Bonus Sea Days! Exploring Japan Port of Hakodate & Unexpected Turn on My Solo Transpacific Cruise

Bonus Sea Days! Exploring Japan Port of Hakodate & Unexpected Turn on My Solo Transpacific Cruise

Welcome back to Early Packed. Come along and join my adventure. Come on, come along. Good morning, day 14. We are in Saporro again today. So, I’m not going to go out. Um, this is just not an easy port to navigate. Just a walk around the port. You know, you have to buy a bus. um round trip is $25 and um so I’m just gonna hang out on the ship and do a couple things. Um I have the iFly Northstar planned so going to check out that and uh just do some stuff around the ship today. Yay me. I was so tired yesterday from that excursion. I um I slept really well. So, I’m actually um I took I took some Nyquil last night. I was just I don’t know feeling a little I wasn’t off, but I was just tired. So, that really helped me sleep. So, I you know, it’s 8:00 now and I’m just getting started. So, anyway, I’m going to go do that. Let’s look outside and uh see what’s happening there. So, it’s 8:18. People are just starting to come out for their excursions. Oh, sun’s nice and warm. It’s nice out. Oh, looks like they have not started letting people off yet. Maybe they have, but they do have a lot of taxis lined up. So, if you need a taxi, they do have that. But, as you can see, like I said yesterday, there’s just nothing to do in this port area. So, I’m at Wind Jammer having my breakfast. Yay. I love this. Look how pretty my view is. It’s so nice out today. The air is a little chilly, but the sun’s warm, so it feels really nice. So, I um I’m such a mess. I know I made reservations for the i Fly and the uh rip cord. Well, I guess that’s the same thing. The rip cord is what it’s really called. I don’t know why I keep calling it I fly uh in the Northstar, but I don’t see it in my cruise planner. So, now I got to research to see when I actually made the reservations if it’s actually today or if I made them for tomorrow. I swear I made them for today. So, that’s my little research project for the day. I’m a hot mess. So, just keep that in mind. If I can do this, you can do this, too. All right, I’m going to enjoy my breakfast. See you guys later. Bye. So, this is day 14. We’re in Saporro again. 63° outside. The sun is very warm, but the air is chilly. So, I’m going to I’m going to head out to um the Northstar and see if maybe they have uh an opening earlier. I don’t know. I’m just a little bored and uh not really bored. I’m just kind of in between things. I want to do it so I could do something else instead of waiting a half hour. But it doesn’t even look like it’s open yet. So, we’ll find out. This air I’m up on the track. The air is really chilly. It’s like really chilly. Um but the sun is beautiful. So, as long as the wind doesn’t blow, it’s actually very, very pleasant out. It’s a beautiful day. Let’s go down here and see. See, the Northstar is not even running yet. So, let’s go. So, the Northstar didn’t open up for the basic experience till 10:00 a.m. And she said all the slots are full, which makes sense because they just opened up yesterday. So there’s only like four days of free experiences compared to the 14 days of 10 days of paid experiences. So um not a lot of days available for the free experience. So that’s okay. I mean it’s 30 minutes. It’s not a big deal. I was just trying to get it out of the way. All right. All right. I’m gonna go check in for the North Star. It’s going right now. Mine starts in like 10 minutes. So, all right. So, this is just the basic experience. It’s the free experience. It’s a much shorter experience than the paid experience. And with the paid experience, that arm goes out over the water. with the free experience. It does not should be nice. You know, I just noticed that people are walking out of this port area. Walking down there. I might go do that. It looks like a little carnival down there. So, now we’re rotating. He went to there last year. We were so sick. [Music] Bad glare. All right. So, it’s three o’clock. Fort area still looks pretty quiet. Not sure how many people are uh still out and about, but look at my rail. I don’t know if you can see it. You can see all the Yeah, there you go. You can see all the salt from the spray from the sea salt. So, anyway, beautiful day. Let’s go get some uh lunch. Did I have lunch? No, I did. Oh, I did have lunch. I only had a little salad. I don’t know. I’ve been eating at Wind Germa way too much that I’m just so bored with their food. So, I’m ready to go. Let’s go down to 270 and see. Oh, I forgot my C pass card. That would be the first time I’ve done that. So, let’s go down and see what they have done there. I know what I’m getting. I don’t know why I pretend like I’m going to get anything different. I’m gonna get the I’m gonna get a Reuben. So, as much as I eat the same thing, you’d think I’d be fine with Wind Jammer. Wind Jammer has that stir fry up there and everybody stands in line for it. I would try it, but I don’t want to stand in that long line. It must be really good because everybody stands in that long line to get that. So, anyway, I’m going to go down go down to 270. see what’s going on. All right, so it says it’s 255 and 63 degrees outside. So, like I said, the sun’s nice and warm, but the air is cool. Also, I’d like to know how they get the ducks in the sculpture. There’s a couple of them. Kids must throw them all the way from the ends. So, of course, I got my Reuben sandwich. And I actually ended up getting a cookie, too. One of the Coconut Ranger cookies. Those are my favorite. I’m just sitting here in 270 looking out at the view. [Laughter] I can’t even see without my glasses. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to take a video. I’m going to try this time, but we’ll see. So, I came into the gym, which I’m sure I’m going to annoy the hell out of sorry, heck out of people, but it’s just too cold outside and I don’t have my microphone, so this is very quiet, so I won’t do a lot of talking. But it’s so pretty coming into port. I had to come back to my cabin. It was just so cold out here. Holy cow. I didn’t see on the board of the uh what the temperature was, but it’s got to be in the 50s, if not colder currently. Yeah, I just checked the temperature. It says 54 degrees out right now. It’s pretty right now. We’re doing a little pivot. Getting a little push. My cabin attendant made me a cute little towel animal. He’s cute. Good morning. Welcome to day. Let me look. 15. Oh my, I had such a nice time yesterday. Last night, I didn’t do a wrap up. I did the um the iFly, the rip cord, and that was a lot of fun. Um one of the guys, Kenny, that I did the um excursion with the other day, I actually sat next to him on the um bus, he actually did the same time I did it. So, it was actually a lot of fun. And we got to take pictures of each other. So, that worked out really well. And um I wanted to stay up for they had the uh Halloween the costume parade last night. I was just so tired I didn’t make it. But um so yeah, it was a great night last night. And uh woke up this morning to some not so great news, good news, not so good news. We have a super cyclone headed our way. So, we are not getting off on the day that we were supposed to. We are going to stay two more days um on the ship, which is going to mess up a lot of other plans that I have in Tokyo like Disney and stuff like that. So, winging that. Trying to get that all organized. But, um I am getting ready to get off the ship and go. I I I’m gonna butcher this name. Uh H I hate to even say it because it’s gonna be so bad. Hocadate. Something like that. Anyway, uh so I’m going to go and just walk around the port. They have a free shuttle. Um so this is going to be my first real adventure of um navigating a foreign country by myself without an excursion and getting out of the port area. Um, wish me luck. So, that’s that. They cleaned off the uh balconies today. They washed down all the It just showed you yesterday all the sea salt that was on the windows. They’ve been working hard uh getting that all clean. So, they did wash that today. Here, I’ll show you what it looks like outside right now. Look how clean it is. Just got done. It’s all wet. See, and this is why I was waiting for to go out on the in the city, too, because the sun’s starting to come out. It’s starting to warm up. It was cold this morning. It was 53° and the wind was really whipping. So, it was super cold. So, if you ever want an idea of the temperatures on a Trans-Pacific, bring warmer clothes for sure. All right. It is super windy out and I made it out and my stateateroom attendant was so cute. He’s like, “You’re going out alone?” I’m like, “Yeah.” He goes, “Well, maybe I’ll see you out there.” So, he was so cute. All right, I am. Look at me. Oh, wish me luck. All right, I’m getting on the free shuttle. It looks very crowded on here, so I am going to uh jump on. All right, the shuttle is too full. So, I’m going to wait for the next one, which is fine by me. I’ll actually get a seat instead of sitting. But, as I was saying, my stateateroom attendant was so cute. He’s like, he goes, “Oh, maybe I’ll see you outside.” He felt bad I was going out here by myself. So, I told him, I said, “If you don’t see me, come look for me.” I got lost. All right, let’s get on. So, it did take exactly 15 minutes to get to the drop off of the free cruise shuttle. And I have to tell you, I am very I don’t I don’t overwhelmed. I Oh, I don’t know where I’m going. Holy cow. I am not going far. I’m just kind of following people that were on the shuttle. I’m Oh, I’m so out of my comfort zone. I got I really have no idea where I’m going. And I’m really kind of overwhelmed. I I’m not going far. I tell you that. Right now, I’m just going to kind of stay by the people. that were on the ship. Holy moly. There was a lot of crew on the ship or on the shuttle bus. So, I’m just going to no uh side turns. I’m going to try to just keep it a straight line. People who know me are going to be so shocked that I did this. I I to be honest with you, I am completely shocked myself. So, the things I do for you guys, there’s no way if I had this channel, if I didn’t have this channel, would I be doing this? There’s no way. I’m just telling you right now. Oh, I like seeing how people just like kind of line up at things and see what they are. And I have no idea what that is either. And I’m not an adventurous person, so I will not be getting any of that. Oh my gosh. 12,000 yen for cantaloupe. [Music] So, if I just keep going straight, I should be fine. Look at they have some crab. Oh my little dude. Yeah. Yeah. See, I’m not uh eating any of that. That’s a a hard no for me. Just saying. Holy cow. See, now my husband Al would try this stuff and I would be That’s a no go. No go for me. Oh, no. There’s definitely All right. [Music] almost done. Yeah, it loses. I’m inside there. All right. I don’t want to go. I don’t want to get too far out of my comfort. Oh, look at they have a a hamburger. I’m going to continue on my journey, my very small journey, because I cannot stray too far. See? Oh. I just like to see what people are buying. It’s interesting to see. And you know when the lines are longer, they have ice cream. Is it ice cream? Gelato. Okay. Is that a telephone? Is that like a phone booth? Boo. Do they still make those? Oh, I’m so American. Out of my element. I love all the fun vending machines. Okay. Do we go in here? I don’t know. Oh, it’s like a food hall. Like food booths. Oh, food court. Oh my. All right. I hope I don’t get lost in here. My uh my little rule of thumb is always find the longest line and that’s usually the place with the best food. I don’t know. Let’s go see if I can find something in here. I don’t know what I’m looking for. What on earth is that? Oh yeah, I’m not eating that stuff. What on earth are they doing? Are they fishing for squid? She She got a squid. Oh my little lockers are Oh, you pay then you open them. Holy cow. He’s so funny. All right. Very interesting. Oh, there’s a whole thing out there. I’m sure enough going to get lost. Well, if you like seafood, you’ll like it here. Me, not so much. All right, we are going to check out 7-Eleven. I can’t believe I’m sitting here walking down the street and I hear, “Hi, Josie.” And it was someone from my cruise group the other day. So, can you believe I found somebody that I actually knew? So, I’m walking around with them now. So nice. See, they have these cups of ice and then you do something with them. You I’ve seen it before. You see, select the size. They bring it to the cashier and then they get like an iced coffee like Oh. Oh, okay. Okay. Like they put a beverage in it. That was actually so nice that I ran into somebody that I actually knew. I’m still not used to hear my name get called out and being recognized. But that’s why I love doing stuff with like excursions like Facebook groups because then you get to know people and it’s fun to actually see people out. Uh so that was that was a lot of fun. Anyway, I think I could find my way back. I’m not as overwhelmed now. So, I didn’t stray too far and I had people with me to make sure that I didn’t get lost. But I think they went to go get something to eat. And I’m just Oh god. Not wanting to do that. So, I’m going to head back. It looks like it’s going to rain. Hold on. Look at I even found my way back. I was so proud of myself. Look at me being a little world international traveler. All right, let’s see if I say that uh in a couple days when Ally can’t come and beat me at the airport and I got to try to find a hotel and navigate the city by myself and I’m going to be like so overwhelmed. I’ll be singing a different tune. So, there’s a long line waiting for the shuttle to get back on the ship. I made it back. Yay. That was enjoyable. It was very nice. Um, it was nice. I was I got a front row seat, so I got off the bus first, so I got to miss all the people and I going getting off the bus going through security, so you didn’t have to stand outside. Um, one thing I did learn is when when you get through security and you come up, a lot of people just stand there and uh wait for the elevator, I walk up a flight of stairs, go to the opposite side, the other bank of elevators, and I get right on. So, that’s a good little tip for you. It’s worked both times I’ve gotten off at the port. So, uh, keep that in mind. So, all right. I’m gonna go grab some lunch and uh see what else I can find to do today. Look how pretty it is outside right now. It’s been on and off raining, but it’s very pretty. Yeah. See how dark it is over there? That says yuck. Ola, danger. There. All the birds down here. Those clouds look good. It’s day 16. Oh my C day today, of course. So, uh just getting uh a little late start. It’s 8 a.m. I’ve been up since 6. Well, actually, I got up at 11:00 p.m. So, then I finally fell back to sleep. So, anyway, we are uh I guess I I don’t even know where we’re going. Captain said something. We’re going out and just going to do circles around and stuff. So, just trying to stay out of the uh storm area. I think he said that it’s uh we’re not gonna have great weather, but we’re not going to have bad weather. So anyway, I am getting ready to go down and get some coffee and seeing what’s going to go on today. Let’s uh I haven’t even been outside yet, so let’s go see. I see what the ocean looks like, but let’s go see what it looks like outside. All right. Oh, yeah. It’s windy, but it’s pleasant. These don’t look too bad. We’re rocking a little bit. It’s the wind that’s really picked up though. I wanted to uh see what the TV said. Oh, it’s 8:44. Oh, I really do have a really did putts around this morning. So, we are headed headed south and I mean we’re headed towards Tokyo, but let’s see what the I just wanted to see what the temperature was. 19° C. So, if you know me enough, I have no idea what that means. I got to wait for the Fahrenheit. 66 Fahrenheit. So, uh, yeah, 36 knot wind. So, yeah, it’s a little windy out there. So, all right, I’m going to go get some coffee. So, I guess I saw the line at guest services last night. Someone posted it and it was extremely long. I mean, it was crazy long. Um, so a lot of people got off the ship. I have no idea the amount of people, but I know a lot of people did get off the ship. So, um, and then they took a train to Tokyo. Uh, you know, they had other excursions. They had other plans. They didn’t want to be on the ship extra days. So, um, I know we I talked to my husband this morning and he said like all the Disney hotels on property are sold out, so we can’t stay on property anymore. So, we can’t buy um a package. We we could stay at a hotel nearby and buy a day pass, but um all the plans that we had for our our packages and staying on property, we can no longer do. So, it is what it is. We’ll just uh we’ll see what’s we’ll see what we do. Um you know, he’s so good with organizing that stuff, so I’m not worried about it one bit. if we don’t, you know, it’s not like we planned, but it’ll still work out. So, I’m not sweating that. So, all right, let’s go get some coffee now. So, they have this soup that you make and you put all the ingredients in the bowl and then the chef cooks it right there for you. But the line is so long. It’s wrapped around here like almost twice. Like, it’s crazy. But I’ve never seen that before. It’s very popular. Must be because obviously we’re in Japan. It’s an Asian thing. But that looks really cool. Everyone has their bowls all lined up. Sees are a little rougher today. It’s very windy. Not too bad, though. Captain did a good job keeping us out of the weather. Good morning. Welcome to day 17 maybe. Let me check my paper. Yeah, bonus day one. Day 17. So, um yeah. So, just getting ready. uh going to go and um I got to go downstairs because of the extra days. They closed out the um casino accounts. So I got to go down and get my free play. They have it as guest. So like it because the cruise was over. So it started all the points all over. Wiped out all the points. So can’t access your free play. So I got to go deal with that. So, not like it’s a ton of money, but hey, you know, even if it’s 50 cents, it’s 50 cents that I earned. It’s more than that, but anyway, you get what I’m saying. So, that’s what it is. Just um getting organized today. Booked another cruise this morning. You know, making time of my downtime. So, Casa are a little rough today. Not nothing crazy, but we’re swaying. Let’s uh let’s go out and see. I haven’t been out yet. So, there’s another ship out there. I don’t know what ship that is, but it’s pretty windy. Yeah, it’s the wind. Let’s uh let’s go check the TV and see what the wind is. So, it’s not too crazy. It’s 39 knots. We’ve had we’ve had over 51 knots before. So, um not too bad and it’s 64 degrees out. So, not very warm and breezy, but that’s that’s fine. We’ll make the best of it. Anyway, I am going to um go get some breakfast. Is it still breakfast time? Yeah, 9 9:45. I went down for coffee this morning and um the line was so small. I’m like, “Where is everybody?” Usually at six o’clock the line’s like a mile long. Well, like 400 people got off the ship. So, they said, “Yeah.” And you know, the ship wasn’t full to begin with. So, um it’s a noticeable difference. All right. Look how pretty storm clouds. Good morning. Day 18 or second bonus day. Anyway, um just going to pack up today. Not a lot going on. Um so yeah, it’s been uh rolling pretty good. I got to go down to the casino. They had a little bit of a mess because they didn’t um the computer shut it off. They didn’t consider that we added two extra days. So, a lot of confusion with points and stuff. So, no big deal. It’ll get worked out. But, uh, so I got to deal with that today and see how they’re going to handle that. And, uh, that’s it. Pack up. Yay. Alan made his flight. So, he is in Tokyo waiting for me to get there tomorrow. So, that’s good news. So, it’s good. Weather’s been good. Uh, let me show you. sees have been rolling a little. We’re we’re rolling. I mean, it’s not There’s no white caps, but we’re we’re rolling. Hold on a second. Let me show you. Oh, it’s very nice out. See, it’s not like it’s But the waves are rolling. So, it’s making that it’s making Yeah, it’s kind of hard to see on the tape, but on the video, but yeah. So, it’s making it roll a little bit. It’s a beautiful day. Beautiful day. All right. So, that’s how they Oh, look it. Here’s my little uh towel jungle. These are all my towel animals I have accumulated. So, I had a very nice cabin attendant. So, that’s that. We will uh So, as far as our plans got switched, uh we just had to switch hotels. We were staying on property at Disneyland Tokyo. Um, it’s sold out, so we can’t get we couldn’t switch our rooms, so we have to stay off property, but we should um I believe I’m so out of the loop, but I believe Allan said that uh we still have tickets, so we can still go to the park. We just can’t stay on property. Um, so anyway, but I’m looking forward to uh getting off the ship and having a fun adventure with Allan. He always seems to find all the fun places and knows just right where to go. So anyway, he’s the fun one in the group. Are so pretty out today. But it’s uh ship’s rocking today. I can’t believe no one’s at the pool. A lot of people sitting out though. Sun’s nice and warm. Have a great day. Yeah, we’re we’re swaying pretty good right now. Look at all that. Surprised no one’s in there. Good morning. Day 18. Getting ready to get off the ship. And is it 18? I think it’s 18. Yeah, it’s been a long time with the two extra bonus days. So, anyway, just getting ready uh to get off the ship this morning. It’s 4:30 a.m. We’re just getting ready to uh pull into port shortly. I’m finishing up packing. Going to go have some breakfast and I am taking a royal shuttle to Hanita airport and then my husband Allan is going to meet me at the airport. He made it in yesterday. Um so that’s good news. I don’t have to navigate my way through the city by myself. So no anxiety anymore. Anyway, so went down to the casino to get that all worked out last night. Holy cow. I’ve never seen anything like it. It was such a mess. They had to close the casino at 7 7:30 uh because we were getting into Japan waters, whatever. They had to close down the casino because we were getting into closer to uh the port area. But because of the glitch with the extended two days and everyone’s issues with free points and all their points, people were standing in line for over an hour. They printed off the certificates wrong. People were standing in line for like an hour for that and over an hour to they finally got the free play. They had to manually do it to each person. You had to stand in line and that was like an hour. I mean just even to cash out a voucher took like 15 minutes, 20 minutes. So um a lot of patience were h was had by a lot of people. Some people did not have a lot of patience. There was a lot of unhappy people. But it is what it is. And so I mean it was like two hours down there just just to deal with that. But they did their best and that’s all that you can ask. So they definitely worked hard to try to get everybody through and stuff. So, but it was quite the scene. So anyway, pulling into port. So we made it to port. Those are the terminals. Lots of buses lined up. I know one thing, if you are going to book a Royal Shuttle, book it early because they do sell out. I know people tried to book it and it was already sold out. So, make sure when you book it, you book it early. All right. I have zero clue what the process is going to be like, but let’s see. It’s a yucky day here. I think another storm is actually I think a typhoon is headed back up this way. So, it’ll be interesting to see how the weather holds up for us. But it’s chucky out. It’s It’s pleasant though. It’s like 60 high 60s, low 70s. So, it’s pouring rain. trying to kind of stand out there to get checked in. And it went pretty smoothly though. It was all good. It wasn’t raining. It wouldn’t have been bad. Made it to the airport and Alan found me. Found her. So, we are waiting. Is it a hotel shuttle, Alan? Yes. So, we’re going to wait now for a little bit for the hotel shuttle. It was super fast. The lady said, sorry I was getting on the escalator. The lady said it was going to be a 40m minute bus ride and it was maybe 20 25 minutes. So it was super fast. So it was good experience. If it wasn’t raining in Yakiad, it would have been very nice. Had a seat to myself. Even though they said the shuttles were sold out, but maybe because they don’t put all the empty seats, they just put your party together. I don’t know. All right. All right. We are going down to go find the bus. Alan informed me this is not a hotel bus, but a What is it? A private bus, Alan? It goes to different hotels. Yeah. Yeah, it’s an airport shuttle. Airport shuttle that goes to different hotels. Was it what? $8 a person? Yes. 8 US per person. So, all right. Right here. Nice. [Laughter] Oh, so yeah, we’re going to Tokyo Disney Resort. Is this our bus Alan? No. Oh, there’s one before us at 10:45. See, there’s no way I could navigate this by myself. There’s just no way. And you know right where you’re going for some reason. Yeah, there’s no way I could do this by myself. He’s trying to speak to me in Japanese and I have no idea. But we’re making it work and we’re figuring it out. They they have everybody has an assigned spot to stand in. So, we’re um we’re figuring that out. Very efficient. Very efficient. Has it spot? Yes. So, these are all the stops we have to make. So, we’re going to Disneyland first. Lived in. So, this is our room. Interesting. Very interesting. Oh, look at they have little at Tokyo Bay. Those are black out. This little sliders. Yeah, that’s cool. They have little slider sliders that blocks it off. It’s really kind of a yucky day, but thanks for joining me on my first Trans-Pacific cruise. It was a lot of fun. Definitely a different cruise for me. I didn’t get very involved in a lot of the activities. I didn’t do shows and that kind of stuff. So, it was really really interesting that um just a different type of cruise for me. So anyway, I had a lot of fun though and I met a really a lot of really nice people. So I look forward to my next Trans-Pacific. Hopefully you join me. If you like any of my videos, I would really appreciate it if you would subscribe. I’m so close to a thousand subscribers. I’m still learning and I’m still trying very hard uh to get this channel to grow. So I appreciate all my subscribers. You guys have been awesome so far with all the support that you’ve given me. So, I really appreciate it. Anyway, as always, live the life of your dreams and bye for

My Transpacific cruise to Japan took an unexpected twist — bonus sea days, chilly port mornings, and new adventures in Hakodate! 🇯🇵 Join me as I wrap up this unforgettable Royal Caribbean voyage and arrive in Tokyo Disney style! 🌊✨
Welcome back to the adventure! 🌏 In this episode of my Transpacific Cruise Vlog (Days 14–18), we’re wrapping up an incredible journey across the Pacific — with a few surprises along the way!
From exploring Sapporo and Hakodate, to finally trying the North Star and RipCord by iFLY, and experiencing bonus sea days after a weather delay, this stretch of the cruise had it all — cozy mornings, calm seas, and one big adventure before arriving in Tokyo, Japan!

You’ll see:
🛳️ Life onboard during extended sea days
🍳 Cruise food & Windjammer favorites
🇯🇵 Exploring Hakodate’s port market solo
☀️ North Star views and sea day vibes
🎰 Casino chaos
🏰 Our arrival at the Tokyo Disney Resort

It’s been such a memorable first Transpacific cruise, and I’m so thankful you came along for the journey. If you’re dreaming of a Japan cruise, solo travel, or life at sea, this vlog gives you a real look at what it’s like when travel plans take a fun turn!

💙 Don’t forget to LIKE, SUBSCRIBE @barely-packed and click the 🔔 so you don’t miss my upcoming Tokyo Disney & Japan travel vlogs!

✈️Next up: Disney adventures in Tokyo!

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