As our scheduled arrival into Shimizu isn’t until 10, so we have all morning to just do our standard activities and then hang around watching Mt. Fuji as we sail in.  We are just hanging out in Shimizu today – we’ve been to Fuji on a picture perfect day – no since repeating any outing there – especially as there is no snow on the mountain, which is unheard of breaking all records this year.  So be it. We still get some great shots as we sail in.  Juxtaposed of course with our Mt. Fuji Kit Kats.  LOL.

Finally alongside and out in the port, we head over to the Shimizu Port Museum, which has some wonderful exhibitions on the history of the port from the Edo period to present, including merchandise that was exported, this great room full of tea boxes and their fabulous labels, an outside area (where we can take photos) with a little courtyard between the museum and the building that belonged to the Shimizu Canning Company (Shimizu is the birthplace of canned tuna in Japan) along with canning machinery. 

Then it is upstairs for scale models of all sorts of Japanese ships as well as a special exhibition of works by Japanese painters who went to France to study and produced works that combined both Western and Japanese style.  It is on this floor that we picked up an English speaking guide – apparently they just float around the museum following cruise ship guests and answering any questions they may have.  We don’t really have any questions, but she, Tomo, is so consistently at our side that we make some up just so she can talk to us about the exhibits.  Very sweet.   

As we are leaving, we tell her we are going to the Fishery market, and recommends we visit her friend’s coffee shop.  She gives us a card, upon which we write her name, and she tells us to let her friend know Tomo sent us.  That will be a perfect stop on the way to the market.

Off we go, finding lots more very prettily painted manhole covers, and navigating our way along the waterfront and through alleys to Coffee Torapatan, an adorable place nestled into a corner under the motorway bridge.  Arriving there, who do we find?  Our stalkers, Byron and Kelly!  This is too funny – some people you never see again, some people you see all the time!  After showing the owner the card Tomo gave us and ordering our coffee, we head outside for a table there and Byron and Kelly join us and we spend a nice time chatting and sipping on our excellent coffee.

Leaving we decide we need photos of each of us, and the sweet owner comes out and takes a group photo for us.  Sweet.

We all head off for the Fishery market together, which is a small fish market with lots of products for tourists as well. We go our separate ways here, the stalkers to explore, us to find lunch!  Fish! Yes.  There are restaurants upstairs here but it is so crowded it is hard to tell which is which.  We head over to the next building which has more restaurants on 2 levels, and head upstairs there.  Here too it is crowded in the hallway, but only because it is narrow and people are looking at the menus. We find a place that looks good, small, sushi, with seats available called Oma Shinei Maru – done! 

Seated at a little two-top with a view across the tables outside to the water, we order and commence to eat a fabulous meal of sushi and tempura dishes!  There are really super expensive sushi meals that come piled high on a bed of cabbage, but that’s just too much – volume and price.  They have a huge set lunch menu which works perfect for us.  Ed orders the seafood rice and tempura bowl meal while I go for the “Selectable” three meals rice bowl, choosing the cherry shrimp kakiage (fried shrimp), minced tuna and tuna rice bowls.  Both comes with miso soup and little side veggies.  A feast! Everything is excellent – from the tempura to the sushi – so fresh and so good – and so very filling!  Perfect meal for this seafaring town though.

Finished stuffing ourselves, we head back downstairs, enjoying our examination of the two huge vending machines at the base of the stairs selling all sorts of canned food – obviously an homage to the fact that canned tuna was started here. The stuff they have!  Stuffed raw oysters, crispy yellowfin tuna marinated in oil, canned bonito, something in beer, something that doesn’t have the “unique smell of river fish.”  I should hope not!  Translations.  Too funny. Anyhow, that and the cute little fish mascot finish off our fun visit to the fishery market.

Back to the ship we go, passing this great (but who knows what it is used for) fish mobile!  And wandering along the pier side through a large craft market that Tomo was trying to tell us about as she trailed us through the museum.   We find one more manhole cover as we head back to the ship, making this an early day as we have to pack this afternoon for our onward adventures.

All aboard, we begin the packing process wondering where our laundry is and when it will be returned (we sent it in 2 days ago) and generally wandering around, completing our normal afternoon routines and taking photos of Fuji in the distance and feasting on our remaining boshi-pan. 

Later, we are up in the Lido for dinner, outside of course, in the perfect place to watch the Shimizu wheel light up and the fireworks display put on for Noordam’s first time calling here in port. 

Our laundry comes back (thanks to Tri who went to find it!  Apparently somebody thought we were staying on and figured they’d bring it back tomorrow!), we finish packing, then head downstairs to say farewell to our favorite hostess, Yentin, and the Ocean’s bar crew.  They are all so sweet – Pieter even gives us a HAL shot glass as a going away gift.  Too nice.

Then it is the cabin again, for our last night on this awesome balcony as we sail away toward Tokyo and our on-our-own-on-land adventures tomorrow.