afterwards closed the day with smiles on our faces.
Art and I were one of the few people who were traveling with Tohoku Travel for the first time. We would eventually get hints from other veteran Tohoku travelers that made things even easier for us.
It was a lovely day and we were beginning to know our 37 other fellow travelers better and loving it. One fellow was a Waipahu grad(uate) like me and knew my brother. Another traveler knew Art's cousin. One lady was also from Sendai like my mother and the same age! What a coincidence!
Just awesome!
Another lovely day! That aquarium is definitely otherworldly. And the food looks simply delicious! :-)
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of hourly restroom stops, catering to seniors wow.
ReplyDeleteWow so much to see and eat. I don't think I would eat grape ice cream but it sure looks good.
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing aquarium. Isn't it fun to meet people and find those connections? It always surprises me.
ReplyDeleteAs usual, I am delighted to read your adventures. Stopping every few hours would be high on my list too. How interesting to discover people who know people among your fellow travelers.
ReplyDeleteI would think that 32 miles is still too close, but the fish and people there seem just fine. What a wonderful time you two had.
Wow, that sea lion was huge. Dwarfed the man. The food looks great and I love soft boiled eggs. How neat to make so many connections.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos!! That sea lion! I never realized they were that huge!
ReplyDeletehow fun...food, musuems, beautiful scenery...
ReplyDeleteI remember how comfortable I felt traveling in my ancestral homelands of Norway and Sweden. It must be the same for you when traveling in Japan. You are familiar with the food and the culture.
ReplyDeleteIt'd be neat if all nations adopted Halloween full-on Canada/US style
ReplyDeleteIt's great that you helped the Fukushima economy with your visit!
ReplyDeleteAn awesome day, indeed!
ReplyDelete