Day 4

We embarked on our training cruise on board Oshima Maru today. Cadets are required to wake up early to make good time for pre-sail preparations
.

Breakfast before we set sail to Shimonoseki, a very busy port in Japan.  

Shinn and Guan Qi were the men of the hour before we set sail

Single up all lines.  Although difficult to see from the picture, but the ropes are really heavy and thick.

The Chief mate supervising students .

Serious work!

Preparation for leaving port on the bridge, students are required to keep watch as part of their training.

Akito guiding Xin Wei and Guan Qi on how to take readings off the doppler's log

Shinn and Rasyad keeping a sharp lookout.

Here I am learning to measure our distance from waypoints on the map!

Our leader Chung Kai learning the ways

We had Japanese curry rice for dinner, which tasted great.

Himejima ( Princess Island)

The allure of the open seas.

Off watch group having great fun.

Serious work aye

The captain told us to keep an aggressive mind and be observant at all times.

Xin Wei steering the ship with skill

Rest time!!!

 It was near evening and we were finally approaching Shimonoseki, with Kanmon bridge in sight.

Berthing and preparation for shore leave

We headed off to Sea Mall during our shore leave and had delicious ramen for dinner. Imagine our surprise when we set off to shop after dinner and were stopped right in our tracks when the entire mall closed at 8pm sharp!

Yume Tower

Night came really early in Japan and we were fortunate to have really clear skies.  Although tired, we can't wait for Day 5's full day of shore leave!