My views do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.
May 2024
Nagasaki was one of the places in Japan that I’d heard of. Though I would have been delighted to find a cocktail of eggnog and sake, I had a feeling it wouldn’t be an authentic experience. The Diamond Princess was built in Nagasaki so it is always a special place to visit on this ship.
I went out wandering alone with a vague idea of which direction to head in. My goal was to find sushi. I had been in Japan (or on a Japanese ship) for far too long without having had any sushi.
And then I found the shopping mall!
There were locally made crafts in the center aisles alongside bigger shops.
Then I turned the corner and found the Sushi train!
I was so proud of myself for figuring out how to navigate my way around on my own! I found the English button on the digital menu and ordered absolutely everything that I found interesting.
Sushi in Japan was much simpler than the sushi I had encountered in North America, but the fish was very fresh. There were simple rolls, and the fish on top of the bed of rice, but I didn’t find the flamboyant rolls that we have back home. I ordered off of the menu and then a few minutes later, a little plate would show up on the train that pulled up next to my booth.
After ordering absolutely everything I wanted to try, I checked the charge on my credit card and the whole meal was about $15 USD. I could never find a place like this in the US! Plus I was easily able to find my way back to the ship.
A couple of days later I had befriended one of the Resident Guest Entertainers, Kotoha, who is from Japan and convinced her to let me tag along with her for Sushi. In Sakaiminato there was a sushi place right by the ship. We sat at the tables and she put some green powder and water into a cup for green tea – so that’s what those cups were for! We ordered from the tablet and the dishes came to our table (like the train but the trays didn’t look like trains. She told me that natto was very traditional, so I ordered it, and she said I was very brave to try it. Natto is made from fermented beans. It was a little tangy. I ate it, but I probably wouldn’t seek it out again. We tried the local sake and I got to know her story about growing up in Tokyo.
After we had sushi, we went to a giant grocery store nearby and Kotoha was a huge help. I had tried to buy breath mints and had ended up buying gum on my own, so she helped me find everything I was looking for as well as a lot more that I didn’t know I wanted until I saw it. I left with two kinds of ice cream – matcha tiramisu and milk tea flavored ice cream for later. I told Kotoha what a great guide she was and she has become my friend as she has helped me find my way through Japan in other ports we visited.