Sacred Japan & South Korea

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel before exploring Osaka. Opportunities here include visiting Minoh Park and Osaka Castle. With an area of just 3.7 square miles (9.6 sq km, or 963 hectares), Minoh Park is one of Japan’s smallest National Parks and home to iconic 108-foot-high (33m) Minoh Waterfall, and diverse wildlife including Japanese giant salamander and protected mino monkeys. Explore Osaka Castle, one of Japan’s most famous landmarks, take in the views from Osaka Castle Main Tower, and relive dramatic stories of warlords and Osaka’s fascinating history. Also plan to visit Dotonbori, Osaka’s vibrant downtown hub of food and culture, for lunch. This afternoon your captain and expedition team welcome you aboard.

From the port of Uno-Ko, visit one of Japan’s most famed gardens, Koraku-en, which translates as ‘garden of pleasure after.’ This 17th-Century formal garden has 28 acres to explore and offers stunning views of the nearby towering Okayama Castle. This afternoon, continue to Kurashiki to explore the old merchant quarter, and its fine 17th-century wooden warehouses painted white with traditional black tiles along a canal framed with weeping willows and filled with koi.

There will also be the opportunity to visit the Ohara Museum of Art which includes rare works by Matisse, Picasso and Renoir and collections from Japan’s renowned Mingei movement, including ceramics by Shōji Hamada. For those interested in art, you may wish to travel to Naoshima Island–Japan’s art island–for a full-day excursion. Your day on Naoshima Island will have you admiring its architecture and art museums, including Chichu Art Museum and Benesse House, featuring work by Japanese and international artists including the iconic pumpkins by Yayoi Kusama.

Despite its history, including being the site of the world’s first atomic bomb attack on 6 August 1945, Hiroshima is a vibrant and thriving cosmopolitan community. Plan to visit the beautiful Peace Park and Museum, with its somber cenotaph containing names of atomic bomb victims, and the permanently lit ‘Flame of Peace.’

Hope to time your visit to Miyajima Island during high tide, to experience the floating Torii Gate. Considered one of Japan’s most scenic spots, it is also the location of the famed Daisho-in Buddhist temple. Choose to indulge in fresh local oysters and ice cream, while native Sika deer wander the streets, and enjoy the views of the Shinto Shrine and Torri Gate.

Hagi was a minor fishing port until Mori Terumoto fortified it in 1604, and it was Mori Samurai that helped spark off the anti-Tokugawa revolt in the mid-19th Century. Today, it is better known for its traditional pottery making. This morning, explore the Teramachi District with its temples and shrines; the Jokamachi District, where you’ll find old Samurai houses; and take time to visit the Hagi Castle ruins, Shizuki Park and Tokoji Temple.

Spend this afternoon exploring the small town of Senzaki with its myriad accolades. It is the birthplace of famous Japanese poet Misuzu Kaneko, and home to designated national natural monument and place of scenic beauty Ryugu no Shiofuki/The Dragon Spout. Senzaki is also known for the region’s famous fish cake cuisine Senzaki Kamaboko, which dates back to the 1680s.

Or travel to the outskirts of the city and the Yoshika Taibi Memorial Museum which is dedicated to a large collection of Hagiyaki pottery which was highly prized in the Edo period as wares for tea ceremonies. Alternatively, discover the natural wonders of 300-million-year-old limestone Akiyoshido Cave.

Today, cross the Sea of Japan to Ulsan in South Korea to visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Gyeongju. The capital of the Silla Dynasty and dating back to the first millennium, Gyeongju is known as ‘the museum without walls’ and is full of ancient Korean history and Buddhist culture. Stroll among excavated monuments, temples, tombs and pagodas at Tumuli Park and the Bulguksa Buddhist Temple. You may also visit the iconic Woljeonggyo Bridge, savor Korean delicacies and explore Hwanglidangil Road, South Korea’s trendy yet traditional Korean-style food, pub and shopping street, and walk in the beautiful Taehwagang Bamboo Forest. Today is a perfect taste of South Korea.

Arrive at the port of Sakaiminato, entry point to Matsue, known as ‘the town of water’ due to being situated between Lake Shinji and Lake Nakaumi. Visit Matsue Castle, a national treasure and one of Japan’s few largely intact 17th Century castles. Other options today may include exploring Daisen-Oki National Park and Mount Daisen with its rich Buddhist culture. It was once home to 3,000 soldier monks, and offers panoramic views from the summit at the Ogamiyama Shrine. Then visit the breathtaking Daisenji Temple.

Next, choose between the Japanese circuit-style Yuushien Garden and the Adachi Museum of Art. The garden combines the traditional elements of a pond, waterfalls, streams, stone lanterns, rock garden and a variety of seasonal flowers including more than 250 types of Japanese Peony. The museum is renowned for its superb Japanese gardens and collection of contemporary Japanese paintings, comprising some 1,500 of the country’s most highly regarded paintings produced after the Meiji period.

Options today include exploring the historic mountain settlement and UNESCO World Heritage Site of Shirakawa-go, high in the remote mountains of the Shogawa River Valley in Hakusan National Park. Take in the sights on mountain walks and experience the unique cultural traditions including the region’s iconic Gassho-zukuri farmhouses, some of which are more than 250 years old, designed to withstand the heavy snow in winter and provide a large attic space for cultivating silkworms.

Alternatively, explore the rich art center of Kanazawa, discovering some of the unique styles of Japanese art. Kanazawa is rightly famous for its Kutani-style pottery, exquisite lacquerware, gold-leaf workmanship, hand-painted silk, and classical Noh dance-drama performed since the 14th Century. Wander the winding cobblestone streets of Kanazawa’s Geisha district Higashi Chaya, explore elegant restaurants and craft galleries, and visit the impressive Edo-period Kenroku-en Garden, one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan.

Today, explore remote Sado Island off the coast of Niigata. Comprising the mountain ranges of Osado and Kosado flanking the Kokunaka Plain, Sado was once a destination of political exile. It now boasts its own rich cultural and religious life incorporating puppet theater, Okesa folk songs, Ondeko drumming and demon dances, and Noh theater, all thanks to some of its more famous displaced figures.

Home to the Japanese Crested Ibis, extinct on the mainland, and the iconic Taraibune Tub Boats, which you will have the opportunity to experience, this island off the beaten path combines stunning natural scenery including Senkakuwan Bay and Ogi Peninsula, and wilderness and wildlife with a rich history including gold and silver mining, Samurai warrior culture and unique agri- and aqua-culture practices. Sado Island is widely considered a perfect miniature version of Japan. Here, visit the Shukunegi Village National Important Preservation Area and learn more about traditional taiko drumming at the Sado Island Taiko Center.

This morning sail into the bustling port town of Niigata, famous for snow, rice, sake, hot springs and the six-arched, granite-sided stone Bandai Bridge, designated as a Nationally Important Cultural Property in 2004, and one of the most scenic spots in the city. Enjoy breakfast before travelling by Shinkansen (bullet train) to Tokyo. Check into your included hotel and spend the evening at your leisure.

After breakfast, continue your adventure or take a complimentary coach, departing 9:00am, to Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport).