It’s dawn Thursday on our last day at sea before Japan!

We’ve really enjoyed these three amazing weeks of life at sea. For me, the deep involvement with students and teaching has been just wonderful. Also, the isolation of the ocean crossing with the intense physical nature of the changing sea has been so novel and exciting!

But we’re weary of the crossing, and very eager to disembark tomorrow in Japan.

We’ve been seeing more sea birds the past few days and even saw another ship on the horizon!

During the night we had another sea change. As we approach the coast of Asia the wind has shifted and is now from the south, and the swells have diminished to a meter or so. It feels downright restful compared to the past few days of tossing and turning and slamming into each wave.

I was expecting winter weather by now, but the report for Kobe is rain with a high of 58 F, turning partly cloudy tomorrow when we’re in port. Seems quite mild for late January.

We will have five days in Japan before a short crossing of just two days to Shanghai. We will visit temples and museums in Kobe, Osaka, and Kyoto and spend an overnight in the monastery town of Mt Koyu.

Students are very excited to begin their international experiences, and I will have a much lower-key teaching load, because we only teach on “at sea” days. Finally caught up on grading, and looking forward to an easier schedule.

Weather permitting, I will lead a stargazing party on the bow tonight. The Captain has agreed to turn off the exterior lights before we enter the brightly-lit cities of Japan!