Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: Japan 2014
All at sea (in a nice way)
Since we'd left Kushiro at 1730 the previous day, we had been embarked upon the longest leg of our circumnavigation of Hokkaido: a 278-nautical-mile (320-land-mile) journey to Abashiri. Overnight, we had briefly entered Russian waters, passing Shikotan Island on our starboard side. We had sailed between Kunashiri and Etorofu islands, then followed the coast of Kunashiri westwards to enter the Nemuro Strait, perform a U-turn to starboard, and begin a sightseeing cruise around the biggest obstacle between ourselves and our destination: the Shiretoko Peninsula. It was very much the long way round and, we hoped, the scenic route: the same Kushiro-Abashiri journey would have been a mere 93 miles by cross-country road.
With
our favourite coffee-shop breakfast out of the way, the main event
that we were looking forward to this morning was a culinary
demonstration hosted by Executive Chef Carlo (right) and
our Maître d'Hôtel Generoso (left). This took place in the
Vista Lounge at 10am and was very well patronised. Given the names
and backgrounds of our two hosts, it came as no surprise that the
theme was Italian classics. I was particularly impressed by our
Maître D, who turned in a confident and accomplished performance
under the scrutiny of the large audience. Should he ever get tired
of the day job, it was clear that this man had more than one string
to his bow!
Once the cookery show had finished, we spent some time on deck - this was meant to be a day of scenic cruising, after all. While it was clear that the Shiretoko Peninsula was an attractive place, we felt that we only rarely got close enough for it to be truly impressive. It didn't compare, for example, with the experience of entering into the narrow confines and awe-inspiring surroundings of a Norwegian fjord.
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We had lunch at Horizon Court, but found that the standard was not up to that of the lunch that we'd had there the previous Saturday, shortly after boarding at Otaru, which had created a favourable first impression. Combined with Tuesday's breakfast impressions, it seemed clear that our visits to this particular eatery would now be at an end.
The main afternoon event for us took place in the Marquis dining room at 3pm. This was the Maître d'Hôtel Wine Club, a wine-tasting event competently hosted by the on-board sommelier. The characteristics of each selected wine were explained, and each was paired with an appropriate canapé from a selection on the table. Overall, it proved to be an interesting, educational and enjoyable experience and we signed up before leaving for a similar event scheduled for Friday afternoon.
Arrival into Abashiri was at 4:45pm, some fifteen minutes ahead of schedule.
If
lunch had been run-of-the-mill and unexciting, dinner turned out to
be one of the unforgettable highlights of our time on board.
Following cocktails at Crooner's, we strolled along to Kai Sushi and
were astonished to see that the place was empty, with the
staff understandably looking a little downcast. (We knew that the
ship was somewhat quieter this evening as some people had decided to
go ashore, but a completely empty restaurant seemed ridiculous!) Mildly shocked but
not in the least put off, we climbed onto bar stools at the main
counter, where we would be able to chat to the chef and get a
close-up view of everything. We enjoyed one of the most insanely
delicious feasts of the trip, with each serving freshly prepared
right in front of our eyes. I was in gastronomic heaven, yet I
managed to have at least one thought that was less than angelic in
nature: What's wrong with people on this ship? Do they have
any idea what they're
missing out on?