Live from Explorer March 28-April 11, 2023–Yokohama to Tokyo

[RachelG]

16 hours ago, labonnevie said:

Currently on Explorer, Tokyo rt. Couple of updates:

Near perfect weather through Busan, day 7. Unfortunately, day 8 we are paying the price as high winds (15 - 35 mph) scrubbed Jeju Island port today. As shame as we were scheduled to see the Women Divers, an expected highlight of the cruise. On to Nagasaki. 
Regent has added disembarkation day options for those with late flights. Transport to airport only is $89. Transport to airport with day room at Keio Plaza Hotel in Tokyo is $100. Transport to airport with Tokyo tour (mostly drive byes with stop at Tokyo Tower/Eiffel) is $139. Flights must be after 5pm for the later. In our case, this will help us use up some non refundable OBC. 

Too bad about Jeju, as it was really different and something we enjoyed very much.  I guess that they paid attention to our complaints about the lack of disembarkation option.  Do note however that the transport to airport is $89 per person.  You can get a cab easily for way less. 

[aunteemom]

Rachel, 

Any must do tours?  We are going onRSSC Explorer in October. How about Chikurinji temple and the  Makino botanical garden? 

[labonnevie]

On 4/19/2023 at 4:47 AM, RachelG said:Do note however that the transport to airport is $89 per person.  You can get a cab easily for way less. 

Actually, our cruise disembarks in Yokohama not Tokyo so the taxi is about $200 to Narita per Google. Tokyo cruise port to Narita is, as you say, far less. 

[AJCM]

3 hours ago, aunteemom said:

Rachel, 

Any must do tours?  We are going onRSSC Explorer in October. How about Chikurinji temple and the  Makino botanical garden? 

We did this excursion in 2019 and loved it. The garden is quite extensive and varied and the temple and its surrounds were serene and a very visually attractive environment. Most of the excursions we did included a garden, Without exception they were exceptional - just beautiful environments to walk around. We loved the whole experience so much we’re returning with Regent in Oct; including the pre-tour in Tokyo. We’ll, of course, do different excursions to 2019. We’re very much looking forward to the autumn colours throughout Japan.

[aunteemom]

Can you share the other excursions that you have booked?  Are you on the 10/20 cruise?

[RachelG]

9 hours ago, aunteemom said:

Rachel, 

Any must do tours?  We are going onRSSC Explorer in October. How about Chikurinji temple and the  Makino botanical garden? 

The Makino botanical garden is a absolute must.  It is huge and beautiful.  We could have spent all day there.  The temple is interesting and different than most of the others we saw--has a 5 story pagoda which is unusual.  But the gardens are definitely the highlight. 

[RachelG]

7 hours ago, labonnevie said:

Actually, our cruise disembarks in Yokohama not Tokyo so the taxi is about $200 to Narita per Google. Tokyo cruise port to Narita is, as you say, far less. 

$89 pp from Yokohama to Narita is a bargain.  Grab it.  We disembarked in Tokyo and flew out of Haneda, which is really close.  So the cab fare was was way less than what Regent was charging. 

[aunteemom]

Any other must see excursions?  Also did you do any private tours in Tokyo beside the pre cruise tour. 

[RachelG]

6 hours ago, aunteemom said:

Any other must see excursions?  Also did you do any private tours in Tokyo beside the pre cruise tour. 

In Beppu, we loved the excursion to the shrine and the stone buddhas but it is only for the very physically fit.  It involves very steep climbing on an uneven stone trail.

 

In Okinawa, the peace park is a must see.  We would have loved to have stayed there longer.

 

In Nagasaki, we enjoyed the lunch and Arita excursion.  It also went to the peace park there which I really wanted to see. 

[AJCM]

4 hours ago, RachelG said:

Any other must see excursions?  Also did you do any private tours in Tokyo beside the pre cruise tour.

I wouldn't say any of the excursions were "must see", as we all have separate preferences. For what it's worth, however, we really enjoyed Miyajima (Hiroshima excursion). The whole environment is very scenic. We had a wet and cloudy day but this gave the place a very calm, quiet atmosphere. It may be a place that often gets over-crowded, though, and that would give a different impression.

 

In Kagoshima, we did a combination tour of Mt Sakurajima followed by Senganen garden. It was a sunny day, with great visibility of the volcano from the viewing point (at ground level). The garden was outstanding. This tour did not include the museum. This year's "highlights" tour refers to a pause at the garden - don't know what that means but it's probably a short stop. Guests will thus at least get a chance to see this wonderful garden.

 

In Shimizu, we visited Kunozan Toshogu Shrine & Miho No Matsubara. The shrine was a most impressive complex,comprising a number of buildings on ascending terraces; and reached via cable car. I'd describe it as strenuous. The weather was thick cloud and rain but this gave the place a very peaceful and eerie atmosphere. We're strong walkers, so were able to move ahead of the group and virtually had the place to ourselves through the various levels. The second part of the tour  was ostensibly to see Fuji from the beach. Probably would have been worthwhile on a clear day - all we saw was whiteout. I enjoyed skimming stones from the water's edge instead.

 

We visited Nagasaki on Azamara twice, a few years ago. The Atomic Bomb museum and ground zero were very moving. 

 

The ship visited Osaka, and we did the castle. Probably the least of the excursions we did due to the very large crowd all wanting to tour through the castle. Strenuous, due to the many steep steps in the castle. Little to see inside. very good views from the top floor.

 

Other than that, the rest of the Regent itinerary is different from 2019.

 

 

 

We didn't do private tours while in Tokyo. The 3 days pre-tour was pretty good; although it moves slowly with substantial numbersa of us to be organised. A shuttle bus takes you to Shinjuku Station, which is surrounded by restaurants and shopping (plenty of restaurants are at ground level but a lot of restaurants are in high rise buildings).

 

We learned how to navigate the subway system (at least the central loop) and we used this often, after being returned to the Regent hotel and more extensively when we stayed on our own for 3n after the cruise. This enabled us to get around different parts of Tokyo. It was very efficient - if a train was too full, the next one was only a couple of minutes away. We bought a suica card and loaded credit on - easy to re-charge. We always felt totally safe wherever we went in Tokyo.

 

Highly recommend Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden that is near Shinjuku station. It's only about a 10-15 min walk from the station and is a wonderful oasis in the middle of this bustling area.I expect the colours to be stunning when we're there in Oct.

[labonnevie]

Today we took a tour from the Naha, Okinawa port that included the Shuri Castle. We did this in 2010 and it was quite impressive, quite different than the true Japanese castles in Nagoya and Osaka for example. Okinawa was not part of Japan when Shuri Castle was built.
However, be aware that a major portion of the castle was destroyed by fire in 2019 and it is being reconstructed under an aluminum building. While the castle remains interesting, it is not nearly as impressive as before and the tour does little interior viewing. Also many steep steps, often without handrails should be considered if you are interested in a tour including Shuri Castle. 

[labonnevie]

To add to the above, none of the tour descriptions provided by Regent noted the construction at the Shuri Castle. 

[aunteemom]

Than you for all of your recommendations!  Any restaurant recommendations for Tokyo?  And curious as to other sites you visited on your own in Tokyo. We are adventurous so would use subway as well. 

[RachelG]

2 hours ago, aunteemom said:

Than you for all of your recommendations!  Any restaurant recommendations for Tokyo?  And curious as to other sites you visited on your own in Tokyo. We are adventurous so would use subway as well. 

We found a little hole in the wall sushi place near the Shinjuku gardens that was great, and cheap, but no idea of the name. 

[aunteemom]

Than you for all of your recommendations!  Any restaurant recommendations for Tokyo?  And curious as to other sites you visited on your own in Tokyo. We are adventurous so would use subway as well. 

[AJCM]

On 4/23/2023 at 5:53 AM, aunteemom said:

Than you for all of your recommendations!  Any restaurant recommendations for Tokyo?  And curious as to other sites you visited on your own in Tokyo. We are adventurous so would use subway as well. 

We did a fair bit of exploring streets around the Shinjuku station area; as it's so different from where and how we live - just observing. Went to Ueno Park and visited the Western Art museum, which was quite good but not exceptional. We'll go again this time but to the National Museum. It's a pleasant area to walk around. We intended going to the zoo but there was a huge crowd waiting to enter. Watched a baseball match for a while.

 

Do visit the basement food court of a department store - there's a big store the other side of Shinjuku. The presntation of food is just wonderful. If you buy, however, you'll probably have to eat back at the hotel as there's nowhere to sit and snack - they just don't do that. The Meiji Shrine and walk to it were very enjoyable and is on the 3 day itinerary this time - we'll happily go again.

 

You enjoy expansive views from the top of the Metropolitan Govt Building; which is only a 10 min walk from the Hilton - no charge to ride the elevator to the top (at least in 2019).

 

Shibuya was just ok. Did the crossing and walked a few streets but we didn't see much of interest; other than women pushing their designer dogs in baby prams. Visited the Harajuku district on a Sunday to see the dress ups (didn't see many young women in garb and when we did encounter some we felt intrusive). The main shopping street of this area (pedestrianised) is the most crowded street we've ever experienced. Hated it. However, we visited a nearby small art museum dedicated to the woodblock art of Hokusai; most famous for his Great Wave. We loved this place!

We found a quieter, suburban area which was very pleasant to walk around, seeing a diffferent side of Tokyo. Unfortunately I don't recall where. I think it was in the Shibuya area but in the opposite direction from the station. 

 

Al of our touristing outside Shinjuku were on the main loop line; which made things easy.

No restaurant recommendations to help you out.

[Gilly]

32 minutes ago, AJCM said:

Do visit the basement food court of a department store - there's a big store the other side of Shinjuku.

 

I offered the suggestion a while back about exploring the restaurants on the upper floors of these department stores, which are smart, "proper" restaurants and not food courts.  Most large stores have two floors of restaurants, open till late and offering a wide range of cuisine.      We always find them much easier to navigate than trying to find somewhere at street level and though we have enjoyed a couple of Izakaya bars in Shinjuku I very much doubt that we'd ever be able to find them again! 

 

On our first visit to Japan, some 25 years ago, we requested our guide offer some guidance about how to identify a restaurant, for at the time most were quite hidden behind the door curtains and didn't always have a menu outside.  Sadly, in many visits since then, we've never found it easy and as a result, have usually resorted to the department store practice!!

[RachelG]

The hole in the wall sushi bar had just a small sign--it was really tiny.  We found it using tripadvisor and google maps.  Otherwise we wouldn't have even noticed it probably.