Sunset

On the other side of the ship we could see the sun setting behind the cloud bank.

I love watching sunsets, they are all so very different, and change from one minute to the next.

Osaka By Night

This was the view of Osaka as we sailed out of the harbour. Possibly taken from the Outrigger Bar, situated outside, at the rear of  Diamond Princess. As a group we had decided that this would be our meeting place for pre-dinner drinks. From here it was off to dinner in the Vivaldi Restraunt, including a starter of fresh pineapple infused with mint, chilli, and tequila, and a cold soup of apple, cinnamon and cider. Mm.......mm.

Goodbye Osaka

We were only in Osaka for a few hours and already we were preparing to leave. The cruise orgainisers had to make up for lost time caused by the typhoon. We already had had a day cut, now it was hours at port. This was the band that played for us as we left port.

A Boat

Just a pic of a boat that we saw from the other side of the ship. Not sure of the purpose of this boat. At first I thought it may have been a fishing boat, but I think maybe it may have been some tourist attraction.  Either way it is a type of boat we don't see very often

Yumemai Bridge

The Yumemai Bridge in Osaka is apparently the world's first floating turntable bride. Interesting.... I didn't know such things existed! I was just taking pics of a bridge!

Apparently designed to take waves, wind and earthquakes, it connects two re-claimed islands, and works on a pivot action with the help of tugboats. I wonder how many times they pivot this bridge?

Osaka

A view of Osaka now from the other side of the ship. We did go for a walk, but it was a walk of discovery around the beautiful Diamond Princess. There were still people on board, but a lot had gone on shore so it was a good time to explore.

It was in this walk that we found the ice- cream parlour!

Konohana Bridge

The Konohana Bridge in Osaka, Japan.

Opened in 1990, the bridge has a main span of over 300 meters.

Garden Artwork

Another pic taken from our cabin balcony. This one is the artwork that was at the entrance to the green space of yesterday. If we look close there are signs at the sides of each artwork that would tell us what they were. In hindsight maybe we should have gone for a walk on shore. At least then I might have known what this garden was all about. Though we did have a very restful day, something that we both needed.

A Green Space

This green space was within walking distance of the dock, as this pic was taken from the balcony of our cabin. I am not sure what the significance is, but the is some, as there are little signs dotted through the park. I nice little green space hidden at the edge of the water at Osaka pier. The autumn colours were beginning to show in the trees.

Tempozan Ferris Wheel

The Tempozan Ferris Wheel is located at the pier where we docked. This was the view as we came into dock.

A closer view now as we got closer to docking. Check out the height of this Ferris wheel! That's a twelve story building behind it. 

Standing at a height of 112.5 meters, with a diameter of 100 meters, in this view we can see the rainbow colours of the riding cars.

This view was taken as we left the port of Osaka a few hours later. It was dusk, and all the lights were coming on. Apparently the colour of the lights on the Ferris wheel  predict the weather for the next day. This time it was green, the sign of a cloudy day tomorrow.

Osaka Aquarium

As we slipped into dock in Osaka, we passed this  colourful building which I found out later was the Osaka Aquaruim. We had booked a tour today, before we left home, but the tour had been cancelled. This gave us a day free but we decided that we would have a rest today after all the sight seeing we had done over the last few days. We were only in port for a few hours. As it turned out, this aquarium was within walking distance of the ship, and we could have easily had a look. Though I was quite happy to put my feet up and just look from our  cabin balcony.

The Minato Bridge

The Minato Bridge links Osaka with Amagasaki. Built in 1974, it is 502 meters long.

In this closer view we can see it is double decker and there is traffic on two different levels. How cool is that?

Sailing Into The Port of Osaka

The Port of Osaka is one of the main ports in Japan, situated within Osaka Bay. It has become  one of the major ports in Asia.

This was the view from our cabin balcony as we slipped into the Port of Osaka.

Sailing To Osaka

We sailed over night, down the coast of Japan, and were due into Osaka at 1pm. The schedule of our cruise had changed because of the typhoon, so we were still sailing down the coast in daylight hours the next morning.

This suited us fine, and made for great photo opportunities from our cabin balcony. 

We were not far from land at all.

Osaka was in view, but we were still a fair way away. There was time for a quick bight to eat before we docked. By this time we had found the buffet upstairs, and the choice of salad items and cold meats was endless. There was plenty of hot food as well but I was hungry for salad.

Ahhhhh......... food and relaxation watching the world slip by. What more could I need!