Otaru, Japan...

is our final port of call, where both staff and passengers will disembark the Clipper Odyssey tomorrow. After clearance with Japanese customs officials, we spent the afternoon exploring this ancient port city.

This shiny place stands in stark contrast to rusty Russia. The old fishing port is known for its Canal District, where glass blowing shops now sell to tourists rather than make glass ball floats for fishing nets:

We visited a sake distillery, and afterward, had a tasting (of course):

These melons range from $80 to $92 apiece, and are commonly given as gifts:

They better be good. At least the seafood is inexpensive.