There were  Odysseus   ( who Homer in Greek mythology said traveled 10 years, mostly at sea, trying to return from the Trojan War ) and   Phileas Fogg   ( that Jules Verne character played by David Niven in a 1956 film who traveled around the world ), so our five-week trip to Japan was not particularly adventurous.  While most of our journey was indeed wonderful, there were some disappointing moments.  Yet, the best part of these long expeditions is returning home. After my wife passed away 14 years ago, I traveled the world several times, partly to drop off her ashes at monumental sites.  There were  MUGA 2013  ( by click on that, you can access every day of my 51-day global adventure ) and  GAWA 2015  that were exceptional. But since early in 2019, there has been a travel partner, who makes the experience different and better.  I generally keep her out of this blog by request, but in my advancing years, I need all the help I can get, plus there are added benefits. Our combined cruise

 The flight from Haneda to Honolulu was uneventful and successful. Flew Hawaiian Air, ate some, drank little, caught some sleep and made it back to 15 Craigside. Very memorable trip.  Took 1630 photos.  Picked some of them to show here.  Not necessarily the best, but representative.  First, goodbye Honolulu.  Flew Hawaiian Air to Narita. After a day in Yokohama we boarded the Diamond Princess on a 9-day cruise around Japan.  Two friends from Honolulu joined us, Wakako and Bob Nakasone.  Ate and drank way too much. I thought I had walked 16,831 steps, but that was read upside-down, and it should have been 13,891.  Anything above 5,000 steps is a decent walking day. Sometimes my drinks matched my shirt color.  We are only allowed 15 alcoholic drinks/day. Dressed up only one night, with an ascot. Toast to Bob and Wakako Nakasone. Then disco dancing later that evening. Baked Alaska is featured on the final night of the cruise. My Blue-Bar Pigeon met us on virtually all our stops. Waiting f