Beppu, Japan

Sunday April 8th, 2018

Today was the Volendam’s maiden call to the Port Of Beppu, Japan.

Mariner tradition seeks to mark these auspicious occasions with an important ceremony whereby beautiful plaques are exchanged. There is a passageway on deck 4 where the bulkheads are filled with mementoes from ceremonies held during the past 20 years of this ships life. It will be interesting to see here this one will be displayed.

Since it was such a short visit, we decided to just take the provided shuttle to the train station and walk the several blocks to a city park.

(Andi just brought me my morning coffee – his dedication to service is so typical of the crew that we are blessed to sail with.)

As we sailed in this morning, I was struck by the similarity between the view of Beppu and our home town, as seen from the decks of the arriving Black Ball Ferry.

It was a beautiful sunny, but windy day, with clear skies …. how appropriate for the occasion.

Soon busses filled with curious passengers were speeding to the many attractions that this beautiful area of Japan offers. Beppu is blessed to have a bounty of hot springs, thanks to local volcanic activity. There is even one at the entrance to the train station.

I’ll let my images tell the rest of my story.

Tomorrow is an early ‘sail-in’ to the Port of Osaka, Japan.

Jack W Cummings – Far East Adventures 2018