Sacred Japan and South Korea: A Voyage from Kobe to Tokyo, Including South Korea

Arrive at Honshu’s largest port city Osaka where modern architecture and a vibrant dining scene are nestled alongside the 16th Century shogunate Osaka Castle, and make your way to your hotel where you will spend the first night of the expedition. This evening meet your fellow voyagers and expedition guides over dinner at the hotel.

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel before exploring Osaka, opportunities here include visiting Minoh Park and Osaka Castle. With an area of just 9.6 square kilometres (963 hectares) Minoh Park is one of Japan’s smallest National Parks and home to iconic 33-metre high Minoh Waterfall and diverse wildlife including Japanese 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. Board Heritage Adventurer for lunch as your Captain and Expedition Team welcome you aboard and we set sail for Miyajima.

One of Japan’s top scenic wonders, Miyajima provides a picture postcard vista of the scarlet Torii gate, and the giant camphor wood gates at the entrance to the Shinto Shrine. Travelers will use Zodiacs to go ashore this afternoon and explore the Itsukushima Jinja Shrine, founded in the 6th Century and dedicated to three sea goddesses.

Arrive this morning in Hiroshima for our visit to the compelling Peace Memorial Park. The park is dotted with memorials, including the Cenotaph which contains the names of all the known victims of the A-bomb, and the permanently lit ‘Flame of Peace’. Just outside the park, the A-Bomb Dome is a haunting reminder of the destructive forces that were unleashed on the city being one of the few original buildings to survive. In the museum, travelers will see photos, videos, and victims’ personal effects relating to the bomb.

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, you will explore the Teramachi District with its temples and shrines, the Jokamachi District, where you find the old Samurai houses, and also take time to explore Hagi Castle, Shizuki Park, and Tokoji Temple. Return to the vessel for lunch and this afternoon is free to relax or perhaps 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.

Crossing over to South Korea travelers embark on a full-day excursion to magnificent Gyeongju, a World Heritage Site which is often described as the world’s finest open-air museum embracing ancient Korean history and Buddhist culture. As the ancient capital of the Shilla Dynasty, Gyeongju’s cultural heritage dates back to the first millennium. Today, as you stroll through some of the hundreds of excavated monuments, temples, tombs, and pagodas, there will be time to explore the National Museum with its exceptional collection of finely worked gold jewelry, metal weapons, and distinctive pottery. For lunch, you will sample Korean delicacies and enjoy a cultural performance of traditional dance.

From the port of Sakaiminato, travelers visit Matsue, the ‘town of water,’ which nestles between a scenic lake and a large lagoon. You will visit the cultural attractions of the town including the 17th-century Matsue Castle before enjoying a boat ride along the local canals. After lunch on board spend the afternoon at leisure or visit the Adachi Museum of Art which is set in a beautiful natural environment. The museum is known 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.

Kanazawa is a thriving center of the arts, long known for its lacquerware, outstanding collectible pottery of the Kutani style, gold-leaf workmanship, delicate hand painting of silk for kimonos and painted silk, and classical Noh theatre dramas. The narrow and winding cobblestone streets have a quaint photogenic charm with old-fashioned streetlamps and wooden lattice windows hiding elegant restaurants and craft galleries. Around each bend is a traditional house, museum, art gallery, craft shop, historic Samurai residence, and even a Geisha house to explore. The fascinating open-air market displays a vast variety of items from flowers to fish and local handicrafts and next to the Kanazawa Castle ruins is one of Japan’s premier highlights, the famed Kenroku-en Garden, ranked among the country’s top three gardens.

Today, travelers plan to 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 theatre, Okesa folk songs, Ondeko drumming and demon dances, and Noh theatre thanks to some of its more famous displaced figures. Home to the Japanese Crested Ibis, extinct on the Mainland, and the iconic tribune tub boats, 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 aquaculture practices. Sado Island is widely considered a perfect, miniature version of Japan.

Sailing into the bustling port town of Niigata this morning, famous for snow, rice, sake, and hot springs. Enjoy breakfast before disembarking and traveling by Shinkansen, ‘bullet train’, to Tokyo Station where you can continue to Tokyo (Haneda) or Narita International Airports, or continue your travels in Japan’s neon-lit capital.