Windstar Cruise

10 Days - Grand Japan [Yokohama (Tokyo) to Osaka]

10 Days - Grand Japan [Yokohama (Tokyo) to Osaka]
Starting from $8,714*

Yokohama (Tokyo) to Osaka

Ship: Star Seeker

Departure Date : Oct 06 2026 | Apr 30 2027

Itinerary

Day Yokohama (tokyo), Japan
Departs 07:00 PM
Until the mid-19th century, Japan lived in isolation, closed off from the rest of the world, and Yokohama was a mere fishing village. But in 1853, American naval officer Matthew Perry demanded the country open to foreign trade, and Yokohama was changed forever. The city quickly emerged as an international trading center, and while today it is often overshadowed by nearby Tokyo, it continues to be one of Japan's liveliest, and most international, destinations. With its microbreweries and international restaurants, Yokohama has a decidedly different feel from many other Japanese cities.

From Yokohama, it's a quick trip to peaceful Kamakura, home to Daibutsu, Japan's second-largest bronze Buddha, and to the important Shinto shrine Tsurugaoka Hachimangu. Head to Hakone National Park on a clear day and you'll be rewarded with picture-postcard views of majestic Mt. Fuji.
Yokohama (tokyo), Japan
Day Shimizu, Japan
Arrives 11:00 AM Departs 07:00 PM / Arrives 10:00 AM Departs 07:00 PM
Widely regarded as one of Japan’s most beautiful ports, Shimizu affords peerless views of Mount Fuji on a clear day and claims the scenic Miho-no-Matsubara pine forest as a backdrop (both are UNESCO World Heritage sites). The port’s temperate climate and rich culture—heavily connected to the surrounding Shizuoka region—have made it one of the country’s prime sightseeing destinations. A few of the main attractions include Kunozan Toshogu Shrine, designated a National Treasure by the Japanese government, Sumpu Castle (built in 1586) and Shizuoka Sengen Shrine, where warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu, who ushered in the Edo period, held his coming-of-age ceremony. Tokugawa shoguns ruled Japan for 250 years, until 1867. The broader region offers plenty in the way of picturesque coastal landscapes, tea plantations and a wealth of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, while the port itself—famed in the 1900s for its tea exports—is today best known for its prodigious tuna haul, the biggest in Japan, samples of which can be enjoyed in many of the port’s fantastic restaurants along with other local delicacies such as sakura shrimp and shirasu (whitebait).
Shimizu, Japan
Day Shingu, Japan
Arrives 08:00 AM Departs 05:00 PM
For over 1,000 years pilgrims have traveled to the Kumano Region to pray at the three Sacred Kumano Shrines. In Shingu you can see the Hayatama Shrine and the Kamikura Shrine. Both of these shrines are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as Sacred Sites of Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range. The Kamikura Shrine sits on Mount Kamikurayama and requires climbing 538 steps to reach it.
Shingu, Japan
Day At Sea

Days at Sea
At Sea
Day Kagoshima, Japan
Arrives 08:00 AM Departs 05:00 PM
Situated at the southern tip of Japan, Kagoshima is the capital of the prefecture of the same name and famous for its dramatic views of Sakurajima, an active volcano that smolders across the bay. One of the most popular activities is taking a ferry to Sakurajima and hiking on the 100-year-old lava flow that is now a grassy peninsula. Kagoshima, however, offers much more than the volcano’s almost overwhelming beauty. The food scene provides opportunities to experience the area’s rich culinary culture and features dishes using locally caught fish and regional specialties, like satsuma a'ge (deep-fried fish cake) and shōchū, a traditional beverage made at more than 100 distilleries in Kagoshima alone. Although the city was officially founded in 1889, it has an even longer history that is reflected in the 17th-century gardens of Sengan-en. More recent events are covered at a museum dedicated to the kamikaze pilots who flew out of Kagoshima. Other popular attractions include the City Aquarium, the Museum of the Meiji Restoration with its exhibits exploring local history and the City Museum of Art with its collection that covers both local contemporary and older art. With so much to do, visitors may want to consider the Cute transit card. Available at tourist information offices, one-day Cute cards cover city buses, trams and Sakurajima ferries and also provide discounted admission to several attractions.
Kagoshima, Japan
Day Hashima Island / Nagasaki, Japan
Arrives 06:00 AM Departs 07:30 AM / Arrives 10:00 AM Departs 07:30 AM / Arrives 06:00 AM Departs 07:30 AM / Arrives 10:00 AM Departs 10:00 PM
Cruise around the island of Hashima, abandoned over 50 years ago when the coal mining that flourished there suddenly ran out. The mining company shut the mine down and the island has been a ghost town ever since. (Visibility depends on weather conditions.)

Nagasaki, Japan

Situated in the northwest of Kyushu, the third-largest island in Japan, Nagasaki is one of the country’s most cosmopolitan port cities, with a decent tourism infrastructure, a fascinating past that stretches back to the early 7th century and a picturesque harbor that’s been an active port since the 16th century. Home to around 500,000 residents, the city is a buzzy yet relaxed place with abundant services, shops and restaurants as well as several cultural and historic attractions that are easily explored on foot and via public transportation. Check out the Nagasaki Peace Park and Atomic Bomb Museum, which outline the horrific bombing of the city during World War II while making a poignant pledge for world peace. Foodies will enjoy the wide variety of tastes to be found in Chinatown and the Shianbashi Gourmet Street. If you are visiting with children, the Huis Ten Bosch theme park—modeled on a medieval Dutch town—makes for a fun diversion. Look out, too, for popular annual events like October's Kunchi Festival and the wintertime Nagasaki Lantern Festival.
Hashima Island / Nagasaki, Japan
Day Busan, South Korea
Arrives 06:00 AM Departs 07:30 AM / Arrives 10:00 PM Departs 09:00 PM
The second largest city in South Korea is a popular leisure destination due to the nearby hot springs. It is home to many famous beaches that lure visitors from around the world and the UNESCO site of Gyeongju an outdoor museum that was once the capital of the Silla Kingdom and holds many architectural points of interest including ornate temples. Also of interest is South Korea’s largest temple, Tongdosa Temple, renowned for having no outdoor statues.
Busan, South Korea
Day Karatsu, Japan
Arrives 08:00 AM Departs 04:00 PM
Located on the island of Kyushu, Karatsu is one of the closest Japanese cities to the Korean Peninsula. Karatsu Castle is the main attraction here. Built in 1608, it houses a museum of the castle’s history and Karatsu ceramics. Karatsu is also known for its pottery which can be viewed at the Karatsu-yaki Pottery Gallery. Also worth visiting is the Karatsu Hikiyama Exhibition Hall which displays the 14 floats used in the annual Karatsu Kunchi Festival in November.
Karatsu, Japan
Day Hiroshima, Japan
Arrives 10:00 AM Departs 07:00 PM
Located in the southwest of Japan, Hiroshima, the main city of the Chugoku region, is set within a striking natural landscape of mountains, sea and rivers. Home to more than one million inhabitants, it’s famous as the site of the explosion of the world’s first atomic bomb, dropped by the U.S. in August 1945. This cataclysm is sensitively documented at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and associated Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. The city offers visitors a great deal more than the tragedy of the recent past. In addition to the memorials to the events of World War II, there are an array of shrines and temples, as well as the city’s reconstructed castle, which was originally founded in the 16th century.Nature lovers will be charmed by the historic Shukkei-en Garden, commissioned in 1620, and Miyajima island, one of the most scenic spots in Japan. The city is home to a number of art institutions, including the Hiroshima Museum of Art, which houses a collection of Impressionist and Japanese oil paintings, the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art and the quirky Mazda Museum. There is also an array of excellent restaurants and bars—the city is known for its okonomiyaki, a type of savory pancake—as well as a popular oyster festival each year.
Hiroshima, Japan
Day Takamatsu, Japan
Arrives 09:00 AM Departs 07:00 PM
Takamatsu is located on Shikoku, the smallest of Japan’s four main islands, in the Kagawa Prefecture on the Seto Inland Sea. During the Edo period, it was famous for its seaside castle, one of the few with a moat utilizing seawater. The castle was destroyed during the Meiji period, and today the so-called Sunport waterfront project has substituted the Symbol Tower, Takamatsu’s tallest building, for the castle tower that once graced its flag. Long an important port for Japan, Takamatsu was nearly destroyed in 1945 by Allied incendiary bombing. A portion of the famous castle, including foundations and part of the wall, still strand on the city-center park, and there are plans to reconstruct more of it. The Ritsurin Koen garden, first built in the Edo period, survives, and makes a welcome oasis in the city, with a folk museum, rest houses and a tranquil tearoom among lakes, hills and groves of cherry trees that bloom in the spring and flame into color in the autumn. The Shikoku Mura is an open-air museum with traditional buildings gathered from all over Shikoku on display. The Yashima area boasts an Isamu Noguchi Museum dedicated to the late designer, artist and sculptor, with several traditional buildings he relocated and used as work spaces and galleries, along with many finished and unfinished sculptures. There is also a lovely Yashima Temple halfway up the mountain, and at the top, an observation deck with breathtaking views of the city and port.
Takamatsu, Japan
Day Osaka, Japan
Arrives 12:00 AM
"Think of Osaka, Japan (accent on the O), as a combination of Los Angeles and Chicago. It very definitely has L.A.’s second-city complex, but its attitude is pure Chicago. The only business that matters is business, and so what if the Hanshin Tigers, the local baseball team, are frequently the worst professional athletes in the world? They’re the home team. People in Osaka laugh louder, play harder and drink more than Tokyo’s most decadent dreams. Osaka even has its own dialect, one the rest of the country calls “dirty Japanese,” one entirely different than even Kobe’s—and Kobe is an Osaka suburb.

Nothing is old in Osaka. The place was flattened during the war (and then again in 1962 and 1989, by Godzilla). During the reconstruction, they forgot to include much in the way of parks or green space, and the sheer amount of concrete and steel sights can get overwhelming.

But Osaka has its attractions and interesting things to do. Sumo wrestlers wait for trains, reeking of chanko-nabe (traditional sumo food; pure energy and calories), just daring the official railway pushers to push them. Yakuza (Japanese gangsters) get train cars to themselves, but if you get on with them, it’s like you’re invisible. Busy markets, the visual noise of neon and nonstop action on shopping streets offer insight into the energy and ambition of Osaka.
Osaka, Japan
 
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