Here’s a question for you… what do the British Isles, New Zealand and Japan have in common? No, it’s not sushi. Although I’m told New Zealanders are as mad for the light-bite tucker as the Brits and, surprise, the Japanese.
It’s that all three islands have great cities and attractions near the coast and are, therefore, perfect for touring by sea. You also get all the usual perks of cruising - unpacking once, meals included if you stick with main dining and the buffet, plus organised excursions that get around any language problems.
Well, ok, the last one is not an issue in the UK or New Zealand, but it is in Japan, as I discovered a few years ago when I flew to Oaska and needed a taxi to get to my ship. After much gesticulation and waving of arms (I was trying to imitate waves), one driver decided I wanted to go to a theme park.
At that point, I gave up on the taxis, headed to the bus stop and luckily found someone with enough broken English to get me on one going to the port. At least, that’s what I hoped he’d understood.
He had and I found the ship! That night, we sailed to South Korea.
Norwegian Cruise Line returned to Tokyo in October 2023 after a three-year break from Asia and for 2024 has a fantastic selection of 10 to 14-night Japan-intensive cruises that visit places such as Okinawa, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Nagoya and Kagoshima, where you can visit castles, gardens, museums and World War Two memorials and peace parks. You can see volcanoes and lakes, go hiking and sample authentic sashimi and sushi.
And now, thanks to an exclusive pre-cruise stay in Tokyo that ROL Cruise has packaged with a Norwegian Cruise Line sailing in October 2024, you can also get up close to Japan’s famous snow monkeys.
The monkeys are macaques, like the ones that live in Gibraltar, except these spend most of the year in the snow in Jigokudani Yaen Koen, a park created 60 years ago so they had somewhere safe to roam freely. In the park, they are fed and, uniquely, warm up by taking dips in the area’s hot springs.
ROL Cruise’s pre-cruise stay in Tokyo includes an excursion to see the monkeys and also Zenkoji Temple, which houses the first Buddhist statue brought to Japan. That was in the year 552 and it’s so revered that no one is allowed to see it (but a replica is put on show for a few weeks every six years so if you want a glimpse, put a note in the diary for 2028).
An included guided tour of Tokyo’s neon jungle the next day visits temples and shrines and takes guests to the top of the Skytree, a tower some 634 metres above the city, before a sushi-making - and eating - class. On day three, you’ll transfer to Yokohama to join Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Spirit for a 12-night cruise.
It’s a fabulous itinerary, offering history, culture and scenery galore on visits to Otaru (to visit Sapporo), Hakodate, Akita, Kanazawa, Beppu, Himeji, Kyoto (from the port of Osaka) and Shimizu, plus one day in Busan in South Korea. You’ll visit forts, castles, markets and temples, learn about Samurai warriors, dip in hot springs (not the ones the monkeys are in) and wander through pine groves in the shadow of stunning Mount Fuji.
All that, yet it’s just scratching the surface of all Japan has to offer! I reckon before the holiday has even ended, everyone will be planning their next cruise in the Land of the Rising Sun. 
