So we are on the Explorer now and seems like I have been busy since I stepped on this ship. We upgraded out suite and are enjoying the extra space.

Delay on the flight due to bad weather so we arrived in Tokyo much later than expected. We stayed at the INTC for the night the room was good and about 20 minutes from the where the Explorer docked.

Kim and Alice met us for lunch on embarkation day and we met Alice's niece who now lives in Tokyo. Family resemblence was amazing not only in the looks but in personalities. It was a lovely lunch.

Franck is the GM on board and Marius the Restaurant Manager. Two of my very favorite staff members. We have known them both for a very long time. Ken's brother Richard and Lori are also on this sailing and that is nice as a foursome we get along extremely well. They have just learned RUMMIKUB and Kim, Alice, Richard and Lori played with me yesterday. They learned all the complicated rules that got thrown out the window by the KLT group and it is much more fun the way we play. Fewer rules - more fun. We also have extra jokers which changes the fun significantly.

First tour we went to some gardens which were okay not fantastic. Not the traditional Japanese garden but interesting. Huge trees and a area of bamboo trees. Learned a lot about bamboo. THe next two days we are not going on tour. Very cold today and a lot of walking and just dont feel like doing all of that. Being onboard is the best place to be for the first few days.