Japan Cruise itinerary

[vero1974]

Booking our first trip to Japan on the Celebrity Millennium. Trying to decide between these 2 itineraries. First picture is July 2, 2024, second one is July 26. Any advice on the difference in ports? Thanks! 

[Hlitner]

I would opt for the 2nd itinerary.  Why?  Aomori and Hakodate would be among my least favorite ports which probably goes back to when I lived up in Aomori Prefecture for 2 years.  Ironically, we are on a cruise this coming Spring that happens to go to those ports.

 

Hank

[vero1974]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I would opt for the 2nd itinerary.  Why?  Aomori and Hakodate would be among my least favorite ports which probably goes back to when I lived up in Aomori Prefecture for 2 years.  Ironically, we are on a cruise this coming Spring that happens to go to those ports.

 

Hank

Thanks for your reply. Is the Aomori/Hakodate area greener/less industrial than the more southern part of Japan? So hard to decide…. 

[Hlitner]

Not sure that "industrial" is an issue (anywhere) since tourism areas are generally not industrial.  I was stationed at Misawa Air Force Base which was less than an hour drive from Aomori.  We used to head over towards Aomori to get he ferry over to Hokkaido (they docked at Hakodate) as, in those days, they did not have a tunnel or any kind of direct connection.  The trains, cars, and people all used the ferry (about a 4 hour ride across the strait).  We always thought of Hakodate as the place we got off the ferry to grab the train up to Sapporo.  There is actually a pretty decent National Park in the Aomori area (Lake Towada) where we used to do a lot of camping.  

 

Just an old thought, but in my day it took us about 12 hours on a very uncomfortable train to get from Northern Japan to Tokyo.  They had no high-speed trains and flying was not a good option.  I do think that one of the highlights of Japan is the winter ice festival in Sapporo, but this happens around February.  If you can imagine the Tournament of Roses Parade with the floats all being carved out of ice, you would be picturing what we would see at the ice festival.

 

Hank

[vero1974]

7 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Not sure that "industrial" is an issue (anywhere) since tourism areas are generally not industrial.  I was stationed at Misawa Air Force Base which was less than an hour drive from Aomori.  We used to head over towards Aomori to get he ferry over to Hokkaido (they docked at Hakodate) as, in those days, they did not have a tunnel or any kind of direct connection.  The trains, cars, and people all used the ferry (about a 4 hour ride across the strait).  We always thought of Hakodate as the place we got off the ferry to grab the train up to Sapporo.  There is actually a pretty decent National Park in the Aomori area (Lake Towada) where we used to do a lot of camping.  

 

Just an old thought, but in my day it took us about 12 hours on a very uncomfortable train to get from Northern Japan to Tokyo.  They had no high-speed trains and flying was not a good option.  I do think that one of the highlights of Japan is the winter ice festival in Sapporo, but this happens around February.  If you can imagine the Tournament of Roses Parade with the floats all being carved out of ice, you would be picturing what we would see at the ice festival.

 

Hank

I understand. We were hoping that these 2 north ports would give us a different view, get to know another part of Japan. But not so sure now 🤔 We are traveling with our 14y old son so we can only do a longer trip like this in summer holiday so not possible to see the snow/ice…. 
anyway, thanks for your thoughts.

Veronique 

[bennybear]

We very much enjoyed the northern ports.  I would choose that one, as the other itinerary has both Nagasaki andHiroshima.  We found Hiroshima amazing, but not sure I could do both ports on the same trip. Another thought it may be cooler up north. 
 

Hakkodate has an interesting eight sided fortress and amazing seafood.  
Aomori was the port that allowed us to visit Hirosaki castle.  
 

 

[villauk]

On 11/24/2022 at 7:37 AM, vero1974 said:

Booking our first trip to Japan on the Celebrity Millennium. Trying to decide between these 2 itineraries. First picture is July 2, 2024, second one is July 26. Any advice on the difference in ports? Thanks! 

 

Which did you decide on? We’re looking at the same two itineraries and are debating between the two 🙂.

[hubofhockey]

We’re taking the itinerary without the northern ports and doing an 11-day itinerary on 4/21/24.  Honestly, a two week vacation is perfect and it’s our first time and we’d add 3 days in Tokyo.  Thought about doing Japan on land and staying overnight in Kyoto.  We are docked in Osaka and not Kyoto, so still considering spending overnight in a Kyoto hotel and getting the night experience there.  Need to research that.

[BruceMuzz]

The Northern Japan ports can still be quite chilly at the end of April, but the Cherry Blossoms are still there to be seen.

Busan South Korea is rapidly becoming a very interesting stop.

Jeju Island is a local holiday stop, with very little of interest for Westerners.

Kyoto is 15 minutes away from Osaka by Shinkansen and 30 minutes away by train.

Kyoto is a very quiet place in the evening.

Osaka is the second largest city in Japan, with a very vibrant night life. Many Japanese say it is friendlier and more fun than Tokyo.

[vero1974]

On 12/25/2022 at 11:06 AM, villauk said:

 

Which did you decide on? We’re looking at the same two itineraries and are debating between the two 🙂.

We booked the July 26, including the northern ports 😃 Did you decide already?

[villauk]

5 hours ago, vero1974 said:

We booked the July 26, including the northern ports 😃 Did you decide already?

We’ve gone for the Best of Japan at the end of August 👍.

[MDTrip]

On 1/7/2023 at 1:00 PM, hubofhockey said:

We’re taking the itinerary without the northern ports and doing an 11-day itinerary on 4/21/24.  Honestly, a two week vacation is perfect and it’s our first time and we’d add 3 days in Tokyo.  Thought about doing Japan on land and staying overnight in Kyoto.  We are docked in Osaka and not Kyoto, so still considering spending overnight in a Kyoto hotel and getting the night experience there.  Need to research that.

We are on a cruise next April that spends an overnight in Kobe, which is just south of Osaka. We are thinking of staying overnight in Kyoto too.  I think that is going to be my favorite port and hate to waste the time traveling back and forth to the port. Also I think seeing things illuminated at night would be an interesting experience. I would be interested to know what you learn.

[bennybear]

We absolutely loved Kyoto,  we spent five nights there and highly recommend this beautiful city with spectacular sights.   An overnight will just give you a taste, so if there’s anyway pre or post cruise you can add it, I would highly recommend.  

[TeanneTX]

On 11/24/2022 at 1:34 PM, Hlitner said:

Not sure that "industrial" is an issue (anywhere) since tourism areas are generally not industrial.  I was stationed at Misawa Air Force Base which was less than an hour drive from Aomori.  We used to head over towards Aomori to get he ferry over to Hokkaido (they docked at Hakodate) as, in those days, they did not have a tunnel or any kind of direct connection.  The trains, cars, and people all used the ferry (about a 4 hour ride across the strait).  We always thought of Hakodate as the place we got off the ferry to grab the train up to Sapporo.  There is actually a pretty decent National Park in the Aomori area (Lake Towada) where we used to do a lot of camping.  

 

Just an old thought, but in my day it took us about 12 hours on a very uncomfortable train to get from Northern Japan to Tokyo.  They had no high-speed trains and flying was not a good option.  I do think that one of the highlights of Japan is the winter ice festival in Sapporo, but this happens around February.  If you can imagine the Tournament of Roses Parade with the floats all being carved out of ice, you would be picturing what we would see at the ice festival.

 

Hank

I'm taking cruise that goes to Amori and Hakodate in Sept '24.  I lived in Misawa AFB in the 60's and we used to travel to Amori and Hokkaido too.  I remember the Sapporo Ice Festival.  Lake Towada sounds familiar too.  When were you in Misawa?  I'm hoping that while there I could visit Misawa and get on the Base.  Not sure if thats allowed.  My father was a civilian on the base and worked on the Univac computers up on "The Hill".  Not sure if thats still part of the Base either.  My parents belonged to the Aero Club and spent the weekends flying there.  It was a great place to live.  I went to Sollars Elementary but we lived in off-base housing.  We lived right next to a horse racing ranch that was owned by the Emperor. 

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, TeanneTX said:

I'm taking cruise that goes to Amori and Hakodate in Sept '24.  I lived in Misawa AFB in the 60's and we used to travel to Amori and Hokkaido too.  I remember the Sapporo Ice Festival.  Lake Towada sounds familiar too.  When were you in Misawa?  I'm hoping that while there I could visit Misawa and get on the Base.  Not sure if thats allowed.  My father was a civilian on the base and worked on the Univac computers up on "The Hill".  Not sure if thats still part of the Base either.  My parents belonged to the Aero Club and spent the weekends flying there.  It was a great place to live.  I went to Sollars Elementary but we lived in off-base housing.  We lived right next to a horse racing ranch that was owned by the Emperor. 

68-70 on The Hill.  I was part of USAFSS, but think that entire operation was shut down years ago. We used to do some Camping near Lake Towada.

[TeanneTX]

17 hours ago, Hlitner said:

68-70 on The Hill.  I was part of USAFSS, but think that entire operation was shut down years ago. We used to do some Camping near Lake Towada.

You were there right about the time we were leaving.  You might have used the computers that my dad worked on.  I know The Hill was spying on the russians.  lol  It was a huge listening station.  We moved to El Paso and my dad worked out at White Sands Missle Range and there was that same "elephant cage" sitting out in the middle of the desert.  I remember my father not answering me when I asked what it was doing there.  lol  The one at Misawa was also where we got the information when the russians shot down KAL 007 which I remember as a kid.  

 

[hubofhockey]

Aomori doesn't appear too exciting, especially after everything we would have done by this time near the end of our cruise.  I was thinking this port might be good for a trip to an Onsen.  The Asamuchi Onsen looks like a possibility.  We port 7 to 4:30 pm and always get concerned with logistics, but looks doable.  If anyone out there has been to hot springs at this or other ports, would love to hear about experiences.

[bennybear]

Hirosaki Castle near Aomori had the most spectacular cherry blossoms of our trip.   So if your trip is in the spring I wouldn’t miss it.  

We  visited Kinosaki onsen and it was great but did that outside the cruise. It is a very small town with several onsen you can visit along with a private one in our hotel.

 

Hirosaki

 

 

 

Edited July 25, 2023 by bennybear