Shimizu Feb 22, 2026

Shimizu, Japan

   After sailing all night and into the next morning, we finally docked in the Shimizu harbor about 2:00 PM.   We met our tour guide ear the port entrance.  The area had several small curio shops that one could buy high priced trinkets right out of the gate.  We were reluctant to buy anything large because we would need to carry it around town all day.   There was a mix-up with us messaging our Guide.  After everything was straightened out, we altered his destinations a bit.  We scratched going to more Temples and Pagodas or to see more shrines or Buddha’s.  Instead, we drove up on a local mountain to an observation deck.  It was a beautiful and popular spot.  The deck was huge and well done.  We had a few photo ops with Mount Fuji in the background.  It was peeking out of the clouds all morning but showed itself a little more as the day progressed.  

   Leaving the mountain, our guide wanted us to go to a beautiful Japanese garden.  It just so happens that ther was a Temple there, too.  But it was well worth the visit.  The Japanese Garden around the grounds was well done and was home to many amazing plants.  One strange looking tree, for instance, was over a thousand years old.

   From here, our guide decided to show us one of his favorite places reserved mostly for the locals.  Tourists were not brought to this place as the locals wanted to keep it to themselves.  The off-road drive to the secret spot was a dirt road, rocky and narrow that wound through a forested area.  It emerged into a clearing and we saw a dozen or two cars parked facing what looked like a river with Mount Fuji sticking up in the distance.  We spent a few minutes taking photos and group pics.  It was indeed a peaceful spot to be in the evening.

   One sight in particular that we had not seen up close since we started this trip was the beach!  Our guide took us to a place where we walked along a pathway through amazing old growth trees, irregular in shape and drastically leaning away from the ocean.  He said it was because of the prevailing winds the trees leaned this direction.  We walked out on the sand and Eric and I walked down to the surf to get a closer looksee.  It was nice but not as nice as other beaches we had seen. I would give this one 3 or 4 stars.

   Back to the ship for dinner and we head for Tokyo.