We are only ever likely to go to Japan once
in our lives and so it's important to get it right. While I didn't get everything 100%
spot on, I now know what future cruisers need to know to avoid my mistakes, work around
downsides, and ensure they have the best time. I found the first challenge is making sure to see
the right sights and truly experience the unique culture, as I saw many of my fellow travellers
come away not really seeing the best of either. By the way, if you're new here, welcome aboard.
I'm Gary Bembridge and it's my goal to make it fun and easy to discover, plan, and enjoy
incredible cruise vacations including Japan. You must ensure your cruise is long enough and jam packed with Japanese ports. I recommend
at least a 10-day cruise like I did on Regent Explorer which had seven Japanese
ports plus the embarkation port of Tokyo. This is important because you will lose one
day of your cruise exploring Japan because cruises must call on a foreign port,
which is often Busan in South Korea. The next essential thing before going plan
what you're going to see in the ports to avoid making the mistake that many people did on
my cruise who were moaning about how repetitive the excursions were becoming because they were
basically going to see shrine after shrine. There are five experiences I
discovered cruisers should aim to be seeing when in port. Make sure
you plan a good mix of all of them. You should explore World War II
and the atomic bombs dropped on Japan by the USA affecting two ports on
most cruises: Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Both have Peace Memorial
Parks, Hiroshima dominated by the Atomic Peace Dome and Nagasaki by
the statue of a man pointing to the sky, and museums. The Hiroshima Museum
I found more challenging with its focus on the injuries and deaths. Nagasaki
Museum is more factual and less emotive. While you should visit shrines and
temples, as every port has them, make sure you focus on the
iconic or impressive ones. For example, those in Kyoto are a must,
even though it’s a 1.5-hour trip from Kobe or Osaka where your ship will dock. The famous
Golden Pavilion, covered in gold leaf, is here as is the Sanjusangendo Buddhist Temple with
1,001 statues of Kannon, The Goddess of Mercy. If in Shimuzu, go to the Kunozan Toshogu
Shrine which requires a cable car ride on the Nihondaira Ropeway. Before the cable car you’d
have had to climb 1,000 stone steps to get there. Another must-see is the Senso-ji Temple in Tokyo,
which has the iconic red lantern that you'll recognise from the publicity shots of the city.
Also in the city is the Meiji Shrine dedicated to the Emperor seen as the father of modern
Japan, located in a forest of 120,000 trees. I went on many other excursions
with shrines but now know to check if the ones on the tour or in
port are significant and important. I also recommend you include
in castles in your mix. Again, like with shrines, some are better than others. In Osaka, I loved the Osaka Castle in
vast grounds with massive walls and moat, and the impressive castle can be climbed. In Kochi the Castle is truly remarkable and one
of the remaining truly original ones. It was built in the Edo period in the 17th century and there
is an amazing view if you climb up to the top. If you go to Kyoto, visit Nijo Castle, also in sprawling grounds. It was built
in the 1600s and you can tour the castle, which has plank floors that chirp when
walked on to warn if there were intruders. If a place is billed as having a castle, I learnt
to check that the castle is still there! So, for example, at Obi Castle there was no castle
as it had been destroyed – there’s just a museum. The fourth essential thing to include
in your mix are Japanese gardens, and there's some beautiful ones I discovered. In Tokyo they have the Hamarikyu Gardens in the
centre of town surrounded by skyscrapers. It was originally built for a feudal lord's Tokyo
home and still has some original tea houses. In Hiroshima I loved the
Shukkeien Japanese Gardens, created 400 years ago and meticulously
rebuilt after the atomic bomb. In Nagasaki, I found Glover Garden just
above the cruise port fascinating as it showcases western-style houses key to
Japanese history, including Thomas B. Glover a Scottish man, who contributed
enormously to Japanese modernization. I also recommend visits to iconic landscapes, especially as I will discuss later there’s an
issue with the ports and towns you will visit. For example, if you're in Shimizu, go to the
Miho No Matsubara Pine Forest and beach as it is the spot the picture postcard shot of
Mount Fuji is taken. The day I went there, it was covered in cloud, but
did see it from the port later. I loved visiting the Ryugado Caves at Kochi, stalagmite caves with 800 steps
in and out of it. But fascinating. Also, at Aoshima island as well
as a Shrine is the unusual Devil's Washboard where waves created famous
grid formation in the sandstone. So, check your ports to see if there are incredible
landscapes or must-see natural sights. I also discovered five key watchouts you
must factor in when planning and sightseeing. First, all these places are on everybody's wish
list, both land and cruise visitors, and I found them very crowded especially as cruise excursions
tend to visit them at the busiest times. Also, the peak times and when most cruises operate
are Spring (March to May) to try and catch the April Cherry Blossom and Autumn (September to
November), so you will be there when busiest. Second, I discovered that much
of what we see is not authentic, as a many were destroyed or badly
damaged either during the Second World War or as many of the original buildings
were wood had been destroyed by fires. So even places like the ancient looking
Tokyo Senso-ji Temple I mentioned was recreated post-war. So, much of
what we see is not all original, especially those close to the port
as many of those cities were naval or military bases or had heavy industry
factories, and so were heavily bombed. Third, if you have limited mobility check
excursion descriptions carefully as there's often a lot of walking, steep steps, and
strict rules around where tour buses can park, which is often a distance
from the sites. I did see people on my tours struggling at times
as they had not checked these details. Four, the guides on your tours will often be
okay, not brilliant. I discovered through my cruise line Destination Services that
being a tour guide is not seen as a prestige job. So many Japanese guides
do it as a second job or on retirement, and so versus some regions which require a lot
of training, the guides tend to be just okay. Five, because most cruises start and end in
Tokyo, please plan a pre- or post-stay to see everything there is in Tokyo as you can't
do it all in just one day. I, for example, had a three-night pre-stay included
in my cruise and even that was hectic. An unexpected challenge I encountered on
my trip was it took effort to experience and get immersed into the
culture. Be ready for that. I found going on a cruise to Japan was easy to get
stuck in a bubble. The tours and sites cater very much to tourists and were not within or close
to local communities, stores, and restaurants. This was magnified as many of the
cruise ports are industrial working ports and not within the city centre
with the key exception of Nagasaki, I usually couldn’t stroll into local
areas beyond perhaps a mall by some ports. Also, on the cruise we were
served the usual cuisine so making the effort to go and try
the local restaurants is key. Something I encourage you to check when
planning as it was a huge miss on my cruise, was the lack of Japanese history and cultural
enrichment and port talks. We had someone talking about volcanos, earthquakes, and geological
things, which was not immersing me into Japan. I found I was carving more of the history
and context to better appreciate what I was seeing. The Edo period, the Samurai, why and how
Japan spent 250 years in isolation from the West, why the capital changed several times,
most recently from Kyoto to Tokyo, what happened during World War II and so on to make the
experience, places and sights all make more sense. At least before going, buy a good guidebook
and read up. I wish I had. Especially with the tour guide situation. But there is also another
thing I would do different know I know about it. And this is that self-touring is
way easier than I had imagined. Most ports had incredible visitor information
booths, with many people manning them, loads of amazing books, maps, and guides on what to see
and how to get there. Most ports had shuttle buses laid on to get to the close-by places.
And there were taxis to go further afield too. Often at the shuttle bus stops on the
other side were even more people to assist. Also, I found the Japanese are very helpful
to tourists, and won't just point us in the direction, they'll often take us there.
When I was off self-exploring in Kumamoto, for example, I saw an elderly lady stop
what she was doing and insisted on showing a couple the places to go in the castle
and shrine area rather just explain it. There are police boxes around in Tokyo and other towns where they to speak
English and can help too. I found in all the tourist areas,
signs are in both English and Japanese and especially in tourist areas
there's a lot of English speakers. But most of all, the ports
and port towns were very, very welcoming of tourists, and went out
of their way to make it easy to self-tour. As an aside, they are so welcoming
that most ports would have bands, school choirs or school marching troupes
perform to say goodbye to the ship. I loved self-touring as was also a chance
to experience Japan in more immersive way. The local restaurants have pictures of
the food on the menus and those plastic replicas in the window, so I found it
easy to point and mime to order a meal. There are drink vending machines all over,
which are easy to use. I also loved getting to visit crazy shops the Japanese seem to
love like those stocking toys in capsules, and playing in the bright,
gaudy, and massive game arcades. By the way, I found it less expensive
than I expected in port, partly because of the favorable exchange rate, and it was
London kind of prices once converted. So, self-touring did not feel that costly,
and I found using Cards was easy versus cash. I only converted $200 into Yen at the
start if the trip and did not use even all that as used cards mostly. I will say though
that Tokyo hotels were crazy costly to stay. Trying things that are out of the
cruise tour bubble is a real must. And as I said way easier to
do than I expected. However, there some important considerations
you need to factor in as I discovered. I found that culturally there are some key
differences that we as visitors need to respect. I found Japan to be very rules-based and
respectful of others. I saw signs all over with rule after rule, and the Japanese expect
us to follow them. I did feel there were many in and around ports, which I suspect are
targeted at us and our western behaviours! For example, it's considered inappropriate
to speak loudly, be on phone calls on the Metro and public transport, and to listen
to music where noise leaks from earphones, doing FaceTime calls and watching videos
without earphones is a no-no. Even in the Japan Airlines lounge phone
calls were not permitted other than in specific booths. There's a real
expectation to be polite and respectful. Never drop litter. People are likely to tap you
on the shoulder if they see litter, as happened to me, as they assumed as the only Westerner
around, I must have discarded it on the floor. I also found that tipping is not a thing in
Japan. I found leaving money in a restaurant, they handed it back to me assuming I had
left it by mistake. Although tour guides, of course seemed more used to being tipped. I think it disappointing that Japan is becoming
more Westernised. I saw so many Western chains like Starbucks, McDonald's, Burger King
and loads of 7-Elevens. But certainly, from a culture perspective, I found
the Japanese very respectful, polite, tidy, and very considerate of other
people. So do bear that in mind. Japan should be on your cruise bucket list. To
find out what other places I think should be too, join me in this video where I start
with two that most people have on the list that should not be there, See you over there.
