(attempt at!) Live/semi-Live - 1st time HAL cruiser - Westerdam Hong Kong to Tokyo

[Cruisegroover]

Hopefully we see some more posts. I am I interested in see your adventures in the Japanese ports.

 

I have a question about how immigration formalities where handled at your first port in Japan.

[NRFBQN]

Thank you for all of your commentary and pictures - we are about to leave for Singapore, then Hong Kong, then the Westerdam on March 2.  I appreciate all of the great information you are sharing with all of us!

[Tigerlily75]

Sorry all - I will finish this! Kudos to anyone who actually does it live, it’s harder than it looks! We were so tired every night. We are now in Tokyo. The cruise was great. I loved the food and the staff are excellent. The ship itself is beautiful, and our cabin was great. Especially the water pressure in the shower! 
 

I won’t be able to comment too much on the entertainment, as it turned out we didn’t attend much at all. Being a port intensive cruise, by the time we finished late-seating dinner, we were ready for bed! Or at least, downtime and then bed. I did attend one dance show and a magician. 
 

All the ports were great, and we were blessed with such great weather. 
 

My one small complaint was the port talks were a waste of time. Often contradictory and the cruise director seemed confused by the most basic of questions. For example he didn’t know what Suica or Pasmo cards were, and for Busan he told us the shuttle was free (it wasn’t ) and then said it would drop us off at X, then later said the drop off point is near Y, and these two places were an hour apart! So trying to plan our days was a bit harder and felt like mystery surprise days, but hey they always turned out well, so in the end it didn’t really matter. 
 

Overall, my daughter who wasn’t so keen on cruising before would definitely cruise again after this - “but not on Carnival” she said lol. She really loved HAL. 
 

I’ve saved the dailies and will photograph them (though I only have my iPhone) and I’ll get back to the ports in just a moment! 

[Tigerlily75]

So here’s some random food/ship photos before our arrival into Kagoshima, our first port in Japan: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tigerlily75]

Kagoshima, Japan 

 

All the horror stories about immigration in Japan fortunately didn’t pan out for us, it went pretty quickly and pretty smoothly. Here is our arrival: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tigerlily75]

Kagoshima continued:

 

We got the shuttle ($25) which dropped us near the ferry port. Here I entered my first konbini and fell in love with Japan: 

 

 

We caught the ferry over to Sakurajima, home to a very active volcano 

 

 

 

 

We took the local shuttle bus around the island, which operates like a hop on hop off bus, stopping at various interest/viewpoints along the way: 

 

 

 

Back at the ferry terminal on Sakurajima, we took a walk (all uphill!) to a dinosaur park, which seemed partly abandoned and/or partly under construction. But it was still fun to visit. For as long as I’ve known her, my daughter has loved dinosaurs 

 

Back at the terminal, it was time for some “ash cream” - ice cream dusted with volcanic ash, before heading back to the ship. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tigerlily75]

Nagasaki, Japan 

 

Our arrival:

 

 

 

We took a cute little street car to the Atomic Bomb Museum and Peace Park. 
 

 

It was very moving. Despite everything behind it, all I could think about was the people there, going about their daily lives, and the moment everything stopped: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tigerlily75]

Nagasaki continued: We then took a public bus back to Chinatown. This was February 10 and the Lunar New Year! Celebrations were in full swing. 


 

Public transport is very easy in Japan. And especially easy if you’ve added a Suica card to your Apple wallet. Suica is the best thing since sliced bread. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tigerlily75]

Still in Nagasaki, we left Chinatown and headed to Glover Garden. Both Chinatown and Glover Garden are easy walking distance from the ship. Some nice views there too!  
 

some stops along the way 
 

 

 

Views from the gardens. 
 

 

 

 

 

We then wandered into this surprise little museum:

 

 

 

 

[Tigerlily75]

BUSAN SOUTH KOREA

 

Oh my beating heart. I hadn't paid much attention to this port stop. I’ve been to Korea multiple times, and given it was only one day in the country, other places on the itinerary  - like Shanghai and Japan had really taken over planning.
 

I had thought we might visit Gamcheon Culture Village (spoiler: we didn’t) but other than that, the only real plan was to visit Olive Young for my daughters shopping spree (I assume you all know about Korean skincare, right?). 
 

So it wasn’t until we stepped off the ship that something came over me. like I suddenly just realized OH MY GOD I’M IN KOREA. I was sooo excited. I love Korea. I love the food, the music, the culture, the history, the art. I even love the alphabet and how they just decided to make a whole new one one day, and they based it on science and you can actually learn it in about three hours. And did I mention the food?! The food is SO GOOD! 
 

So we shopped, and we ate. And ate. And ate. And then we went back to the ship so happy. 
if you haven’t been to Korea before, you should! And not just for one day on a cruise ship. 
 

Busan! 

 

 

Gimbap for breakfast! But it was only the beginning! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tigerlily75]

And the Korean shopping haul. 
 

 

More later! 

[AKJonesy]

@Tigerlily75 How did you figure out how much local currency you were going to need?

[Tigerlily75]

28 minutes ago, AKJonesy said:

@Tigerlily75 How did you figure out how much local currency you were going to need?

The only place I got cash for in advance was China, because we were going straight to Disneyland and China is tricky when you’re not local. So I also had Alipay etc as back up. For there I got about $150aud worth for a 2 day stop. We ended up using Alipay for a few things, like a dumpling place that didn't accept cash.
 

For the rest I used ATM’s when I got there, and I just guess how much I’ll need and then get out more if I need to. In Korea we used cards to pay for shopping, and I got out I think 40,000 won for street food. We still had 7,000 won when heading back to the shuttle bus, so we just found someone to give it to on the way.
 

Japan is easy, because most of the ports were in Japan plus we have 10 days in Tokyo. So I just withdrew 50000 yen the first go. But I also added Suica to my Apple wallet and it’s amazing how many places you can use it. I don’t need nearly as much cash as I thought, although the ramen restaurant tonight was cash only, so you do need some!
 

You can top up Suica directly in your wallet any time, it takes about two seconds. You can use this for transport, convenience stores, vending machines, some restaurants and some shopping. You don’t have to open the wallet, just tap your phone straight to the machine to pay and you’re good to go. It’s the fastest and easiest method of payment for sure. 
 

And some places of course accept visa/mastercard also.

[Kristal Blade]

What a fantastic record of your trip Tigerlily,

We have visited all these ports and the pictures brought back lots of amazing memories. I think your Korean haul was very minimalistic! We went mad there. Especially in the local market.

You are making the ship sound great. Last time we cruised on Westerdam we liked to have a drink in a bar near the casino. Think it was the gallery bar cos the walls were covered in paintings. Is it still there?

Enjoy the rest of your time, thanks for posting again.

[sunviking90]

Thank you @Tigerlily75 for continuing on with your report. I’m glad enjoyed your cruise. Looking forward to reading more about Tokyo. (No pressure).

[LuvsACruise]

Where did you buy your Suica card? Is it a Welcome Suica? My info (as of Oct 23) says one can only get Welcome Suica at Haneda airport, and that tourist should use the Welcome Suica card.  I am looking to attach it to Apple Pay when we visit Japan in Sept 2024. Thanks for any info you have!

[OlsSalt]

Please may I have your permission to link your thread to our upcoming Westerdam  Sept 1 Roll Call - Majestic Japan?  (53 days Seattle to Seattle - via Alaska and Midway/Hawaii) - the rest circling Japan)

 

You offer so many good, practical tips of many of the ports we will also be visiting. Thanks for coming back with these wonderful reports and photos.

[Tigerlily75]

3 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

Please may I have your permission to link your thread to our upcoming Westerdam  Sept 1 Roll Call - Majestic Japan?  (53 days Seattle to Seattle - via Alaska and Midway/Hawaii) - the rest circling Japan)

 

You offer so many good, practical tips of many of the ports we will also be visiting. Thanks for coming back with these wonderful reports and photos.

Yes of course! And that cruise (and 53 days!) sounds amazing!

[Tigerlily75]

4 hours ago, LuvsACruise said:

Where did you buy your Suica card? Is it a Welcome Suica? My info (as of Oct 23) says one can only get Welcome Suica at Haneda airport, and that tourist should use the Welcome Suica card.  I am looking to attach it to Apple Pay when we visit Japan in Sept 2024. Thanks for any info you have!

 
There was a shortage of chips that go in the physical cards, hence the recommendation for Welcome Suica for which there’s a limited supply for tourists. But that’s only if you need a physical card. You don’t need a physical card to add to your Apple Wallet.
 

Just open the wallet, click the plus sign, choose transit cards, and then choose Suica. Then you can add yen to it straight from Apple Pay, wait a few seconds for it to update and you’re good to go.
 

It will automatically be in “express mode”, which means when you want to use it, you don’t need to open the wallet, or double click or use Face ID. You just tap your phone to the machine and it will read/pay automatically. 
 

When using it for transit, you’ll tap as you go through the gates (or get on the bus at the rear entrance), and it will say “card read, trip in progress”. Then as you exit the gates (or the bus at the front) you tap again and then you are charged for your trip.

 

For paying in convenience stores etc, just say “Suica”, then tap the machine when it’s ready. In shops and restaurants there’s usually signs showing symbols of what payment methods are accepted, ie visa or Mastercard, if it says “IC Cards” or has the Suica symbol you can use it. 
 

[LuvsACruise]

That works for me!   Many thanks for the great info on the Suica card!

[OlsSalt]

We won't be traveling with a phone, so any tips about how and where to get an actual SUICA card or any other Japan Smart Card as soon as we arrive in our first port?  TIA.

 

 

[Riversedge]

What a wonderful blog!  You are really making me sorry we can to cancel.  I’m thinking you might convince me that we need to book it again.  The weather looks phenomenal.  We had friends who did this last year and had a lot of chilly rain.  Continue to have fun.  We will look forward to more posts when you have time.  

[xjust4fun]

We are enjoying all the posts on this thread, we booked  for 4 months starting Jan. 18/26 based on the recommendations of friends that will be doing the entire season starting in Sept. 25.  Thank you so much for taking us along on your journey, we are more excited now that we are following this wonderful thread.

 

Diane and Gloria.

[Tigerlily75]

2 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

We won't be traveling with a phone, so any tips about how and where to get an actual SUICA card or any other Japan Smart Card as soon as we arrive in our first port?  TIA.

 

 

 
A week or two before your trip I would search “latest information IC/transit cards Japan (or first port)”. People are constantly posting updates on blogs and YouTube. You could also ask at the train station. 
 

However if you can’t get one, or can’t get one straight away, you won’t be stuck. You can use cash for everything, and many locals do so it won’t be unusual. You can buy train tickets at the ticket machines which have an English option, and you can pay the bus driver directly (upon exiting). For the bus you need exact change, however they have a little change machine on the bus. At shops and restaurants you can also pay cash, or often you can use Mastercard/Visa. The best ATM’s for foreign cards is inside convenience stores, and they are everywhere. 

[Tigerlily75]

39 minutes ago, Riversedge said:

What a wonderful blog!  You are really making me sorry we can to cancel.  I’m thinking you might convince me that we need to book it again.  The weather looks phenomenal.  We had friends who did this last year and had a lot of chilly rain.  Continue to have fun.  We will look forward to more posts when you have time.  

We have been so blessed with the weather! I only wore my thermals in Shanghai, most days we’ve ended up in tshirts by the afternoon. I’m sorry you had to miss this trip, and hope you can book again!