We set sail on the Volendam on Sep 24, 2009 from Seattle to Japan. We were at the Shakespearean Festival in St. George, Utah when I got an email about open cabins. The message asked if we had passports. If so, there was a great opportunity for a 17 day trip--$1200 each roundtrip, including airfare home from Japan to Seattle.
This was too good to resist. All we needed to do was pack and get ourselves to Seattle. Bill had been to Seattle on business but neither of us had been to Japan. The first seven days would be sailing the Inland Passage along the coast of Canada, then past Alaska and along the Aleutian Islands to Japan.
There was a lecturer on the Volendam who knew the history of the Aleutians and had visited there. He told fascinating stories.
Neither of us had heard of the battle for the island of Attu. The Japanese captured it in a surprise move at the beginning of WWII. They thought it was important to occupy some land that belonged to the U.S. First they landed on the island of Kiska on June 6, 1942 and on Attu the next day.
The land itself wasn't as important as its psychological effect on Americans. Many people feared it was the beginning of a campaign to attack Alaska. Along with Kiska, the capture of Attu was the first time the U.S. was invaded and occupied since the War of 1812. Americans were shocked.
Later, I read a book about this incident called The Storm on our Shores. It tells the story of a Japanese doctor and an American soldier who were among the men fighting for control of the island.
We first docked in Japan at Hakodate. Strangely, we know someone from there. In fact, she is the only Japanese person we currently know. She is married to our daughter-in-law's brother. I would have called her before we left if I had realized that she was from Hakodate.
The mayor of Hakodate greeted us when we disembarked from the ship on Oct 4. He is the one with his hand on my shoulder.
Here are a few pictures from the morning fish market. Someone offered to take our picture there.
Strangely, we ran into a picture of Tommy Lee Jones in the fish market.
Hakodate has a City Museum of Northern Peoples. We wanted to take the trolley to see it. Bill is looking at the map here.
The museum was small. An hour was enough to see it all. We had never heard of the Ainu people of Japan. We noticed many similarities to the indigenous people of Alaska. We enjoyed our visit to Hakodate.
We celebrated our birthdays on this voyage.
