Jane Archer: Culture, castles & cherry blossom

I can’t think of a country that has leapt from zero to hero with cruisers as fast as Japan. Cruise lines have been going there for years, but usually visiting a couple of ports as part of a longer voyage around the Far East, not anymore. These days, cruise lines have entire cruises circumnavigating Japan. Azamara, Celebrity Cruises, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, I could go on but you get the picture. I’d love to tell you what the attraction is but I’ve never been! Well, that’s not strictly true. I flew into Osaka once, caught a bus from the airport to the ship I was joining and we set sail in the early hours the following morning. So am I ready to do a proper cruise to Japan? You bet! Here are seven reasons it’s top of my bucket list:

My experience catching the bus at Osaka Airport was fascinating. A kind man with a smattering of English told me which bus I needed, helped me buy a ticket (the machine was in Japanese only), then directed me to stand in one lane and put my suitcase in another. As buses came in, he bowed respectfully, directed the waiting passengers on, loaded their bags and bowed again as it pulled away. It made me realise how very different and extraordinary Japanese culture is.

A cruise is the best way to visit Japan. I would say that, wouldn’t I? But think about it, you don’t have to worry about the language because there’ll be English-speaking guides to show you around (I think I found the one man at Osaka Airport who spoke English so believe me, that is a BIG advantage) and, if you are nervous about the culture or food, you are back on board for dinner each evening.

Look at a map of the country, all the well-known cities - Tokyo, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Osaka and Kyoto - are either on or near the coast and so are less-familiar places that shouldn’t be missed. Hakodate, a cosmopolitan metropolis in the shadow of the mountain that gave the city its name; Aomori, where in August every year the streets come alive with people and colourful floats to celebrate the Nebuta Festival.

Yes, I know I said everything you would want to see (and more!) is near the coast but just 150 miles inland from Tokyo is Jigokudani Monkey Park, home to the famous snow monkeys. You can visit the park on your own or, even better, ROL Cruise has teamed up with Wendy Wu Tours to offer a super holiday combining a 14-night Silversea cruise around Japan on Silver Muse with four nights in Tokyo and a trip into the Japanese Alps to see the monkeys.

Wouldn’t it be fabulous to see Japan’s spectacular cherry blossom? To fill your nostrils with the scent of the flowers? There are cherry trees all over Japan and they blossom in late March to April, depending on the weather. Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Sakata are some of the best places to see the blossom - and all just happen to be on Silver Muse’s April 2021 itinerary. Don’t miss Shinjuku Gyoen park in Tokyo, which has more than 1,000 cherry trees.

We all know about Pearl Harbour and the fighting in the Far East during the Second World War, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who knows very little about the rest of Japan’s history and culture. The shogun rulers, samurai warriors, geisha traditions and the meaning of Zen Buddhism - you can learn all this on a cruise and also visit Hiroshima or Nagasaki where peace parks remember the death and destruction caused by the atomic bombs dropped in 1945.

Dare I say it? I don’t like sushi and pufferfish is a definite no-no. But I’d love to try real Japanese Kobe beef ramen noodle soup, soba noodles and tempura vegetables. I’ll have to get better with chopsticks and learn to slurp when eating - apparently, it’s the done thing when eating noodles in Japan!