We have a few hours to say farewell to Kagoshima before we have to head to the ferry terminal. It is great that the terminal is close to the centre of town and our hotel. We checked out of the Dormy Inn and spent some time touring around on our trikes.
First stop was a pharmacy, and by that I mean an old school small business with pharmacists and one long term employee at the front. He is the same age as us, 70 years young, and he was a true professional who had worked at this pharmacy for much of his working life. Attired in a full length white coat, he took his job seriously and conferred with the pharmacists to find the right medication for Mary Ellen’s cold once he had a list of the prescriptions she takes.
He wasted no time in getting it ready so I could start right away.
The treatment is in 3 parts…first a powder (pretty unpleasant)which you put in your mouth and drink a glass of water to get it down, then a pill followed by a small bottle of liquid. I will take it 3 times a day.
He suggested that being run down makes one vulnerable to colds, so he made up a concoction that he squirted into capsules which we both took. All pre approved by the pharmacist of course.
This charming gentleman, Registered Asst. Manabu Takino is a tribute to the quality of workers we encounter in Japan. It is rare to walk into any shop, from a Conbini to a pharmacy, and be faced with an employee who projects boredom or disinterest. He made us feel fortunate to have visited this pharmacy which offers great service and personable caring staff.
We are so often greeted by locals who see us riding and ask us to stop, chat with them and welcome us to their city. We know it is partly because our trikes are unusual and it is a great icebreaker. Typically we encounter friendly and curious locals who want to know who and what we are.
We happened to ride by the place where the dessert called Shirokuma was created in Kagoshima. Of course we had to stop. We weren’t sure about the connection with the polar bear, but it turns out that Shirokuma translates as polar bear.
Shirokuma is made with finely shaved crushed ice, sweetened condensed milk and assorted fruit. The shop is called Tenmonkan Mujaki. Despite its popularity, it wasn’t our favourite treat, but we did try it.
All too soon it was time to head to the ferry terminal. We visited here a few days ago and were lucky to encounter the woman supervisor who was so helpful last year. We have two choices of ferry lines…A Line and Marix, each of which run every other day on opposite days. She recommended Marix as it is a new ship whereas A Line is a bit of a rust bucket. We were able to reserve a stateroom for 2 with a bathroom (shower down the hall). Yeah! Today we pay and then proceed to board the ship when the motorcycles and bikes get the go ahead.
Last year we took the ferry to Naha, the capital of Okinawa at the south end and we were enroute for 28 hours. This time we will be on the ship for 25 hours and will disembark at Motobu. We will be stopping at various islands for passengers and for containers to be unloaded. The activity of trucks and containers being loaded is a fast and efficient business. We will be loaded when there is a break in the action.
Included in the loading of supplies in containers are cattle carriers, metal containers with bars for ventilation. We can’t imagine what that must be like for these poor animals. They certainly made their annoyance heard with loud moos.
It is a promising step that the motorcycles and we have been guided to a spot closer to the ship. Literally, when there is a small break in the loading process, we will be ushered on very quickly.
Loading the ship is a tightly organized dance of chaos which works. Then it was our turn and we have parked our trikes. It was a bit challenging riding on the ship as the floor is metal with deep grooves plus we had to ride to the middle of the ship which was a steep climb. In the midst of that, Barry’s phone somehow dislodged and was missing. He tried to retrace his route, but no luck. Once we got to the information desk onboard, we asked if they could notify the deck crew to keep an eye out for his phone. Fingers crossed.
Regarding Barry’s phone…we were on our way to have some dinner and the staff waved us over. A deck worker had found Barry’s phone and brought it to him. Wow! If only his phone could talk. From the looks of it, his phone has been through a rough time. The glass circles on the rear of the camera are cracked with loose bits of glass clinging to it and the screen is pretty banged up. Nonetheless it works…for now. We are both so grateful to the efforts made by the crew. We think something must have run over it. Perhaps a new phone for Barry when we go home.
Our room with a view is quite comfortable. They have provided a kettle and frig plus Noritake China from Japan cups and saucers, a nice touch.
The ship is shiny and new with a small but good cafeteria. The hours are weird and short, but we made it in time for dinner. We had chicken Nanbam with its signature sauce…yum and rice and miso soup.
Barry’s phone looks like it survived the battle but is a bit worse for the wear. We use Peak Design cases from San Francisco for our phones and we are sure that the case is why his phone wasn’t in pieces.
