The day I ended my 7 day land tour in Tokyo, I embarked on my 11 night “spring flowers” cruise from Yokohama which visited Nagasaki, Busan (South Korea), Sakaiminato, Maizuru, Kanazawa, Sakata, and Aomori. Sadly we skipped Akita due to weather.
First the absolutely best part was the cherry blossoms. I kept taking picture after picture trying to capture their essence, but never really quite succeeded. There were amazing displays and since we covered south to north, we were bound to find them at their peak on at least a few of the stops.
Nagasaki. I visited ground zero and the atomic bomb museum and memorial/peace park. Moving and disturbing in several ways. The Deijma, the designated trading area for the Netherlands was next. It was built on reclaimed land and gave the Dutch their own space. I was also moved to learn about the large number of Christian Martyrs in Nagasaki who had stood up for their faith and were literally crucified by authorities.
Busan was actually my favorite port stop. I think a large part of this was because I explored it on my own and visited the two locations that were of high interest to me vs. a set shore excursion. I managed to “master” the expansive Busan subway system and arrived at the United Nations Memorial Cemetery just in time for their flag raising ceremony. This location is poignant to me as both my father and father-in-law served in Korean War. They survived but were forever changed. I shed a few tears and wandered through pondering what it was like for my 20 year old father to suddenly land here in Busan and begin the trek up the peninsula.
Next was a less emotional location, Haeundae Beach. This lovely tourist destination has pristine beaches and much supporting infrastructure. I took the blue line tourist train along the coast and back for amazing scenery.
A quick word of warning for anyone who struggles with stairs. The Busan Subway is not for you! I did 22 flights of stairs on that subway and my phone generally misses a few flights when recording.
Sakaiminato- I went to the Tottori gardens where the cherry blossoms were in full bloom and they had an amazing variety of cherry trees. There were other beautiful garden displays, but the cherry blossoms were the stars.
Maizuru- This was another wander around on my own location. The port provides excellent walking tour maps and instructions and two different free shuttle bus routes. I particularly enjoyed walking through typical Japanese neighborhoods, watching Koi in the canals, and visiting 6 different temples and shrines along the hillsides. The cherry blossoms remained beautiful and there were no crowds on the walking tours.
Kanazawa- Shore Excursion featuring Kanazawa Castle, the old Samurai district and the old Geisha district. The castle was the highlight, the other two historic districts seemed like a bit of an add on.
Sakata- This shore excursion was a bit different in that it focused on an art museum and a photography museum. Both locations were extremely interesting.
Aomori- The far north of the main island and snow still scattered in places on the ground. No cherry blossoms yet. We visited the Neptua festival Museum and Hirosaki Castle where some excellent street food booths lined the walkway.
If a cruise was all that I experienced of Japan I would be disappointed. There isn’t enough time to explore and interact independently with the Japanese people. It does provide a sampler of experiences and is sometimes the only way people can still travel. I was very glad I did a land tour and then the cruise. The cruise showed different parts of Japan and the tour showed me more of Japanese life.