Sunday 19 April, Kanazawa

We arrived in our final Port this morning. After breakfast we head to Kanazawa castle with Kenji as our guide. This historic castle dates back to the Maeda clan in the late 16th century. While the original structures of the castle have undergone several reconstructions due to fire and natural disasters, it is impressive with huge gates, watch towers and large grounds.

We then cross the road and enter Kenroku-en Garden, considered one of Japan's three most beautiful gardens. Don't know which the other two are, but it truly is magnificent. Originally developed in the 16th century it has gorgeous landscapes that include ponds, bridges and tea houses. The trees are magnificent.

We have some spare time after wandering the gardens so head to a nearby shop that sells the local specialty of gold leaf icecream! At $10 a cone, was it worth it? Probably not but I'm unlikely to pass this way again any time soon. Mind you, I may be pooping glitter for the next couple of days!

We are then back on the coach for a visit to the Nagamachi Samurai district. This area shows a traditional samurai neighbourhood with well preserved residences,winding alleyways and narrow canals.

We visit a small samurai house that remains after the break up of the feudal system.

As we leave the samurai house I spot a little cafe that befits a number of people on this cruise (not me though!).

Time to get back on the coach and then back to our ship for lunch. The afternoon is filled with packing our cases as best we can and attending a surprise special afternoon tea for those still on the ship. My stomach has no memory as we only had lunch just over 2 hours ago.

From our ship, we catch a peek of snow capped mountains in the distance. Hard to imagine this place in winter.

Time for drinks in the lounge before or final briefing on what to expect tomorrow getting off the ship, onto the bullet train and arrival in Tokyo.

Time for dinner which is a Japanese menu. I can only manage 2 courses and even then it's a struggle.

And the next thing I know I have all the dining room staff surrounding our table and singing their version of Happy Birthday to me. What a racket, and what a lot of fun. I was then presented with a small birthday cake which I felt obligated to eat a small piece of! Even though it's not my birthday til tomorrow, they didn't want me to miss out on celebrating it. J1 took a video that I will upload later. Can't do it with the ships wi fi. Back to our room and what ahoot when I see what staff have done to my bed!

But time now for a bit more packing, filling out Customs forms and the blog!It certainly has been a great cruise and we now only have a taste of Tokyo to look forward to until it's home time. But for now my bed is calling me so I'm done for the day.