Japan's traditions & temples on Seven Seas Explorer

Depart from home in the UK today on your overnight flight bound for Tokyo.

On arrival in Tokyo today, you will be privately transferred to your hotel for your three-night stay at the Tokyo Hilton or similar with daily breakfast included. The rest of the day is yours at leisure to explore on your own or rest and acclimatise to your new surroundings after your flight.

Stay: Tokyo Hilton or similar

Begin your explorations of Tokyo with a half-day tour. Visit the Tokyo National Museum, established in 1872, whose collection is comprised of Asian art and archaeological objects with a focus on Japan.

Continue on to the Ginza area to experience one of the world’s most luxurious shopping districts. The streets are lined with boutiques, department stores, restaurants, and bars. Enjoy free time to browse and visit some of the area’s free galleries. As the half-day tour comes to an end, you can choose to stay in Ginza or return to the hotel with your group. The rest of the day is yours to explore at your leisure and enjoy lunch and dinner on your own.

Stay: Tokyo Hilton or similar

This morning, journey to the Asakusa area in Tokyo’s Old Town to visit the Asakusa Senso-ji Temple, dating to the early 7th century. Weather permitting, enter the temple to view the shrine, taking in stunning architecture and staggering history. Walk down Nakamise-dori, the ‘Street of Inside Shops,’ an alley lined with vendors selling traditional food, souvenirs, and crafts.

Stop for photos outside the Imperial Palace Plaza, where Japan’s Emperor and Empress reside and samurai warriors lived from the 17th to 19th centuries. View the famed Nijubashi, two bridges forming an entrance to the inner palace grounds. After the half-day tour, choose to remain in the area to explore on your own or head back to the hotel with your group.

Stay: Tokyo Hilton or similar

After breakfast and check-out, visit Meiji Shrine. Dedicated to Emperor Meiji, the father of modern Japan, the shrine stands in a forest at the heart of Tokyo. Continue to the beautiful Hamarikyu Garden, an Edo Period Japanese garden surrounded by futuristic skyscrapers.

Next, the modern Odaiba area, a man-made island created with landfills when the Japanese began to run out of space in the Tokyo metropolis and inevitably turned toward the sea. Featuring many hypermodern buildings, Odaiba is best viewed from above. Head to the observation deck in the Fuji Television building for a bird’s eye view. In the afternoon, you will be transferred to board the Regent Seven Seas Explorer. Dinner is served onboard this evening.

Stay: Seven Seas Explorer

If you arrive into the lively port of Shimizu on a clear day, you’ll be able to spot magnificent Mount Fuji from here. Many of today’s shore excursion options will revolve around the chance to visit this iconic landmark.

Alternatively, visit the S-Pulse Dream Plaza to tour the Shimizu Sushi Museum, featuring informative displays and models showing the history of Japan’s most famous culinary export. Stroll the Kashi-no-Ichi Market, where fresh seafood is sold, and be sure to stop for a delicious cup of tea.

Other options include a visit to the grounds of a castle where the legendary Shogun warrior Ieyasu once lived, explorations of a local fish market and Shinto shrine, a Japanese tea-making experience, and more.

Stay: Seven Seas Explorer

Kyoto is Japan’s old imperial capital and is full of breathtaking temples and shrines. You’ll have two days to explore here, leaving plenty of time for you to choose multiple shore excursions based on your interests.

Visit ancient Nara, the cradle of Japanese arts, literature, and crafts. Stroll through Nara Park, famed for its deer and the Kasuga Grand Shrine. Tour Osaka, where the sight of its beautiful castle is sure to impress you. Collect exotic mementos to take home from Kobe, such as silks, ceramic teapots, paper parasols, artworks, and pottery. Indulge in traditional Japanese fare or savour a dinner of celebrated Kobe beef. 

Stay: Seven Seas Explorer

Today is yours to continue your explorations of Kyoto. Perhaps you want to visit a part of the city you didn’t manage to discover yesterday. Alternatively, ride a cable car to the summit of Mount Rokko to view Kobe and Osaka from above. The ship will depart this evening, with dinner being served onboard.

Stay: Seven Seas Explorer

You’ve experienced some of Japan’s most impressive metropolitan cities, but today’s visit to Kochi brings you to a land of abundant natural landscapes. From an expansive coastline to the clear Shimanto River and the deep green forests surrounding it, Kochi is perfect for exploring temples surrounded by nature or tucked-away limestone caves and beaches hugged by green pines.

To the north of Kochi, rugged mountains add drama to the landscape. The southern coastline traces the outline of Tosa Bay. To the east, you’ll find Cape Muroto, and to the west, Cape Ashizuri’s sandy beaches undulate gently. Spend the day soaking in the great outdoors, visiting the area’s museums, or attending a Japanese paper-making workshop in a craft village.

Stay: Seven Seas Explorer

Cosmopolitan Hiroshima is surrounded by dense forests and hot springs, a contrast symbolising the city’s sombre history of rebirth and resilience. You’ll find moving memorials to the world’s first atomic bomb attack, which took place on 6th August 1945, including the Children’s Peace Monument as well as the Peace Memorial Park and its Atomic Bomb Dome, a haunting symbol of the bomb’s destruction and a World Heritage Site since 1996.

Simply walking the wide boulevards of this vibrant city and sampling their delicious street food—particularly the Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki—is the perfect way to spend your time. For something outside the centre, ferry to the Island of Itsukushima, a Cultural Heritage-listed Shinto holy place famous for its ‘floating’ torii gate. 

Stay: Seven Seas Explorer

Spend part of the day cruising the Kanmon Strait as you make your way to South Korea. Take in the scenery, allowing yourself time to relax and recharge onboard.

The ship will dock in Busan, located on the south-eastern tip of the Korean Peninsula only 2.5 hours from Seoul. Busan is South Korea’s second-largest city, and thanks to its deep harbour, it’s one of the largest commercial ports in the world. It is famous for its exceptional beaches, scenic cliffs, and ancient temples set high in the mountains. You’ll have plenty of choice today, whether you want to take in the main sights on a highlights tour, attend a cultural performance, or visit South Korean temples and markets.

Stay: Seven Seas Explorer

Back in Japan, arrive at Nagasaki, Japan’s early gateway to trade with the west. Perhaps this is why you’ll see evidence of outside influences here; from European-style homes to the fusion cuisine (particularly the Castella sponge cake, introduced by Portuguese missionaries, and the Chinese food reinterpreted for Japanese tastes), Nagasaki offers a glimpse at Japanese culture with a twist.

This vibrant city was also the site of the dropping of the second atomic bomb, so a visit to Nagasaki’s Peace Park is a necessary and moving experience. The city’s natural beauty is best viewed from atop Mount Inasayama, or you can drive through the countryside to browse the galleries of Arita, the birthplace of Japanese porcelain. 

Stay: Seven Seas Explorer

Spend a day onboard cruising the Philippine Sea and taking advantage of all the spectacular options available on the Seven Seas Explorer. Treat yourself to day at the spa, sample culinary delights at the ship’s many restaurant options, or enjoy onboard programming by day and by night.

Stay: Seven Seas Explorer 

Beppu is best known as one of the most famous hot spring resorts in Japan, producing more hot spring water than any other in the country. Steam rises from vents in the earth, providing opportunities for onsen bathing at every turn. This charming, hilly city features the traditional and modern, retaining its quaintness even as a favourite spot for tourists. Winter visitors are treated to the seasonal treat of the town being filled with warm escaping steam.

Stay: Seven Seas Explorer

Enjoy another day at sea as you make your way back toward Tokyo. Your last day onboard can be as full or as relaxing as you wish, with plenty of programming to keep you busy or hours to relax in your room or in the ship’s many lounge and bar areas. Treat yourself to one last delightful dinner onboard.

Stay: Seven Seas Explorer

The ship docks in Tokyo this morning. Enjoy breakfast onboard before disembarkation. You will be privately transferred to the airport for your onward flight back to the UK.