Has anyone cruised to/around Japan?

[chromered7]

I want to know any pros and cons from anyone who has cruised to/ around Japan. It is high on my list of places to visit and cruise around.

 

 

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[john watson]

We stayed overnight before and afterwards. This eases a lot of stress. I picked Yokohama as the ship docked there and you could see the Intercontinental Grand from the quayside. Biggest general problem in Japan is language and they do not use our alphabet. All addresses etc. need to be written out in two languages so you know what is being said and so does the taxi driver.

 

I like to keep things simple and not do cheapest as this can lead to problems our hotel spoke a minimum of five languages and we got hotel people to tell our taxi drivers where we were going and book our taxis. They probably selected our taxi people carefully as they spoke English well.

 

Japanese road systems respect pedestrians highly unlike other countries like China where the rules are more relaxed for the motorist or should I say scooter people who are seemingly outside the rules.

 

Regards John

[Steelers0854]

I haven't tried it yet, but the Google Translate app has an offline feature that will do real time translations to many languages including Japanese. Plus it will also do translations via your camera. Simply point your camera at any text and it will translate it.

 

Again, haven't tried it yet but reviews seem to indicate it works well.

[ccrain]

It's a have to do. We did a couple of ports in Japan in 2012 and cannot wait to go back. The culture, the history, the people, the food, OMG, it was great.

 

Here are the highlights of the two ports we did back then:

 

Nagasaki –

 

We love Japan. We love the food. We love the people, theirattitudes, their customs, their courtesies. From the time we stepped on the ANAplane in SFO to fly to Singapore, and got bowed to by the entire staff at thegate (when’s the last time that happened on United?), we were looking forwardto visiting Japan – and we weren’t disappointed. We had a great tour and agreat send off from Nagasaki. There were no street peddlers, no beggars, nohigh pressure sales, only big smiles, bows, and waves. An absolute joy tovisit…

 

We started the day with a continental breakfast on thebalcony as we sailed into the bay. The Mitsubishi ship works have expanded tooutside the bridge and several brand new ships could be seen under constructionand one brand spanking new tanker ready to sail away. After traveling under thebridge, which according to the Captain, has a whole 30’ clearance to the top ofthe stack, I noticed several Aegis class ships (I’m pretty sure they are DDGclass with SPY-1 radars, a single 5” gun and, with no missile rail visible, Iassume a VLS launch system) under construction in the same Mitsubishi yardsthat spawned the Diamond and Sapphire princess. I wasn’t aware we exportedAegis technology to Japan.

 

Nagasaki is the birth place of the Diamond and the Sapphire.Although we are on the Diamond, the actual hull was originally intended to bethe Sapphire, but after the first ship, to be named Diamond, caught fire andwas delayed a few months, the other hull, originally to be designated Sapphire,was changed to be the Diamond. Confused?

 

Mike was our tour guide – couldn’t even come close topronouncing his Japanese name. Older and ageless, but self admittedly retired,we traveled to Shimabura castle in the Southwest corner of the prefecture.About a 2 hour bus trip. Stopped at a little shop on the way and bought somecastellan, plum and orange, a Portuguese cake influenced by Japanese bakerssince the 1700’s. Having the local currency was very helpful and the girlsspoke a little English, but their manager spoke English almost fluently. As weboarded the bus they all came out in the parking lot and bowed as we left. Thenthe manager went out into the highway and stopped traffic so that the bus coulddepart. Wow. That’s service! (We are preparing to eat part of the cake thismorning in the atrium with coffee preparing for our trip into Busan. Plum andit is absolutely delicious.)

 

The trip was about 2 hours through various fishing villages,farms, along the coast. Very interesting and ancient land. The farm plots haveconcrete walls, some rock walls, and concrete irrigation ditches along theperimeters. This land has been farmed for millennia. I knew Japan wasmountainous, but not this much. The Shimabura castle is near a recently activevolcano (Mt Unzen?) that erupted in 1970 and killed several persons. Thepyroclastic flow track went through the center of this sea coast village andburied/destroyed many houses, several of which are on display at a localmonument that we also saw.

 

The castle tour was followed by a tour of the nearby Samuraivillage. Most of the cottages are occupied, but a few were left vacant fortourists. A lot of young Japanese tourists were in the area including onefamily with two cute little girls wading in the water course that flows downthe center of the street. (Giggling little girls in Japanese sounds the same asgiggling in English.) The architecture, the yards and the grounds were all veryinteresting. People watching the locals reacting to us were even moreinteresting. We got all kinds of pictures of the locals and they got all kindsof pictures of us.

 

After the castle, we went to lunch. And finally, a not toowesternized lunch. We had a soup with seafood and a fantastic broth, sashimi oftwo different fishes, some egg, seaweed and poached fish. Braised pork bellyand rice. It was the best meal of any excursion on any trip we’ve ever had –and we had time to enjoy it. After lunch we went downstairs, did a littleshopping, found the required fridge magnet, saw a kombu farm and then off tothe volcano park.

 

The park preserves the houses as they were buried, exceptfor one was moved into its final place during construction of the park.Everyone had been evacuated from the houses. The 1970 eruption was not asdrastic as the 1700 eruption that almost destroyed the town, slid into the bayand killed several hundred on the other side by the landslide induced tsunami.

 

The lunch alone made this excursion worth every penny, butthe sights were interesting as well and we had a really good time.

 

Sailaway from Nagasaki was great. A school band played as weleft and several hundred people showed up to cheer us as we left. Kind ofpoignant since the Diamond, and Sapphire, were both built across the bay fromthe cruise terminal at the Mitsubishi ship works. The captain let loose withmore than the usual ship’s whistles, which really got the crowd going. (TheDiamond will not be back until next fall.) The trip back under the bridge waspretty spectacular from the upper decks and several dozen people were on handto see us go under.

 

 

Muroran/Hokkaido (Sapporo)

 

Once again we opted for a Princess tour. We did the Jidaimura& Jigokudani tour. We had a great time and are just really enamored byJapan, the people and their culture. (Unfortunately we were sorely disappointedin some of our fellow passengers’ etiquette and respect for foreign customs,but more about that later…)

 

Our tour guide was June – with a pretty complex Japanesename. No horn honking with Japanese drivers, that is for sure. Perfectlydressed and groomed, the drivers are all very polite and very professional.June’s English was pretty good and we appreciated her commentary as we made ourway via the backroads to the theme park.

 

Jidaimura is the Edo period historical village “theme park”.It’s a very small park compared to other, maybe a couple of dozen buildings andseveral acres. Park staff dress up as samurai, geisha, ninja and others. Thereare several venues and shows. We did two shows, the Ninja show and the OedanGeisha show. The Ninja show was fun, mainly because they didn’t even takethemselves that seriously. It was a parody of Ninja/Kung Foo shows missing onlythe subtitles or the out of synch English dubs. Although the slightly out ofsync sound effects of woushing and clinking swords, along with the thuds, werealmost straight out of batman – the tv show. Anywho, it was a show about a goldmine and an old man, who was a martial artist as well, supported by a friendlyninja, holds off two bad ninjas trying to steal his gold. I really wish peoplewould learn to use their cameras. No flashes whilst it was dark, yet personafter person would flash the stage in the dark.

 

About 20 minutes for the Ninja show, and we went to theOdedan Geisha show and it was actually more fun and more embarrassing.

 

First for the fun. It was entirely in Japanese, although the“host/narrator” was trying to translate into English and others weretranslating into Korean for a Korean group and Chinese for a Chinese group, youactually got the gist of the story. First off they had to have a Shogun playedby a male member of the audience. Immediately a Japanese, Korean and Chineseguy jumped up. The rest of the audience then proceeded to prod an Australian intaking the position. The four then fought to the death in a Rho Sham Bo match,or rock paper scissors. The Australian won. He was hilarious. First of all,trying to read Japanese cue cards (Kanji is the common written language inAsia, so the cue cards are in Kanji, but not English), and follow the promptsof the host. He ended up saying ok, ok, ok at lot. It was a hoot. Especiallywhen the bill came due and the shogun had no money, he asked – ‘do you takeVisa’! The Oedan was absolutely gorgeous and the amount of makeup worn isincredible. The costuming just wonderful. So much fun.

 

Now the bad. All of us tall guys stood back against the wallas to not block the views of shorter people standing around the perimeter.Well, all but one. He decided he wanted the perfect vantage point and blockedone half or the other of the stage for several people. But the worst was theshoes. We were requested to take our shoes off to enter the house. Hutch andKelvin have reminded everyone on board about the Japanese custom. Heck, anyonewho flies in the US is used to taking their shoes off. So why then, does a halfa dozen people put their shoes back on inside the house? Geez, it wasembarrassing. The Japanese were mortified. We even requested a couple of themto not put their shoes on and were just ignored. How selfish!

 

We picked up some wasabi crackers, and wish we’d picked upmore, they are delicious and spicy. I just wish we had more time at the park.We really only had 30 minutes after the show to look around.

 

After the park we headed to Hell’s Valley. A fumarole loadedlittle valley with lots of visible sulfur deposits, hot springs, steam andstinky egg gasses. We only had about 35 minutes here, but were able to see acouple of fumaroles and one small geyser/bubbling spring. We did not get achance to explore the whole area, which would have been lots of fun.

 

One thing about these princess tours, especially this one,is that we didn’t have a lot of time to explore the area. I wished we had atleast an hour free time at each place rather than just a few minutes. But thetour gave us a really good overview of the area and some interesting sights tosee, and really nice people to meet.

 

Local kids put on a great show for sailaway. It is reallynice to come into a port that really appreciates you coming in. The localsturned out in force to see us off. Not as big a send off as in Nagasaki, butpretty good in any event. The mayor and local officials also met on the dock ina welcome ceremony with the captain and Kelvin.

 

 

We really like Japan. Of all the ports we’ve visited, Japanand Hong Kong are highest on the list to return to.

[jennybenny]

This is a bucket list cruise for me, but DH thinks it would be best served as a land trip. I'm trying to get both out of him, do land first then cruise all in the same trip. ;) We have 5 cruises planned right now, so this needs to be pushed out but I'm starting to do my research now. Hoping to get this booked as soon as schedules come out for 2020 :)

[moodyb1]

My husband and I did a 17-day (9+8) cruise around Japan last summer on the Diamond Princess. It was one of the best cruises we have ever done. The culture is so very done than our Western culture. The people are so polite. We are just sorry we didn't stay longer in Tokyo at the end of the cruise. So, we are going back in April on a cruise from Singapore to Tokyo on the Golden Princess and plan on spending 3 or 4 extra days in Tokyo. The only complaint I have is that it was very hot on Honshu,, the island that Tokyo is on. The northern island Hokkaido was much cooler. Besides this April, we plan another cruise circling the island sometime in the future.

Arlene

P.S. - If you do it on the Diamond Princess around Japan, there is no Anytime Dining.

[Tina G]

Sorry. Duplicate post.

[Tina G]

If you want to do this, book EARLY! Our cruise was sold out except for the expensive suites almost a year in advance. The price never went down, but we saw it go up! These cruises have many Japanese passengers who are willing to pay high prices to go on these cruises.

Sadly, we had to cancel at the last minute due to my health issues. Very disappointed.

[muddles@sea]

We are booked on the Diamond Sydney to Yokohama repositioning cruise in March next year as well as the followin Spring Flowers cruise on 13 April.

Looking forward to it.

Friends are just back from BTB cruise round Japan on the Diamond and had a great time, only complaint was the heat and humidity in August. Lots of Japanese passengers on both cruises, all extremely polite.

[OnVacation11]

I have been on two Japan cruises on the Diamond Princess in the past 2 years. I have enjoyed them so much that I have another booked for next year. I love the culture, food and safety for single travelers. Both cruises left from Kobe so I spent 2 days in Osaka and did siteseeing on my own.

I took all Princess excursion to see sites outside of the cities. All of our guides were excellent as tour guides have to pass government certifications in English and local history. Most ports have a free shuttle to either train station or central shopping area since the ports are large industrial areas away from the city center.

In some ports I did my own thing shopping or site seeing without any problems. A lot of younger people understand some English but are reluctant to speak it. They always go out of the way to help or find someone who can help.

In each port the sailaway is a big event. The locals put on some sort of a show to see us off.

Diamond Princess has a sushi bar and a ramen stations in the buffet at lunch if you enjoy Asian food. There was also local entertainment brought on board where we had a late departure. There are Japanese lessons as well as origami, furoshiki and other Japanese activities on sea days.

If you decide to take a Japan cruise, I hope you enjoy it.

[Aus Traveller]

We are booked on the Diamond Sydney to Yokohama repositioning cruise in March next year as well as the followin Spring Flowers cruise on 13 April.

Looking forward to it.

Friends are just back from BTB cruise round Japan on the Diamond and had a great time, only complaint was the heat and humidity in August. Lots of Japanese passengers on both cruises, all extremely polite.

That sounds great. Spring is a superb time to visit Japan.

[muddles@sea]

Yes, we are there in time for the cherry blossoms. The local Japanese garden in Sydney has its Cherry Blossom festival at the moment but it won't be a patch on the real thing.

[seacruise9]

Hi,

 

We did an eight-day Circle Japan cruise on the Diamond Princess in July 2016 and had a wonderful time. The ports were very interesting and the people were very friendly. We booked Princess shore excursions in every port. Also, we booked hotel packages through Princess both before and after the cruise. Because Yokohama is a fair distance from central Tokyo and the airport, we liked the convenience of having Princess arrange for our transportation to and from the ship. Prior to the cruise, we spent one night at a hotel near the airport. After the cruise, we spent two nights at a hotel located in central Tokyo. In Tokyo, I we took a full-day Gray Line city tour.

 

I highly recommend a Japan cruise on this ship.

 

Chuck

[The Wilkies]

This is a bucket list cruise for me, but DH thinks it would be best served as a land trip. I'm trying to get both out of him, do land first then cruise all in the same trip. ;) We have 5 cruises planned right now, so this needs to be pushed out but I'm starting to do my research now. Hoping to get this booked as soon as schedules come out for 2020 :)

 

Totally agree with your DH. This was my DH's bucket list cruise for a very special birthday. Disappointment does not come even close. We have seen travel programmes about Japan on the TV but, what did we see, container ports (yes I know this is the norm for a lot of Asia), concrete by the tonne and what we considered very little of the real Japan. Even Tokyo was a disappointment. One of the guides actually said that they have been so busy trying to modernise and they are forgetting their traditional buildings. Now this has dawned on them, its too late.

 

Of our trip, in May this year, the only ports we really enjoyed were Nagasaki and Taipai.

 

If we did it again, and we probably won't, it would definitely be a land tour to see the interior, Even our trip on the bullet train was cancelled, it was Golden Week and totally sold out. This would have been one of the highlights and the cruise coincided with said special birthday, so didn't want to change.

[jennybenny]

Totally agree with your DH. This was my DH's bucket list cruise for a very special birthday. Disappointment does not come even close. We have seen travel programmes about Japan on the TV but, what did we see, container ports (yes I know this is the norm for a lot of Asia), concrete by the tonne and what we considered very little of the real Japan. Even Tokyo was a disappointment. One of the guides actually said that they have been so busy trying to modernise and they are forgetting their traditional buildings. Now this has dawned on them, its too late.

 

 

 

Of our trip, in May this year, the only ports we really enjoyed were Nagasaki and Taipai.

 

 

 

If we did it again, and we probably won't, it would definitely be a land tour to see the interior, Even our trip on the bullet train was cancelled, it was Golden Week and totally sold out. This would have been one of the highlights and the cruise coincided with said special birthday, so didn't want to change.

 

 

 

Thank you for sharing. I would say that your comments are enough for DH to say land would be better, at least for a trip that far and all that we'd like to see.

 

 

 

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