Live(ish) Millennium Japan 19th Aug review

[villauk]

Well, I was in two minds whether to start a review as @Lunastella has been posting an excellent review of her Best of Japan cruise on Millie, but her itinerary was slightly different, so here goes 😉. Please note that I may not post every day as we have a full schedule, however, I will try and answer questions where I can. @Miaminice and @DaKahuna provided a wealth of information for me in their reviews over the last year. @monkey@cruise has given me so much on maps, transport and locations, so thank you for that as I am currently sitting in our hotel after using your detailed map to transit Haneda airport with ease.

As I stated above, our itinerary is different from the current review on Millennium:

 

Day 1 boarding in Yokohama

Day 2 Sea day

Day 3 Kobe

Day 4 Osaka o/n

Day 5 Osaka

Day 6 Hiroshima

Day 7 Sea day

Day 8 Nagasaki

Day 9 Jeju Island

Day 10 Kagoshima

Day 11 Sea day

Day 12 Shimizu

Day 13 Yokohama

 

We only have basic WiFi onboard with our package - it’s our last one with the old system, so please bear with me 😉. I’m also not the best with technology, that’s why I have brought along three young people 🤣. For a little background, we are two families who have travelled together since our kids were very young and we now find that that our adult boys still continue to cruise with us (well, when they are not paying for it 😁). Our journey does not take the obvious route into Japan, as you will shortly discover 🧐. If you are also on this sailing, please do jump in as I find it so beneficial to hear other views of the same ports etc - after all, we all like doing different things.

 

 

Edited August 17 by villauk

[monkey@cruise]

@villauk

 

I will fly to Osaka airport on 28th August and stay in Kyoto till 31-August, then ride the Shinkansen to Yokohama to board the Mille in the afternoon. I have posted some port DIY info under 31-August roll call. Bon Voyage !

[villauk]

Our journey began a couple of days ago from LHR. (If you want to skip this section and head straight for the cruise part, then return in a couple of days when the sailing is due to start and, hopefully, you’ll find more of my ramblings 😉).
 

I book and arrange every vacation we take and it’s usually for seven people - believe me, that’s not simple when there are various ages and tastes. We look at an itinerary and discuss what we’d all like to do and I have the deciding vote - naturally, as I’m left to book everything. Well, that’s how I like to think it happens but my DH states that I just choose ‘the best option 😉’ and everyone else agrees 😂. 
 

We met our youngest DS at the airport as he lives on the south coast of the U.K. and we live towards the middle of Britain. Our other son is at Oxford, but he came home first as I was nervous what his version of washing and ironing would look like for the cruise 😂. Our friends also have a DS who returned home for the same reason 🤦‍♀️, so six of us travelled down to LHR and met our youngest DS in the early hours of the morning for our flight to Oslo. Oslo I hear you saying, I thought they were going to Japan 🧐. Well, to cut a very long story short - which is impossible for me according to my DH - we like flying business class which means that some of our flights are not direct! We used points to pay for the ‘adult’ business flights to Oslo and gain 32kg each of baggage for all the cases in our group. The kids were in the back 😂 - no lounge for them until we boarded our Japan flights 😉.

Oslo

We stayed at the Radisson Conference Centre at the airport overnight in Oslo after completing a whistle-stop visit of the city centre. It was great because we left our luggage at the hotel after landing and jumped back on the regional train at the airport into the city. It’s virtually a five minute walk undercover to the hotel and buying the train tickets at the airport counter was so simple. We spent the afternoon walking around the marina and area around the new opera house before returning to the hotel to check-in. Actually, we love doing alternate routes as our vacation appears to start earlier. Dinner was at the Radisson as our DS had birthday cards and gifts to open, and we had another early start to board our Japan flights. The meal was very good - we have simple tastes - and the staff were (‘was for our American fiends 😉) so friendly. I’d definitely recommend it prior to flights etc. 

 

Flight from OSL to FRA

We had another early start: 06:35 from Oslo to Frankfurt 🤪, which meant a luggage check-in at 04:35. The boys love me, or perhaps not 😂, but I knew they would love the lie-flat seats on the long-haul flight over to Asia so a couple of early starts would be worth it. Navigating OSL airport was simple and it all ran like clockwork. The lounge was on the smallish side, but the food and cleanliness definitely made up for that. We breezed through and landed at Frankfurt before we knew it. 

[villauk]

 

This was our transport from FRA to HND.

 

[villauk]

FRA to HND

 

Frankfurt airport is huge, but we found a lounge near our gate and camped in for the next few hours. We managed to find seven seats together - a miracle as it was packed full - perhaps we are an intimidating group, or maybe just loud 😂. I feel so small now compared to my kids; it never used to feel like that 🤣. After having the breakfast on the first flight, I didn’t really have much in the lounge, but the kids certainly made up for it. They sampled most of the offerings of the special BBQ lunch and relished the ice cream dessert. I had a lovely slice of Apple strudel 😋. Funnily enough, the gentleman siting next to us was seated behind our friends on the aircraft. Fast-track security was indeed very fast and we were boarding in no time. I’d pre-booked our business class seats upstairs in the smaller cabin onboard the plane. The seats on the Lufthansa are not a luxurious as other business flights we have taken i.e.Qatar, but they are lie-flat and that’s the most import thing to us on long-haul flights.

 

I’ll not bore you with all the flight details (unless anyone specifically asks), but even though the entertainment is not the most up-to-date, it was fine for our group, For some reason, I personally just couldn’t sleep on this flight. Everyone else made a really good job of it, in fact our eldest DS and our friends’ DS only woke for food 🤪. Now I’m not one to judge 🙂‍↔️, but how some pax consume the amount of alcohol drinks they do in the lounge and then continue on the plane, I’ll never know - perhaps that’s how they manage to sleep 😂 (I’m not counting my DS in there as he’s tee-total). It sounds like all I do is people watch….err, that’s the best form of entertainment, isn’t it 🤭? 
 

I did forget to mention a minor issue 🫣, a typhoon was scheduled to hit southern Japan on Friday 16th Aug, which was when we were boarding our flight; the previous flight to ours had actually been cancelled 🤦‍♀️. Well, the gods must have been keeping an eye on us as our flight went ahead on schedule. It was a nervous few hours for us - me perhaps more than the others as I would have been tasked to sort alternative arrangements. Boy, I couldn’t have coped with trying to change our spreadsheet en-route 🤣 (everyone has a link and we have a WhatsApp group to discuss/post photos etc). I’m a control freak and everything has to go through me 🤭 - not as though you hadn’t probably already guessed.

[villauk]

Our first glimpse of Mount Fuji.

[villauk]

Arrival in HND

We’d chosen Haneda over Narita airport in Japan as we planned to stay in Yokohama for a couple of days pre-cruise. One thing I hadn’t done was complete the Visit Japan site pre-flight. Yes, it’s probably worth it but I knew we could fill out the forms once we’d landed. You are split before you reach immigration: those with a QR code can join the line immediately, others need to complete a form to hand over when passing through the immigration checks. The line didn’t take long and we went through without incident. Straight after, you are required to complete customs forms before going through immigration again. Honestly, it did not take long and there are toilet on the other side 😉. 
 

@monkey@cruise had been an angel and had provided exact directions on three options to reach our hotel: Citadines Harbour Front. We decided to go for the bus route as opposed to the train. My thinking: the bus would be easier as we would have had to change trains with a huge amount of luggage. Supervising 😂, would have been a nightmare compared to one coach with baggage beneath - easy life 😉. We purchased the tickets as soon as we passed through customs. There was a desk, with plenty of friendly staff, who could speak ‘brummie’ (our English CCs will understand this phrase 🤭), for everyone else ‘English’ 😂. The assistant even explained where the bus station was and highlighted which bus stand from @monkey@cruise‘s directions, which I had printed off prior to leaving the U.K. The bus depot is downstairs behind the lifts in the main area after leaving customs. 
 

Now, there are central waiting room booths to use while you wait for your bus; if you arrive in August, you will need them. As we walked out of the airport 🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵. The heat will hit you hard if you come from the U.K. We have travelled extensively, so would compare it to Singapore or the Bahamas in the summer. First stop is a 7Eleven for one of those UV umbrellas @Lunastella mentioned. We also brought spare clothing in our hand luggage to change into something more comfortable and loose fitting - a major tip there, so even if you don’t get anything else from my review, it’s worth reading just for that 😂.

[villauk]

The bus was so easy! An attendant was positioned at our stand and instructed us to wait behind the line whilst he took our luggage and lined it up ready for the bus to arrive. It was on time (an experience we are not used to 😁) and we were on within minutes. It stopped at the three airport terminals before we were on our way to Yokohama. I had a copy of the timetable and stops along the route to follow. We disembarked, exactly on time, around the corner from our hotel. Literally, we had a five minute walk. Bliss, no moaning from the others about ‘how much further in this heat’ - good decision to take the bus route 👍. Additionally, we are within walking distance to the cruise terminal - looks like a taxi on embarkation day will not be required.

 

Coming up….our hotel and our private tour of Tokyo with the guide recommendation from @Miaminice. N.B. Continue to skip if you’re just waiting for the cruise review - not long now 😉.

[LindaD22]

Thank you for this post! I am doing the Best of Japan in April 2026, as a first-time solo trip. I’m looking forward to following along with you! 

[villauk]

2 minutes ago, LindaD22 said:

Thank you for this post! I am doing the Best of Japan in April 2026, as a first-time solo trip. I’m looking forward to following along with you! 

Thanks for joining 👍. I will try and answer any questions along the way. It has been quite a few years since we cruised on Millie; in fact, I think the last time was pre-refit on the Hong Kong to Singapore Christmas sailing. We’re looking forward to seeing the changes. This time, our cabins are aft SVs for the adults, with insides for the kids opposite. We used to sail FVs on the Millennium class ships when the boys were younger - fabulous cabins with huge balconies.
 

I’m having trouble with the time difference at the moment, hence me posting so early in the morning. My body clock isn’t quite sure what time of the day it is 🤣. I have the same trouble when we visit siblings in Australia.

[hawkesbaynz]

We sailed the Millenium in April. Fantastic cruise. You will have a ball. We used Miaminices tips too.

 

You must be very keen for the business class flights. I used Avios for our direct BA flight to Haneda Club World. Called up 355 days before at 23.55. They are like gold dust. 

[villauk]

Citadines Harbour Front Hotel

Most of the rooms here have a kitchen area as well as the bedroom. The choices were endless, so we went for Executives for the adults and a twin and double for the kids. They are listed with a multitude of names, but basically, that’s what the rooms are. Note that you can’t check-in until 3pm, hence us dropping off the bags and then going to explore the surrounding area. I’ll post some photos in my next post after we’ve been bimbling 😉.

 

The heat is intense, have I mentioned that 🤭. First job was to purchase those UV umbrellas. The promenade area is literally a 5 minute walk from the hotel. We also walked to the Red Brick Warehouse: an inside shopping area with stalls and eateries over so many floors, and more importantly AC 🥵. A welcome break from the heat. There appears to be a festival on as they are erecting marquee tents in the square here opposite the red buildings. On a side note, I did notice that this was one of the stops on the bus route we took from the airport.

 

 

[villauk]

6 minutes ago, hawkesbaynz said:

We sailed the Millenium in April. Fantastic cruise. You will have a ball. We used Miaminices tips too.

 

You must be very keen for the business class flights. I used Avios for our direct BA flight to Haneda Club World. Called up 355 days before at 23.55. They are like gold dust. 

 

Thank you, I’m hoping we do. Remember there are seven in our party - not easy to nab that many seats in one go in business class 🫣. I am also very cost-conscious too 😉. We don’t mind the alternative routes if the saving is worthwhile 😉. It can sometimes be a third of the cost as the same flights from the U.K. - definitely worth it when there are seven of you travelling together.

Edited August 17 by villauk

[cinnamon]

Yay, another Millie cruise to read about. I’m sailing on her on 24th September so soaking up everything I can before then. 

[villauk]

1 minute ago, cinnamon said:

Yay, another Millie cruise to read about. I’m sailing on her on 24th September so soaking up everything I can before then. 

 

Just like the buses: nothing for ages and then they all come together 😁. Welcome aboard 😉. I think I’m being a little optimistic when I stated ‘live(ish)’, so be prepared for sporadic posts 🤣. 

[cinnamon]

No worries. 😀. 
I’m afraid my friend and I will be Economy BA to Tokyo. Definitely not looking forward to that but as retirees it’s all the budget will allow. 

[Pushka]

Yeah. Going on another virtual cruise on the Millie in Japan. Made my Sunday morning. 😁.  
 

We have a similar pattern to yours on booking business flights with points with weird routings, coming from Australia. We use Denpasar in Bali as a pivot point.  Cheapie flight to Bali then Busimess to Europe/LHR and  transit stop in the middle. But for flights of over 25 hours to get to Europe and UK etc (our son and DIL live in Tunbridge Wells, UK) then lie flat is a must at our age. Japan was a breeze and we snared two business class seats on JAL direct to Haneda from Sydney the minute they opened up. Day time flight   Then did the same on return date. Night time flight.   We are off in April. 
 

We are staying at Citadines also and booked the room with a washing machine and dryer as we are touring Tokyo and Kyoto for 10 days prior to the cruise. So any tips on that will be great, we are spending three nights there. 
 

Many flights from Australia were cancelled for the Typhoon with many worried they may miss the cruise. 
 

I have poured over @Miaminice @DaKahuna @Lunastella reports, the information provided by @monkey@cruise and agree these reports have been fabulous so a big thankyou to everyone. (I don't like major surprises and love over planning trips) 

Edited August 17 by Pushka

[monkey@cruise]

Japanese culture: even under extreme heat, very few wearing shorts. Women wear long sleeves to shield from the sun. If you plan to visit any temple or shrine, dress code is same as European churches.

Go to Uniqlo store in Sakuragicho (across from YOKOHAMA AIR CABIN Sakuragicho Station),  get an Airism material shirt, a high performance comfort conditioning technology that actively wicks away moisture and heat from skin. It's highly breathable and quick-drying. If you purchase amount is > ¥5500 will less the 10% tax. (Must present with your passport). Uniqlo Airism face masks also a good buy.

[cinnamon]

8 hours ago, Pushka said:

Yeah. Going on another virtual cruise on the Millie in Japan. Made my Sunday morning. 😁.  
 

We have a similar pattern to yours on booking business flights with points with weird routings, coming from Australia. We use Denpasar in Bali as a pivot point.  Cheapie flight to Bali then Busimess to Europe/LHR and  transit stop in the middle. But for flights of over 25 hours to get to Europe and UK etc (our son and DIL live in Tunbridge Wells, UK) then lie flat is a must at our age. Japan was a breeze and we snared two business class seats on JAL direct to Haneda from Sydney the minute they opened up. Day time flight   Then did the same on return date. Night time flight.   We are off in April. 
 

We are staying at Citadines also and booked the room with a washing machine and dryer as we are touring Tokyo and Kyoto for 10 days prior to the cruise. So any tips on that will be great, we are spending three nights there. 
 

Many flights from Australia were cancelled for the Typhoon with many worried they may miss the cruise. 
 

I have poured over @Miaminice @DaKahuna @Lunastella reports, the information provided by @monkey@cruise and agree these reports have been fabulous so a big thankyou to everyone. (I don't like major surprises and love over planning trips) 

Hi Pushka, I think you’re on the same sailing as me, 24th September. Our thread is very quiet, especially considering it’s getting so close. I’ve been devouring all these threads too. 

[Pushka]

2 hours ago, cinnamon said:

Hi Pushka, I think you’re on the same sailing as me, 24th September. Our thread is very quiet, especially considering it’s getting so close. I’ve been devouring all these threads too. 

Sadly no. We have to wait until April. 

[villauk]

10 hours ago, Pushka said:

Yeah. Going on another virtual cruise on the Millie in Japan. Made my Sunday morning. 😁.  
 

We have a similar pattern to yours on booking business flights with points with weird routings, coming from Australia. We use Denpasar in Bali as a pivot point.  Cheapie flight to Bali then Busimess to Europe/LHR and  transit stop in the middle. But for flights of over 25 hours to get to Europe and UK etc (our son and DIL live in Tunbridge Wells, UK) then lie flat is a must at our age. Japan was a breeze and we snared two business class seats on JAL direct to Haneda from Sydney the minute they opened up. Day time flight   Then did the same on return date. Night time flight.   We are off in April. 
 

We are staying at Citadines also and booked the room with a washing machine and dryer as we are touring Tokyo and Kyoto for 10 days prior to the cruise. So any tips on that will be great, we are spending three nights there. 
 

Many flights from Australia were cancelled for the Typhoon with many worried they may miss the cruise. 
 

I have poured over @Miaminice @DaKahuna @Lunastella reports, the information provided by @monkey@cruise and agree these reports have been fabulous so a big thankyou to everyone. (I don't like major surprises and love over planning trips) 

 

Totally agree about the flights. The Citadines has been great for getting on the metro as it’s next door and we can see the ship from our window today. I’ll post some photos of the hotel next 👍.

[villauk]

 

Reception area of the hotel.

[villauk]

12 hours ago, Pushka said:

Yeah. Going on another virtual cruise on the Millie in Japan. Made my Sunday morning. 😁.  
 

We have a similar pattern to yours on booking business flights with points with weird routings, coming from Australia. We use Denpasar in Bali as a pivot point.  Cheapie flight to Bali then Busimess to Europe/LHR and  transit stop in the middle. But for flights of over 25 hours to get to Europe and UK etc (our son and DIL live in Tunbridge Wells, UK) then lie flat is a must at our age. Japan was a breeze and we snared two business class seats on JAL direct to Haneda from Sydney the minute they opened up. Day time flight   Then did the same on return date. Night time flight.   We are off in April. 
 

We are staying at Citadines also and booked the room with a washing machine and dryer as we are touring Tokyo and Kyoto for 10 days prior to the cruise. So any tips on that will be great, we are spending three nights there. 
 

Many flights from Australia were cancelled for the Typhoon with many worried they may miss the cruise. 
 

I have poured over @Miaminice @DaKahuna @Lunastella reports, the information provided by @monkey@cruise and agree these reports have been fabulous so a big thankyou to everyone. (I don't like major surprises and love over planning trips) 

Our room has the fridge freezer, microwave and kitchen sink units, but not the washing machine. Honestly, even though it doesn’t have an in-house bar, the service has been good and it’s so conveniently located. Here’s a few shots of the inside to give you an idea of our layout. Posted the toilet settings too 😉.

 

 

[vickykay]

Vallauk,

 

Looking forward to your review. We cruised together several years ago.
 

Vicky

[villauk]

We can just see the top of Millie from our window, so you can see how close the hotel is to the pier 👍.