Kyoto, Mt Fuji & Beyond

Your East Asian adventure begins in Seoul – one of the world’s most dynamic and surprising cities. Check into your 4-star hotel and spend the evening as the city invites: ancient palaces and futuristic skylines, street food markets and rooftop bars, all within easy reach. A perfect opening night before the journey begins in earnest.

Your private transfer delivers you to Incheon port this afternoon, where Celebrity Millennium is waiting. Board, settle in, and watch the Korean coastline fade as the ship departs at 5:00 PM – the East China Sea opening up ahead.

A languid first day at sea to settle into life aboard Celebrity Millennium. The Classic Beverage Package is in hand, the spa is open, and the open ocean stretches out in every direction. A perfect introduction to what lies ahead.

Jeju is South Korea’s largest island and one of the most visually dramatic in East Asia, its entire geology shaped by the volcanic eruptions that created it. The Hallasan volcano at the island’s centre is the highest peak in South Korea, rising 1,950 metres above a landscape of lava tubes, crater lakes and black stone that gives Jeju a character entirely unlike the Korean mainland. The Manjanggul lava tube, one of the longest in the world at 7.4 kilometres, stretches through the island’s volcanic interior. Seongsan Ilchulbong, the UNESCO-listed tuff cone rising from the sea at the island’s eastern tip, is the most spectacular single geological formation on the island. The haenyeo women divers, who free-dive for abalone and sea urchin in a tradition maintained exclusively by women for over a millennium, are unique to Jeju and represent one of the most extraordinary cultural survival stories in Asia. Nine hours gives the island time to reveal its real character.

Japan announces itself through Nagasaki – a city of profound historical weight and remarkable resilience, its harbour backed by green hills and its streets carrying centuries of cross-cultural influence. The Peace Park and Atomic Bomb Museum are deeply moving, while the Dutch Slopes, Glover Garden and Chinatown reveal a city with a uniquely layered character. Eleven hours ashore does it justice.

Kagoshima sits in the shadow of Sakurajima, one of Japan’s most active volcanoes – a brooding, smoke-wreathed presence across the bay that gives the city an atmosphere unlike anywhere else in the country. The city itself is elegant and unhurried, with fine gardens, a proud Satsuma heritage and some of the region’s finest local cuisine. Ten hours to explore at your own pace.

A restful day at sea between Kagoshima and Hiroshima. The spa, the pool deck, the restaurants – a welcome pause to reflect on the ports already visited and look forward to what lies ahead.

Hiroshima asks more of its visitors than most cities and gives more in return. The atomic bomb of 6 August 1945 destroyed the city almost entirely, and the Peace Memorial Park and Museum that occupy the central district engage with that history with a directness and emotional honesty that is genuinely rare among war memorials anywhere in the world. The Atomic Bomb Dome, the one building near the hypocenter whose skeletal structure survived the blast, stands exactly as it fell. The museum’s account of the 140,000 who died by the end of 1945 is not easy to sit with, but it is important. The city that rebuilt itself around this memorial is warm, navigable and proud of its recovery. The Shukkei-en garden, the Hiroshima Castle and the Shinkansen connections to the Itsukushima shrine island of Miyajima are all accessible within the ten-hour port call. Hiroshima stays with you.

Kochi is one of Japan’s most characterful castle towns – a compact, friendly city on the southern coast of Shikoku Island, known for its well-preserved feudal castle, vibrant Sunday market and the dramatic natural scenery of the surrounding cape. Nine hours ashore reveals a side of Japan that most visitors never find.

The ship arrives into Osaka – gateway to Kyoto, Japan’s ancient imperial capital. Two days in port is one of the great gifts of this itinerary. Today, head for Kyoto – the thousands of torii gates at Fushimi Inari, the bamboo groves of Arashiyama, the gilded pavilion of Kinkaku-ji. Or spend the day in Osaka itself, where the castle, the markets and Dotonbori’s legendary street food scene make for a full and memorable day.

A second full day to go deeper into Kyoto or explore more of Osaka – and with departure not until 8:00 PM, there is every reason to make the most of it. The Nishiki Market, the temples of Higashiyama, a kaiseki dinner in a quiet machiya townhouse: this is Japan at its most refined and its most rewarding.

A gentle day at sea as Celebrity Millennium makes her way toward the Izu Peninsula and the iconic coastline of central Honshu. The restaurants, the spa, the open deck – a final breath before the last remarkable ports of call.

On a clear September morning, Mt Fuji is extraordinary – perfectly conical, snow-dusted, presiding over the landscape with a serene authority that has inspired Japanese art and poetry for centuries. Ten hours ashore opens the door to the Fuji Five Lakes region for closer views, the tea fields of Shizuoka, or the coastal scenery of the Miho Peninsula.

Celebrity Millennium arrives into Tokyo in the early hours. Disembark and transfer privately to your 4-star hotel – one final night in one of the world’s great cities. Use it well: Tokyo always has more to offer than time allows.

Your 14-night journey draws to a close. A 4-star send-off in the city that never stops moving – and memories that will take a long time to fade.