Thursday Oct 22, 2026
Hi Gang! Guess what?? The sun finally came back out today! YAY!! But it was still a bit chilly and windy with the high only 59. But we’ll take it over that pesky rain! And we’re right about at the halfway mark of this trip and we’re loving every minute of it!
Today we were docked in the city of Miyako, Japan. On March 11, 2011, a massive earthquake and tsunami hit this city and caused major damage. Over 500 people died and many, even to this day, are still missing. The waves reached up to 133 feet high with over 9,000 homes damaged and more than 2,600 destroyed. Thank you lucky ox for getting us out of here without any issues!
Our tour today went to three places, which were a boat cruise to Sanriku Fukko National Park, a stop at Jodogahama Beach as well as walking thru the Miyako Gyosai Market. At the National Park we saw some dramatic rock formations. The market was part fish market, part supermarket so we bought some fun candies for the grands. Japan has so many different types of goodies it’s crazy!
Our boat ride was really fun. Right before we got in we saw an animal up on the hillside and it was a Japanese Serow, which is a goat-antelope! Who knew! The boat took us close to all the rock formations and the seagulls were all around us since people were throwing them bread. I thought we were in that Alfred Hitchcock movie, The Birds!
As we prepared to sail away, a group of young kids were singing and playing the drums. It was so sweet! We had a nice evening on the ship as well. We went to the main dining room and I had Escargot for my appetizer, Parmesan Crusted Sea Bass for my main and Tiramisu for dessert. Tonight was dressy night so they always up their food game a little bit in the main dining room that night.
After dinner we went to the show which was guest entertainers named Phil Cass and Philippa. They’re called Australia’s top comedy magicians but I have to admit that was probably the worst show I’ve ever seen on a cruise ship! He wasn’t funny and his magic wasn’t great. I kept waiting for it to get better but it didn’t. Oh well, every other show HAL has put on has been great so I guess this was just a fluke??
After the show we went with our “ain’t broke don’t fix it” routine of ending the night listening to our favorite piano player. Tomorrow we’re looking forward to another sea day! Hope everyone had a great day!
PS: Got back to the room and had another towel animal and this one he used my sunglasses as a prop. But I still couldn’t tell what it was! A mouse?? An owl?? A squirrel?? Anyone have an idea? Lol
