The two fire boats in Tokyo Harbour greeted our ship with powerful fountains of water shooting high in the air. It was our first stop and an appropriate, symbolic start to a special “Pacific Ring of Fire” cruise.
Each year, the Holland America cruise ship Statendam repositions itself from Osaka, Japan to Vancouver to begin its Alaska service. For those lucky 1,200 trans-Pacific passengers, it was a rare treat to take a northerly route along the Ring of Fire passing more than 60 active volcanoes and hundreds of lofty cone-shaped peaks that were once active but are now considered dormant or extinct. The whole region is along the edge of several continental plates where huge pressure is built up in subduction zones causing regular earthquakes and lava-spewing volcanoes.
Japan, comprised of four large mountainous islands, is particularly vulnerable to earthquakes and is home to about 10 per cent of the world’s active volcanoes. The highest and most spectacular is Mount Fuji (3,776 metres).
This symbol of Japan dominates the skyline near Tokyo and forms a perfect volcanic cone with a crown of white snow that attracts thousands of hikers and millions of photographers each year. Mount Fuji last erupted 300 years ago but geologists think it’s capable of re-erupting at any time. We took a tour halfway up the gentle slope where hotels, gift shops, horse rides and fast-food vendors (fish and meat satay sticks were especially popular) competed for tourist yen while expensively-outfitted climbers trudged through the nearby snow.
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