Highlights of South Korea and Japan

The next portion of our Circle Pacific Cruise included 10 ports in 12 days, starting with one stop in South Korea and then stopping in 9 ports in Japan.  It was very busy and interesting.

Seogwipo, Jeju Island, South Korea

Our only stop in South Korea was the port of Seogwipo on Jeju Island.  We were docked at a commercial port without anything nearby, so we took a bus to the Seogwipo Maeil Olle Market.  It was fun to look around at the beautiful oranges (in season), fish (the freshest I have seen in any market anywhere worldwide), and other produce, including seaweed (the first time I have seen that in a market).  We would have loved to shop for food there.  The island sounds like somewhere we would have enjoyed staying for a week or so, but sadly we did not have the opportunity.  It was pouring rain, so we also did not venture outside of the market except for walking to and from the bus.

Yatsushiro, Japan

Our first stop in Japan was Yatsushiro, another port far from town.  We chose not to pay to take a bus to town since there was a park adjacent to the port where we could go for a walk.

We noticed here and in other ports in Japan that families like to come to see the cruise ship.

Even though several ports were far from town, the scenery in Japan in general, including that seen from the ship, is stunning and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Kagoshima, Japan

Kagoshima, our next port, was another port far from town.  Unfortunately, this seems to be common in Asia, more so than in other parts of the world where we have cruised. 

There was a fairly large park adjacent to the ship, so we took a walk there along with many Japanese families.

One interesting thing about the area is it is directly across from an active volcano, Sakurajima.  It erupts frequently and did so after we returned to the ship.

Kochi, Japan

Our next port, Kochi, was also far from town.  In general, in Japan the people are very welcoming and often have some type of presentation or ceremony when the ship arrives or leaves (or sometimes both).

For this port, we decided to stay onboard for our usual walk (since there was nowhere to walk near the port that was obvious) and go out to lunch at the brewery that was adjacent to the port.  The South Horizon Brewery was busy with a mix of locals and cruise ship passengers.  The beer was good, the food okay.

Osaka, Japan

We finally visited a Japanese port docked in the city, in Osaka.  We enjoyed walking in a nice park near the dock where we saw our first cherry blossoms in Japan (have seen them many times elsewhere), walking around the city near the port, and having an excellent sushi lunch at a small authentic place.  The customers at Hikari were a mix of businesspeople on their lunch break and tourists.

Shimizu, Japan

We next docked in the city of Shimizu.  This is the port nearest to Mount Fuji, but it was obscured by clouds the day we were there.

We walked along the waterfront and then we had some delicious yakitori (grilled meat) from a food truck near the port.  We also went to our first of many tourist-oriented malls in Japan which by the end of our time in the country all seemed the same.  We learned we enjoyed shopping at the stalls near the cruise terminal better – they were staffed by local people who provided good information about their products, and the products generally seemed to be high quality and unique.

Yokohama, Japan

We next visited Yokohama.  We walked through a nice park on our way to Chinatown.  Chinatown was somewhat touristy, but we found a restaurant there for lunch.  It might seem odd to eat in Chinatown in Japan, but what we discovered while in Japan is that there are rarely many vegetables involved in restaurant meals other than sometimes tempura vegetables (deep fried) or cucumber in some sushi (but not the best sushi).  We eat mostly vegetables and include them in most meals, so for us even though we try to experience local food and culture, we didn’t eat as many meals out in Japan as we expected for that reason.  Also, the language barrier was a challenge in reading menus and ordering in many places, if it was completely in Japanese.  In Chinatown, we always can find a meal that includes vegetables!

Miyako, Japan

In our next port, Miyako, the city provided a free bus to town.  It is a small town.  We enjoyed walking around, except for on the tourist-oriented shopping street.  We enjoy seeing what the places we visit are really like rather than shopping in similar shops everywhere.  Kevin did find a tea shop on a side street (not the tourist-oriented street) and purchased some tea and tea accessories there.

At this port there were a lot of food trucks and shopping stalls, where we bought some things to bring back to the ship (beverages) and home.  We also ate yakisoba (a noodle dish) from one of the food trucks that said that the recipe was developed by local high school students – it was good and had a few vegetables.  There was a mix of locals and cruise ship passengers enjoying the food trucks and shopping stalls.

This was another location that had an elaborate sendoff ceremony.  Interestingly, this was the only time on the four-month cruise where we had any engine issues, so we didn’t leave when we were scheduled (they fixed the issue and we left 3-4 hours late).  They kept up the ceremony for a while, and local families waited for a while to see the ship off, but they finally all left before we did.

Aomori, Japan

We next docked in Aomori, another port near a city.  We spent our time taking a long walk along the waterfront, including visiting a small beach and a small park and dock near the port.  We skipped the tourist-oriented attractions.

Hakodate, Japan

Our final Japanese port was Hakodate.  Unfortunately, we were far from town and did not want to pay for the cruise line’s bus to get there to see similar tourist-oriented things to what was in the other ports.

There were a few non-tourist things within walking distance.  We walked to a nearby convenience store and figured out to spend our yen (Japanese currency) coins, since they usually are not accepted at currently exchange places (only bills).

Overall, we found Japan very interesting, although I am not sure a cruise is the best way to see the country.  Perhaps for those who enjoy taking long shore excursions at the various ports it would be better.  We are still glad we visited.  By far the highlights were the wonderfully friendly and welcoming people, the scenery, and the great sushi lunch that we had in Osaka.