Japan Itinerary

[Bruin Steve]

We had been booked on the Celebrity Millennium April 11 cruise that was just canceled this week due to ongoing concerns with the pandemic.  We decided to take Celebrity's "Lift-and-Shift" option to move our booking to March 27, 2022 (hoping all is well by then).

 

We have never visited Japan before, so, in booking, the itinerary looked fine to us--seemed to cover a lot of varied ports...and we really never got that far in planning to know what to do with any of them.

 

But, in switching years, I did notice the itinerary has changed slightly.  I don't know if it's better, worse or immaterial.

 

Here's the old (2021) itinerary:

 

Apr 11, 2021       Tokyo (Yokohama) - Japan           ---           6:00 p.m.

Apr 12, 2021       Mt Fuji (Shimizu) - Japan               7:00 a.m.              3:00 p.m.

Apr 13, 2021       Kyoto (Osaka) - Japan     12:00 p.m.           ---

Apr 14, 2021       Kyoto (Osaka) - Japan     ---           6:00 p.m.

Apr 15, 2021       Kochi - Japan      7:00 a.m.              5:00 p.m.

Apr 16, 2021       Hiroshima - Japan            9:00 a.m.              6:00 p.m.

Apr 17, 2021       Beppu - Japan   8:00 a.m.              5:00 p.m.

Apr 18, 2021       At Sea   ---           ---

Apr 19, 2021       Busan - South Korea       7:00 a.m.              5:00 p.m.

Apr 20, 2021       At Sea   ---           ---

Apr 21, 2021       Hakodate - Japan             9:00 a.m.              8:00 p.m.

Apr 22, 2021       Aomori - Japan  7:00 a.m.              6:00 p.m.

Apr 23, 2021       At Sea   ---           ---

Apr 24, 2021       Tokyo (Yokohama) - Japan           8:30 a.m.              ---

Apr 25, 2021       Tokyo (Yokohama) - Japan           -

And here's the new one:

 

Mar 27, 2022      Tokyo (Yokohama) - Japan           ---           6:00 p.m.

Mar 28, 2022      Mt Fuji (Shimizu) - Japan               7:00 a.m.              3:00 p.m.

Mar 29, 2022      Kobe - Japan      9:30 a.m.              11:59 p.m.

Mar 30, 2022      At Sea   ---           ---

Mar 31, 2022      Kochi - Japan      7:00 a.m.              5:00 p.m.

Apr 01, 2022       Hiroshima - Japan            9:00 a.m.              6:00 p.m.

Apr 02, 2022       At Sea   ---           ---

Apr 03, 2022       Nagasaki - Japan               7:00 a.m.              5:00 p.m.

Apr 04, 2022       Busan - South Korea       7:00 a.m.              5:00 p.m.

Apr 05, 2022       At Sea   ---           ---

Apr 06, 2022       Hakodate - Japan             8:00 a.m.              7:00 p.m.

Apr 07, 2022       Aomori - Japan  7:00 a.m.              6:00 p.m.

Apr 08, 2022       At Sea   ---           ---

Apr 09, 2022       Tokyo (Yokohama) - Japan           8:30 a.m.              ---

Apr 10, 2022       Tokyo (Yokohama) - Japan           ---           ---

I put the material changes in red.  Basically, we replace a day and a half in Osaka with a day in Kobe...and we replace Beppu with Nagasaki.  I assume, if we wanted to visit Kyoto, it may be just as easy to do so from Kobe as from Osaka, no?  And should I be happy with Nagasaki instead of Beppu...or is that a disappointment?

 

Also, with the 2021 itinerary, we were also booked on the April 25 TransPacific--which included an extra stop in Hakodate, a day in Muroran (for Sapporo) and a stop in Petropavlovsk, Russia...Because of conflicts, we merely canceled out of that cruise--costing us the Muroran/Sapporo stop.  Will we be disappointed missing that?

 

We had planned on flying in to Tokyo 4 nights prior to the cruise and staying in the Shinjuku area for four nights (with the hotel costing more for those four nights than a single cruise fare for 14 nights in a balcony cabin!).  With our cruise being much shorter now, we are thinking of flying in as much as a week early...but, perhaps, staying somewhere other than Tokyo for a good part of that time.  The initial thought is to stay the last two nights pre-cruise in Yokohama near the port and splitting the first five +/- nights between Tokyo and some other location that would be easy to get to from the airport or from Tokyo and easy to get from there to Tokyo or to the port.  Somewhere that we're not otherwise covering with the cruise itinerary.

 

Where outside of Tokyo or Yokohama would you recommend visiting for two or three nights during the pre-cruise?  And why?  Something either scenic, historical, relaxing, culturally interesting, or??  And, what form of transportation would you use to get to and from all these places?

 

Thanks...

[MAVIP]

14 hours ago, Bruin Steve said:

 

 

We had planned on flying in to Tokyo 4 nights prior to the cruise and staying in the Shinjuku area for four nights (with the hotel costing more for those four nights than a single cruise fare for 14 nights in a balcony cabin!).  With our cruise being much shorter now, we are thinking of flying in as much as a week early...but, perhaps, staying somewhere other than Tokyo for a good part of that time.  The initial thought is to stay the last two nights pre-cruise in Yokohama near the port and splitting the first five +/- nights between Tokyo and some other location that would be easy to get to from the airport or from Tokyo and easy to get from there to Tokyo or to the port.  Somewhere that we're not otherwise covering with the cruise itinerary.

 

Where outside of Tokyo or Yokohama would you recommend visiting for two or three nights during the pre-cruise?  And why?  Something either scenic, historical, relaxing, culturally interesting, or??  And, what form of transportation would you use to get to and from all these places?

 

Thanks...

Near the Narita airport I recommend the Okura Nikko Hotel. https://www.okura-nikko.com/japan/narita/hotel-nikko-narita/   Few minutes in the shuttlebus to the airport and railway stations. And very comfortable fast train connection to Tokyo; about 30 minutes. (special train tickets for tourists can be bought at the airport railwaystation)... . Perfect for early departures from the airport too. Rooms twice or more the size of the rooms in Tokyo, very good service and restaurant. We had a very comfortable suite. 

[Milhouse]

On 10/8/2020 at 9:01 AM, Bruin Steve said:

I put the material changes in red.  Basically, we replace a day and a half in Osaka with a day in Kobe...and we replace Beppu with Nagasaki.  I assume, if we wanted to visit Kyoto, it may be just as easy to do so from Kobe as from Osaka, no?  And should I be happy with Nagasaki instead of Beppu...or is that a disappointment?

 

<snip>

 

We had planned on flying in to Tokyo 4 nights prior to the cruise and staying in the Shinjuku area for four nights (with the hotel costing more for those four nights than a single cruise fare for 14 nights in a balcony cabin!).  With our cruise being much shorter now, we are thinking of flying in as much as a week early...but, perhaps, staying somewhere other than Tokyo for a good part of that time.  The initial thought is to stay the last two nights pre-cruise in Yokohama near the port and splitting the first five +/- nights between Tokyo and some other location that would be easy to get to from the airport or from Tokyo and easy to get from there to Tokyo or to the port.  Somewhere that we're not otherwise covering with the cruise itinerary.

 

Where outside of Tokyo or Yokohama would you recommend visiting for two or three nights during the pre-cruise?  And why?  Something either scenic, historical, relaxing, culturally interesting, or??  And, what form of transportation would you use to get to and from all these places?

 

 

We love the Kansai region around Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Nara, etc.

While it's disappointing that you lose an overnight in the area, yes, it's generally an easy and quick trip from Kobe to Kyoto (or Osaka or Nara, etc).  The thing to watch out for is that there are different stations and routes to get from Kobe to Kyoto with the optimal likely being taking the shinkansen bullet train from Shin-Kobe station to Kyoto.   Check out Hyperdia.com for train timetables.

 

I think Nagasaki instead of Beppu is a win.  We visited both during a southern (or technically western) Japan trip focused around Fukuoka a few years back.  Nagasaki is a nice small city with a number of attractions and sights. Beppu is kind of a small onsen town.  We visited during an overcast day and we didn't find it that interesting.  We stopped in Yufuin on the way to Beppu and while smaller, found it more interesting. 

 

WRT to ideas pre-cruise, IMO, it's not unrealistic to visit Kyoto/Osaka at least from a time perspective as it's like a 2.5-3hr shinkansen trip from Tokyo.  Return tix are kind of pricey though and it might be worth getting the JR pass for $300 if you are going to DIY at some other ports of call that require some train travel.  Apart from that, there are a number of interesting day trips from Tokyo like:  Hakone, Nikko, Kamakura, etc.   The highlight of Hakone is a nice lake with potential views of Mt Fuji if the weather cooperates.  There's a daytrip circuit (better overnight) that you can do to check out the region.  I think you can use a JR pass but we bought the Hakone Freepass that gave us access on the train, ropeway, and boat.  We went last year though part of the circut along the ropeway/cable car was shutdown due to volcanic activity.  Nikko and Kamakura are nice daytrips for shrines and temples.  Again, easy transport by train though you may need to get help identify which train/platform.       

 

 

 

 

 

 

[phillipahain]

Those itineries do not include  Kanazawa  which is the port fir the most famous and beutiful garden in Japan ....the Kenrokuan Garden ...its just a DIY bus ride from the port 

 

We were booked on Cunard for April 2021 but they cancelled ...we switched to Princess and now they have cancelled and so far no one in 2022 is doing the same itineries nor are they going to Kanazawa which is frustrating 

Silver Seas and Azamara are doing similar itineries but unless things have changed Silver Seas smoking policy stinks and the Azamara ship is not my favourite    and the package is pretty poor too 

[stringbag]

We did a cruise from Japan Nov 2018 to Hong Kong. Loved Kobe, The Nunobiki Herb Gardens and Ropeway and even the shops. Just used local bus to get to Gardens. You will certainly use all the day exploring. Staying in Yokohama would be a good idea, certainly cheaper and the transportation to Tokyo is simple and good price. The rail system will get you there super quick so you can tour and eat all day in Tokyo and get back for the evenings in Yokohama which you will find to be an interesting place PLUS super quick transfer to ship. Win,win. 
enjoy and I wish I could get back there NOW! 😉
PS. Just look around the Cruise Critics forums and port information etc.. they all helped us a great deal. 👍

Edited November 23, 2020 by stringbag