Another port day today with some unusual timings, arrival at 2:30 pm and departure at 12:00 pm. So, to fill our morning, we just did a bit of milling around, and Nicole went to the gym for a while. For lunch and because of the fact we were getting off mid-afternoon we decided to use the buffet, which we knew would be heaving. It wasn’t until we got there that we remembered there was an upstairs section at one end that a lot of people either don’t know about or are too lazy to use. We found seats straight away, and it was just a case of joining the rabble to get the food. Nicole struck gold and managed to get some Chickpeas and a welcome source of protein, along with some other nice salad items. For a change, something went well.
Getting off the ship became a bit of an ordeal; we had missed the third piece of paper left on the bed that instructed passengers to pick up a numbered ticket for disembarking, so we had to collect one from guest services. We were given number 85 and so ended up being one of the last to leave the ship. Everything was being bottlenecked due to Japanese immigration checks on our first visit; we were told things would get simpler at the rest of the Japanese ports. I’m guessing this explains the unusual timings, as this was essentially a service stop.
Finding something historic and of interest left us pretty much with just the one option, and that was Shuri Castle, so we needed to get off the ship fairly swiftly to make it work. Unfortunately, things didn’t go to plan, and our number 85 was never called out. We just merged into all remaining numbers, and we didn’t leave the ship until 4:30. Immigration then took a further hour, and by the time we made it outside, the local taxis were few and far between due to it being shift change time. There were volunteers giving out information at the terminal and they suggested our best option would be to just walk into town, so that is what we did.
As we were out at our meal time, we used the Happy Cow app and found a vegan restaurant called LaLa Zorba, where we ordered several dishes for sharing. Absolutely delicious, and Nicole was a very happy lady.
To walk it all off, we pretty much walked the length of Kokusai Street, which is a popular tourist destination for its shopping, dining, and lively atmosphere. It was certainly lively and a great place for people watching.
We ended the evening walking back to the ship, which took 30 minutes.
Fitbit Steps – 16,842
And you and my other Brit friend call me Victor Meldrew 😂. I feel for you. Not the best cruise you have taken, right? Hope it gets better. Never sailed Costa. Probably never will now.
touché 😂😂😂
Not the greatest cruise but we live in hope.
Certain things are picking up and we hopefully will have some great days at the ports we are yet to visit.