Day 6 (Thursday 1st October 2026) boarding the Diamond Princess.

 Today we embarked on the Diamond Princess, slipping into cruise mode with that familiar mix of excitement, sunshine and mild disbelief that we’re finally here.

Mt Fuji?

Diamond Princess- viewed from our Hotel 

Our ship was only a short stroll from the hotel—no more than fifteen minutes—and breakfast set the tone for the day: a cheerful blend of Western favourites and Japanese staples. From our vantage point on the 17th floor we’re fairly sure we glimpsed Mount Fuji, hazy but unmistakable, and of course the ship herself waiting patiently in port.

7/11 store Yokohama 

Yokohama Street 

Yokohama with our hotel in background 

Yokohama 

Yokohama has been a delight: tree‑lined streets, spotless footpaths, and a gentle politeness that seems woven into everyday life. At 10am we set off for the pier, slightly worried about the long ramp leading up to the cruise terminal, but it turned out to be nothing at all. Clearly all this walking has done us good.

Boarding was classic Japan—efficient, calm, and astonishingly quick. Our scheduled embarkation time was 11am and we were stepping aboard a few minutes early.

One of the joys of cruising is meeting new people, and today delivered. We met a lovely couple from Manchester, Ann‑Marie and Damien, and later reconnected with the Western Australian couple we’d chatted with at the hotel. 

Sake barrel for embarkation 

Once aboard, exhaustion caught up with us and we indulged in a quick nap before dinner at the ship’s Japanese restaurant. Almost everything was raw except the barbecued eel, but thankfully nothing moved on the plate. We’re becoming quite fond of Japanese cuisine.

Japanese restaurant

Japanese cuisine 

Naturally, a couple of champagnes on arrival and a cocktail or two in the evening helped us settle in. Our cabin is probably the smallest we’ve had in recent years—perhaps ever—but it’s cosy and comfortable. The passenger mix is fascinating: roughly half Japanese and other Asian travellers, the rest a blend of English, Australian and North American guests.

The weather has been glorious today—clear, sunny and warm—a welcome change from the dampness earlier in the week. Tomorrow we tender ashore at Toba, an earlier start than we’ve had lately, but we’ll make it work.

Day 5 (30th September 2026) More Tokyo

Another slow start to the morning—clearly we’ve embraced the “cruise‑adjacent lifestyle” early. Breakfast at 9am, where we met more Aussie travellers from Perth. At this point Japan must think Australia is empty because everyone seems to be here instead.

Exits on a train 

We took the train from Kannai to Akihabara, which is basically Tokyo’s neon‑lit shrine to anime, hobby gear, craft supplies, stationery, and IT gadgets. The ride was 45 minutes plus a short walk, all conducted in absolute silence. Japanese trains are so quiet you start questioning whether you’re the noisy one just by existing. Everything is spotless, efficient, and clearly labelled—like someone designed public transport after reading a thousand angry customer feedback forms.

Akihabara

Cat Cafe Akihabara

Food in Akihabara

Cat cafe -2000yen for 1 hour 

Akihabara itself was damp and overcast, but still buzzing. Lots of foreigners wandering around with the same expression Cos had: the “I might need a second suitcase” look. The streets were clean enough to eat off, though thankfully we didn’t need to test that because there’s food everywhere.

Anime Akihabara

Akihabara

Akihabara Yodabashi Akiba model heaven

Cos dove straight into the model shops. TamTam was two floors of temptation—plastic models on one level, trains on the other, and enough paint and supplies to make you wonder if you should take up miniature modelling professionally. Then came Yodobashi Akiba, which is less a store and more a vertical universe. Floor 6 is the model section, and honestly it’s so huge it feels like someone accidentally built a warehouse inside a department store. Cos went hunting for rare kits and tools with the intensity of a man on a sacred quest.

Racing exhibition 

Yodobashi Akiba

The sound of a cross walk in Tokyo, sounds like the hoot of barn owl😄 or some sort of bird!i

Typical street 

Not just Anime

Classy drinks?

Mad science meets make-up

Akihabara Street 

Craft supplies 

Cat cafe

Meanwhile Melissa hit BIC Camera for Christmas presents and Japan‑only gifts. Cos joined her after an hour, probably because he’d reached the point where he needed someone to stop him from buying a model kit the size of a microwave.

Time flew, and we headed back just before 4pm to dodge the commuter crush. We even got seats—miraculous. The schoolkids on the train were tiny, independent, and navigating Tokyo’s rail system like seasoned office workers. It’s a stark contrast to Australia, where a child can’t walk to the letterbox without a helicopter parent hovering overhead.

Some stations are 25-30metres below ground 

Train station storage 

Typical train 

After a quick break, we jumped on another train to Don Quijote and the ramen shop for round two. We chose a less volcanic ramen this time, which was still delicious and didn’t require medical supervision. Armed with a store map, Don Quijote felt less like a labyrinth designed to test human endurance. We picked up small gifts for friends and family, feeling very proud of ourselves for not getting lost.

Ramen round 2 in Yokohama 

Highly recommend Ten-Poo

Back at the hotel, we tackled the washing in preparation for boarding the Diamond Princess tomorrow—the same ship that had the first COVID outbreak back in early 2021. We waited in the guest lounge while the washing did its thing, feeling very domestic and very ready for cruise life.

Day 4 (29th September 2026) a visit to the centre of Tokyo

 We treated ourselves to a lovely sleep‑in this morning, blissfully unaware that we’d apparently snoozed straight through a 4.9 earthquake at 4:45am. Seventeenth floor, shaking building, and we didn’t even stir. Maybe the quake being 50km deep probably had something to do with us not noticing. Since arriving in Japan we’ve learned there have been twelve quakes, which really confirms that earthquakes here are just background ambience—like cicadas, but geological.

4.9 quake 

At breakfast we met more cruise travellers who announced, with great seriousness, that they plan to walk everywhere because the Tokyo train system “looks complicated.” Even Yokohama. On foot. Bold strategy.

We headed into the city to explore some everyday suburbs—the places where actual humans live and work—before making our way to Shibuya’s famous scramble crossing.

Typical street- buildings between 8-15 stories high

 Along the way we wandered into a camera shop that, curiously, sold everything except we didn’t see the cameras. I sure there were cameras but we were distracted by the other stuff. Instead we found mobile ovens, mysterious gadgets, and an entire wall of alcohol. The whiskey and gin were going for half to one‑third of Australian prices, which is confronting for anyone who has ever bought booze in Australia and wondered why it costs the same as a small car.

Interesting brand name 

Aussie prices 

The train system itself is a marvel: fast, efficient, and so punctual it could shame a Swiss watch. The only confusing part is the tsunami of passengers pouring through the stations. 

The little dog who waited for his master

Shibuya’s famous scramble crossing

Starbucks 

Collectables

Star Wars and Marvel shop

Pokémon lounge 

Outside, the streets buzz with neon, noise, and humanity. When it rains, umbrellas appear instantly, turning the footpaths into a polite fencing tournament. You can absolutely collect a few umbrella injuries from commuters who have places to be and zero hesitation about jousting their way there.

Shibuya’s famous scramble crossing

At one station we encountered a Cocobo security robot patrolling the corridor like a futuristic shopping centre security guard . Japan continues to deliver on its promise of “everyday sci‑fi.” 

Cocobo security robot

We grabbed some station food—a sit‑down raw fish meal and miso mushroom soup—which was delicious and far better than anything you’d expect from a place where trains roar past every three seconds to three minutes.

Train station lunch

The late‑afternoon train back to the hotel started out packed, then gradually emptied as we escaped the gravitational pull of central Tokyo. By the time we arrived, we were exhausted enough to appreciate a simple Japanese dinner near the hotel—no robots, no umbrella duels, no earthquakes (that we noticed).