Southern Japan & Korea

Tokyo rewards time. Your first day in the city sets the pace for the trip ahead. The historic temple district of Asakusa sits alongside the Sumida River and moves differently to the rest of the city. Senso-ji is the anchor, but the surrounding lanes, the street food stalls and the craft shops along Nakamise-dori are worth the same attention.

A second day opens up the other Tokyo. Shibuya runs at full speed, particularly the crossing at peak hour. Shinjuku’s backstreets reward wandering. The covered shopping arcades of Ginza and the quiet of Yoyogi Park sit at opposite ends of the same afternoon. The city gives you exactly as much as you put in.

Your final morning in the city before MSC Bellissima departs at 16:30. Time enough for a last walk, a late breakfast, or sitting with a coffee watching one of the world’s great cities move around you.

Jeju earns its reputation without trying. South Korea’s largest island sits in the Korea Strait and has a geography unlike anywhere on the mainland. Hallasan, the dormant volcano at the centre of the island, shapes everything around it, from the lava tube caves along the coast to the black stone walls that divide the farmland. Jeju’s haenyeo, the women free-divers who have worked these waters for centuries, are still a living part of the island’s culture. The coast road west of Jeju City passes through basalt cliffs and small fishing villages that feel entirely removed from the pace of the rest of the trip.

Sasebo sits on a natural harbour on the northwest coast of Kyushu, sheltered by a chain of small islands that makes the approach by sea one of the more striking arrivals on this itinerary. The city itself is compact and easy to navigate, with a covered shopping arcade that stretches for nearly a kilometre through the centre. Just outside town, Huis Ten Bosch is worth the short journey. The Dutch-themed resort built across a former reclaimed wetland is an unusual thing to find in rural Japan, and more interesting than it sounds. The canals, windmills and period architecture fill several hours and the surrounding gardens are at their best in spring.

Kagoshima looks across the bay at Sakurajima, one of Japan’s most active volcanoes, and the view sets the tone for the city. Ash falls here regularly enough that locals keep umbrellas handy on clear days. The city has a distinct southern character, warmer and less formal than Tokyo or Osaka, and a history shaped by the Shimadzu clan who ruled the region for seven centuries. The Sengan-en garden, built by the Shimadzu in the 1650s, uses Sakurajima as its borrowed landscape, framing the volcano deliberately across the water. The waterfront promenade connects the garden to the city centre and gives you the best uninterrupted views of the bay.

MSC Bellissima returns to Tokyo in the early morning. After a week that has taken you from the volcanic landscapes of Kagoshima to the island ports of Korea and back, the city that started it all is waiting to see you off.