Choosing between 2 cruise itineraries in Japan

[commodoredave]

If you had to choose one of these two cruise itineraries, which would it be and why? Thanks. 

 

[BruceMuzz]

It really depends on what you - as a passenger - are looking to see and do.

It also depends on the size of the ship and the time of year you are cruising.

It further depends on your plans to arrive earlier or remain later than your cruise.

 

The first itinerary has several small ports that do not have much significance - except that they are the "Real Japan". That is, the Japan that most Japanese people are familiar with. The sight-seeing in those ports will not have the WOW factor that Tokyo, Shimizu, Kobe, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki have.

The second itinerary is more loaded with the classic tourist things that most visitors to Japan want to see and experience.

[commodoredave]

Thank you, Bruce. We've never been to Japan, so this is the kind of insight I am looking for. 

Right now we are booked on a mid-sized luxury ship (Silver Muse, 600 guests) and will be cruising in early April 2024 on the second itinerary.  The other option that looked interesting was on the first itinerary on a slightly smaller luxury ship (Seabourn Quest, 458 guests) that sails late March 2025.

We are retired and have as much time to allocate to a pre and post-cruise land excursion as we like (and can afford!!).

[bennybear]

We really enjoyed many of the same ports  on the second choice as well.  Kanazawa allows you to visit the gorgeous thatched village of Shirakawa go and one of the top gardens in Japan.   
 

Aomori will also allow a visit to Hirosaki. 

I would suggest if you want to enjoy the cherry blossoms you head over before the end of March and spend some time in Kyoto.  It is magnificent, and easy to visit your own.  You could fly into Kansai for Kyoto and out of Tokyo.  We also enjoyed a number of smaller places like Himeji,  and visiting an onsen town.  
 

We also spent time after the cruise in Tokyo and we’re glad we did it that way as we were then more familiar with Japan.  

Edited June 28, 2023 by bennybear

[commodoredave]

On 6/28/2023 at 4:01 PM, bennybear said:

We really enjoyed many of the same ports  on the second choice as well.  Kanazawa allows you to visit the gorgeous thatched village of Shirakawa go and one of the top gardens in Japan.   
 

Aomori will also allow a visit to Hirosaki. 

I would suggest if you want to enjoy the cherry blossoms you head over before the end of March and spend some time in Kyoto.  It is magnificent, and easy to visit your own.  You could fly into Kansai for Kyoto and out of Tokyo.  We also enjoyed a number of smaller places like Himeji,  and visiting an onsen town.  
 

We also spent time after the cruise in Tokyo and we’re glad we did it that way as we were then more familiar with Japan.  

We will be arriving 3 days before the cruise departs, so a land trip to Kyoto would work well. And we were already planning for another 3 days in Tokyo at the end of the cruise. Thanks for the great advice.

[bennybear]

1 hour ago, commodoredave said:

We will be arriving 3 days before the cruise departs, so a land trip to Kyoto would work well. And we were already planning for another 3 days in Tokyo at the end of the cruise. Thanks for the great advice.

You’re most welcome.  If you could wrangle a little more time it would be great.  We spent 5 nights in Kyoto and that is after a few days getting over jet lag.    There is a lot to see and do.   We spent two weeks total in Japan and two weeks on the ship and felt it was perfect.