SAKATA

Sakata with a population of almost 100,000 is in Yamagata Prefecture.

• However, it was 127,000 in 1960.  
• Many immigrants to Hawaii came from this area.  
• From the 17th to 19th century, Sakata was very prosperous because it was a shipping route for the Sea of Japan into the country,
• November is the wettest month, but it was sunny yesterday.  
• This city escaped damage in World War II, with only one air raid.  
• The Sakata Festival from May 19-21 is their major historical event.  
• 
  You can catch the bullet train from Tokyo to Niigata, then transfer north to Sakata.
• City most known for the 2013 film, Oshin (click on it to watch the entire movie), which followed the 297 15-minute episodes of Oshin, the serialized morning television drama, which aired in 1983 and 1984.  Here is a typical episode.
• I had never before heard of Sakata, but if you decide to visit, here is Trip Advisor link on Things to do in Sakata.

We decided to skip any tour today and essentially did nothing.  We woke up early enough to have a Japanese breakfast. 

Through that window is a windmill.

I had lunch in the Trident Grill near the pool.

First course was a pepperoni pizza with Bloody Mary and Kirin Beer.

Also with two wind turbines.  There are five of them, all rated 2 megawatts, and if you know anything about them, these are huge.  Well big during my days, but Goldwind recently installed a 16 MW offshore machine in the Fujian Province, China.  It is as tall as a 50-story building.  Goldwind, a Chinese company, also has the largest wind turbine on land at 12 MW.

My second lunch course was a fancy hot dog.

I took a 2-hour nap in the afternoon, and saw this dancing group entertaining the ship on the pier.

Departure wasn't much.

So on to drinks and dinner.  A second couple from the World Uchinanchu Business Organization (WUB), Cheryl and Clarence from Maui, who are major cruise enthusiasts, joined our table.  My meal began with a seared raw beef and gazpacho, followed by fish and chips.

We then went on to a karaoke theater, which had a faulty sound system.  I wondered why most sang terribly, until I went on, and the pitch was all wrong, so I could not keep up with the music and almost forgot how to sing my song, which was understandable, for it was many years since I last sang Blue Hawaii, the Elvis version.  The other two karaoke locations had excellent acoustics.

At these karaoke nights, you need to show up early to get in line to enter your song.   There was someone who only played a harmonica, and an older handicapped Japanese lady who had to sit and, hate say this because...no, I'll stop here.  

Next, at 11PM on to Skywalker's Disco, where we also had a Macallan Scotch tasting:  Lumina, Quest and Terra.

Below are the DJs.  They really played good danceable music for older people like us.

Watch a video on Macallan Lumina, Quest, and Terra.  The Macallan Quest collection has at least three different kinds of scotches, and the set sells only in duty free for about $1000.  However, retailers advertise individual bottles from $100 to more than $1000,

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