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All things Japan: Questions


kirenne
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Hi everyone - not a first time cruiser but it has been a couple of years now. 

 

my boyfriend and I are looking to book a cruise to Japan, so I have some questions. 

 

- in your opinion, which cruise line is the best to see Japan?

- what is the best time to book a Japan cruise?

- are there any itineraries you’d recommend?

 

we previously enjoyed an Alaskan cruise on Star Princess. 

 

Thanks for any help!

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While I really enjoy cruising, if you really want to see Japan, a land visit would be better.

 

So much to see and do and eat there.  To much to hit for a few hours here and there.

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23 minutes ago, SRF said:

While I really enjoy cruising, if you really want to see Japan, a land visit would be better.

 

So much to see and do and eat there.  To much to hit for a few hours here and there.

I think it’s mostly the culture difference, it sounds nice to be able to enjoy Japan without having to worry about language and other barriers if we did it ourselves. I know we can still book tours, etc., but we also just love crusing and the all-inclusive nature of it. 

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I think your best place for questions is the Asia board here, under Ports of Call.  I haven't traveled much in Japan, my only visit was more than 30 years ago, but when I looked a little puzzled, such as trying to figure out the subway fare in Tokyo, someone would always stop and inquire in English if I needed help. 

 

Asia board: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/43-asia/

EM

Edited by Essiesmom
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Other than Okinawa, haven't visited Japan for over 30 years, so can't help with current tours.

 

Having sailed with Princess before, suggest checking out Diamond Princess, which in our opinion, with Sapphire are the best built ships in the fleet. Only ships that were actually built in Japan. I believe Diamond is now based in Japan year round, or at least most of the year. 

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I did a repositioning cruise on Diamond Princess from Hong Kong to Yokohama (Tokyo) when she first returned to Japan.  It caused quite a stir when we docked at Japanese ports with thousands turning up to view the ship.   At this time I think Japanese nationals were just getting into cruising with Princess and I should imagine that a high proportion of Japanese people will be on any of the current series Diamond Princess cruises.  I recommend a Princess round trip cruise from Yokohama (Tokyo) and then adding in extra days at each end.  We had two nights in hotels pre-cruise (Hong Kong) and three nights post-cruise in Yokohama (Tokyo).  The post=cruise stay was actually in Yokohama as my daughter wanted to do Cosmo's World Amusement Park.  We stayed in the InterContinental Grand Hotel as it was close to the cruise terminal, easy to spot at a distance and you can walk there conveniently through a park area.

 

The obvious problem when touring foreign countries is the language. However this is reduced in major cities with international hotels.  If you travel to more rural parts language becomes an issue as does the fact that no signs appear in the A-Z characters we know.  You need to plan a lot more carefully when travelling with printouts of hotel addresses to show the taxi driver and details of Haneda or Narita airport to get there in a timely manner. Electronic Devices might help with translation these days.  Cruising reduces the problems at the ports and the excursions are sold with narration in Japanese or English. The Princess Patter always gave the phrase "I would like to go to the cruise port" in the different languages we were faced with. Cruising also reduces the costs and you can eat more western if you wish.  Reception Desk might have more non-English speaking staff at it from time to time.  All in all you are not immersing yourselves to Japanese culture on a cruise but you do experience a lot of it with significantly reduced problems tourists might typically encounter. You can research in minute detail these days using the internet.

 

Diamond Princess was converted to suit the Japanese market while we cruised and last day a lady gave us a conducted tour of the Japanese Bath.  She explained that on the way in the men turn left and women turn right, but the following day this is reversed due to ying and yang.  You go into the changing room and take off all your clothes then sit in a gigantic bath with all the other men or women as appropriate.  They also had a steam cupboard, icy plunge pool and extremely hot pool to alternate into.  Fortunately we were just looking and actual usage had not started.  

 

You experience totally different culture all round.  Japanese are extremely polite and have a very civilised way of life in comparison to other countries in the region.  Overall a very good cruise experience and extremely interesting.  We booked our own flights and hotels.

 

Regards John

 

 

 

 

Edited by john watson
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I have only visited Tokyo recently, but I was there for 4 days last year, and I found it very easy to get around myself, even without any Japanese other than being able to say "thank you" - I think you'll be OK getting around, even on your own.  That was for a short stay before I boarded a Crystal ship for a transpacific cruise; Tokyo was the only city I visited on that trip.

 

Which cruise line?  It probably doesn't make much of a difference with respect to your port stops.  What time?  April-May will be the most popular time, because it's the cherry blossom season.  The actual time of the peak blossoms changes every year but - if you can time it well - it's beautiful. 

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18 hours ago, kirenne said:

I think it’s mostly the culture difference, it sounds nice to be able to enjoy Japan without having to worry about language and other barriers if we did it ourselves. I know we can still book tours, etc., but we also just love crusing and the all-inclusive nature of it. 

 

In tourist areas, you can get by with English.  Add in Google Translate, and you go fine.

 

Or, take a land tour.

 

I understand the thoughts on cruising, but just too much to do.  We were there for 10 days, and still only got a small taste of Japan.

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I think a cruise is a great way to see Japan because hotels are so expensive and it would be so hard to rent a car and drive anywhere (there is no English on the street signage).

 

Aim for Late spring (March to May) and late autumn (September to November) for the best weather. Go in the spring to see cherry blossoms, or autumn for fall foliage. Japanese maple trees get the prettiest red leaves!

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