HA230428: Eternal Japan and South Korea: A Voyage from Tokyo to Kobe

ETERNAL JAPAN & SOUTH KOREA

on board HERITAGE ADVENTURER

28 April - 8 May 2023

Day 1:
Friday 28^th April
Tokyo to Kanazawa

This afternoon we arrived by Shinkansen Bullet Train from Tokyo to Kanazawa, a comparatively quiet city of only 450,000. We were met at the Railway Station by some of our Expedition Team: Chris, Phil and our Japanese Guide Hide-san and driven to the Port to embark onto our home for the next 10 days, Heritage Adventurer.

After settling in and a lovely afternoon tea, it was time for the mandatory safety drill, drinks, then Nathan our Expedition Leader gave us an overview of our voyage and briefing on our plans for tomorrow. We also met our full expedition team; Shirley as Cruise Manager, Glenda our Education Manager, Chris the Logistics Manager, Cathy our Photographer, Tina and Phil as our Guides and Lecturers. A lovely dinner in the restaurant capped off a fabulous day. Being alongside the wharf overnight meant it was flat calm for our first night on board ... we were all excited about what adventures tomorrow will bring.

Day 2:
Saturday 29^th April
Kanazawa

Those of us who woke early enjoyed a beautiful sunrise with barely any clouds and only light wind. There was an option for early risers' breakfast at 0600, but most of us had breakfast at a civilised hour of 0700. By 0800 we were ready to go ashore for a full-on day in Kanazawa. Our Japanese Guide Hide-san gave us a light-hearted commentary up to the Kenroku-en Garden, one of the top three gardens in Japan. We started our walk by going up to the oldest fountain in Japan and the iconic stone lantern, the lovely sunny weather meant it was good for taking photos. As we continued walking, we admired the detail that the gardeners had given to make the grounds look so wonderful. The mixture of the lush moss on the ground and the perfectly pruned trees, to the flowering azaleas, and perfect reflections on the ponds and waterways throughout the gardens ensured we had a truly memorable experience.

As we departed the Kenroku-en Garden, we went across the road to Kanazawa Castle to take in the inspiring construction of this style of Japanese Castle. The detail and craftsmanship required to build such a structure was hard to grasp. Massive stones placed perfectly to form the most precise joins in the base, the huge timber beams that were locked into position to create the enormous gates and upper structures gave the castle it's impressive size. The wide-open grassed lawns also added to the feeling of a daunting, perfectly-built castle - truly memorable. Before heading back to the ship for lunch we met our Hotel Manager and Chef at the Omicho Market to buy some fresh seafood. We had free time to wander the market and look at all the interesting produce for sale.

After a tasty lunch we headed back into Kanazawa to visit the Samurai District, walking a short distance through an amazing narrow road-way past wonderful houses with the most fabulous roofing tiles. At the Samurai House, there was a brass four-piece band playing some music as it was the start of Japan's 'Golden Week', so lots of people were out and about enjoying the public holiday. The Samurai House was just lovely, with really interesting rooms and so much history immersing us on how life would have been 200 years ago. The garden section of the house was a true highlight, with so much lovely detail packed into quite a small area.

We travelled onward to the Geisha District this time where we visited a gold leaf factory. Hide-san gave us a lot of information about the history of Geisha and, after some free time, we were taken back to Heritage Adventurer where afternoon tea was served. It was announced that at 1745 the local dancers were going to put on a farewell display for us as we depart the port, and what a display it was. It truly was an amazing experience with at least 50 dancers and several large flags, lots of singing and dancing and also a huge crowd of spectators, it made us feel like royalty. In the bar we had a recap from Tina about the gold leaf production and briefing for our plans the next day from Chris & Nathan. A spectacular first full day of our cruise in Japan.

Day 3:
Sunday 30^th April
Sakaiminato

This morning we arrived into the port of Sakaiminato and departed by bus for Matsue Castle, a scenic 50-minute ride passing rice fields, forests, and villages. At the castle we made our way up the sets of stairs past several beautiful white flowering trees to a shrine and an old colonial style building. We headed inside and up the steep stairs, six storeys to the top, where we were met by stunning views of the moat and gardens; spotting several grey herons nesting in the tops of the pine trees. After some free time at the castle we took a short bus ride to the start of the Horikawa sightseeing boat, cruising around the moat surrounding the castle. It was a beautiful ride with many different types of trees along the sides including purple Wisteria and many varieties of Irises in full bloom. During the trip we went under several low bridges and the skipper had to lower the cover over our heads so much that we had to lie down. The ride took about 45 minutes and we were all ready to get off and stretch our legs.

Back to Heritage Adventurer for a quick lunch-- we were treated with today's special, curry, being served. Afterwards we headed off to one of Japan's top gardens, Yuushien Garden, globally renowned for its peonies as we entered through a shop selling many plants. Our breath was taken away by the sheer mass and beauty of all the peonies which covered the ground under the trees and the pond, different tones of pink amongst the green and rocks was simply stunning.

The sun was shining and a beautiful light fell through the trees as we wandered around the gardens. Our next stop was the Adachi Museum of Art which houses roughly 1500 works of art. Best known for its 165,000 square-meter garden having been named Japan's best garden 20 years running, we have plenty of time to take in all the art and lovely views from the inside looking out strategically placed windows to the immaculate fixtures.

As the sun was setting we made our way home from a full-on day of amazing sights and experiences topped off by another performance back at the port. As we departed we were given a lovely send off by a dozen drummers, their energetic drumming skills and kind words made us feel very special. It was a hasty transition to the Lounge for our evening briefing, Glenda gave us a feel for the cave system we would explore the next day then Chris and Nathan gave us the details of another action-packed day ahead of us in Hagi. At dinner, we had an entrée of products that were purchased during our visit to the Omicho Market in Kanazawa yesterday. Another fabulous day, topped off with a fabulous dinner.

Day 4:
Monday 1^st May
Hagi

A glorious blue sky greeted us as Heritage Adventurer arrived into Hagi. We anchored just off-shore and used the lifeboat tender to go ashore. Our first stop this morning was Japan's largest karst limestone plateau, where we stopped briefly to take in the spectacular views. We then visited its famous cave system Akiyoshidai via a long sloping tunnel with murals on the walls, taking us back in time 300 million years. The others were able to access the cave via an elevator avoiding the longer, steeper entrance. This huge cave system extends 11-kilometres, and after just 1-kilometre we saw some magnificent formations, including stalactites, stalagmites and terraces. There was also a significant flow of water through the cave system, and eventually we exited at a waterfall to make our way down a narrow street full of souvenir shops and ice-cream stalls selling a huge selection of flavours.

We returned back on board for lunch before venturing the town of Hagi to visit the Samurai quarter and tour through an impressive house and garden. Our guide Hide-san gave us great insight into this incredible way of life. We then meandered our way through the streets, the smell of orange blossom filled the air as Hagi is well known for its oranges. Our last visit for the day was at the Yoshiga Taibi Museum and its pottery studio where we learned about history and watched several of the masters producing the pottery.

Day 5:
Tuesday 2^nd May
Ulsan, Korea

This morning Heritage Adventurer arrived in South Korea into the power house city of Ulsan. It was a slow start due to a lot of official documentation needed before entering Korea, but the weather was fabulous and the port crazy busy with ships coming and going non-stop.

Once cleared by the border officials, we got on our bus with our new guide 'Jane' to our first stop Gyeongju, home to ancient tombs from the Silla period from about 500AD. There were over 50 tombs appearing as enormous grassy hills from what we could see. We entered the Cheonmachong Tomb (known as the Flying Horse Tomb) which was excavated in 1973 and saw the incredible way in which the dead King was buried: with loads of gold ornaments, jewellery, weapons, tools and pottery items. It was really interesting to see how they treated royalty back then. Then there was a short bus ride to the Korean National Museum where we could see the original items recovered from the tomb we had just seen earlier as well as a whole lot of other items from the same period.

From the Museum we took the bus to our lunch destination at an authentic Korean restaurant. The chef created an amazing array of tasty Korean dishes that came in what seemed like an endless procession of plates. Some guests were concerned by prospect of the Jellyfish dish, or perhaps the look of the dried small fish, while others were intrigued by the taste of the pumpkin dessert soup! It was a real assortment of smells, flavours and tastes. The lack of English for the description of what we were served only made it more interesting and at times very comical for us deciding what was in front of us. Overall, it was a lovely lunch, with more than enough to eat and drink.

We then went on to the Bulguksa Temple to admire the craftsmanship and intricate detail of the wooden buildings built in 751AD. The painted eaves, the golden Buddhas, the sheer number of wish cards on the colourful paper lanterns, the incredible workmanship of the timber, tiles and stone made us all gaze in amazement. It was quite mesmerising.

On the drive back to Heritage Adventurer we had a quick stop at Daewangam Park and a hasty walk to the shore before boarding the bus again and getting to the ship by 1800. It was certainly a full-on day! Back on board, we could refresh ourselves and get ready for the evening. Nathan gave us a run through of our plans for Masan tomorrow, followed by another tasty dinner.

Day 6:
Wednesday 3^rd May
Masan, Korea

From our berth in Masan, we joined our guide Jane again and set off to the local fish market where a huge variety of seafood and vegetables were on offer. Most of the seafood is held live in large tanks and the selection on offer is quite different from Japan.

Next stop was the Tripitaka Koreana Culture Park which is actually a museum with a somewhat interesting garden attached. Inside we learned about the Tripitaka Koreana: the how, where and why for a great insight of what we were about to see later today.

Lunch was at a very glitzy hotel adorned with crystal, golden ornaments and fancy chandeliers. High in the mountains with spectacular views, a huge variety of dishes were laid out before us and although we were not sure exactly what was presented to us we really enjoyed all the different tastes and textures of a lovely authentic Korean lunch.

A beautiful scenic drive through lush forest took us up to the Haeinsa Temple, regarded as one of the three great temples of Korea. Its name derives from a verse in a Buddhist Sutra as 'reflections on a smooth sea'. Inside the Janggyeong Panjeon building is 81,258 doubled side wooden blocks with a complete copy of Buddhist scriptures stored on floor to ceiling shelves. During our walk around the temple we heard several worship chants and the atmosphere was very spiritual, a humbling end to our time in South Korea.

During our recap and briefing Phil gave us a reminder of our time in Korea and Hide-san told us about certain customs and protocols in Japan that were very helpful and humorous. After dinner we saw a great many squid boats in the area with their bright lights spread out around us.

Day 7:
Thursday 4^th May
Ube, Japan

We awoke to flat seas and partly overcast skies, meaning some of us enjoyed staying in bed for a bit longer! After breakfast, Hide-san gave us a lesson in origami and taught us how to make paper cranes (the flying kind) out of squares of paper. These we were to take to Hiroshima in a few days time. A little later, Tina gave us a presentation on The Essence of Japanese Gardens, which was a great insight into how the Japanese set out their style of gardens. We started our passage through Kanmon Strait at 1015, the narrow stretch of water between Honshu and Kyushu Islands, and many of us were out on the decks to see the action including some Bottlenose Dolphins that came towards the ship. At 1130, Hide-san gave another presentation on Buddhism and Shintoism which helped us understand some of religious beliefs of Japan. At 1200 we went to lunch excited to be going ashore in Japan once again.

At 1415 we were cleared by Customs and Immigration and welcomed by an interesting party on the wharf including a comic book character in costume dancing and waving at us. Local media were on hand to photograph and film us. When we were finally ready, we went by bus to the local Fujigochi Tea Plantation to view the 70 hectares of tea growing and see what they had on offer in their shop. We then went on to the Soriin-ji Temple for our anticipated tea ceremony. On arrival however we found out that we were to learn the ways of the Zazen Monks first. One Monk taught us to sit, focus, breathe and learn to meditate in preparation for the ceremony. We then moved through to the tea room where we learnt the process of the ancient Tea Ceremony. Overall it was an amazing experience and the Monk was very welcoming and happy for us to take photos.

We returned to Heritage Adventurer by about 1815, got ready for dinner and listened to Tina talk about tea ceremonies and Glenda talk about Japan's earthquake history before Nathan told us about our plans tomorrow at Uwajima.

Day 8:
Friday 5^th May
Uwajima

Our entry to Uwajima was met by several fishing boats with beautifully coloured flags which we later learned was a sign of a successful fishing trip. At the wharf we were met by more locals waving flags including several children as it was Children's Day in Japan. We started our morning by visiting Uwajima Castle, featuring a long steep climb to the top through a forested area with many interesting plants. The castle is small compared to what we have seen already; only 3 storeys high with beautifully detailed woodwork, the castle tower is only one of 12 surviving built in the Edo period. We visited Tensha-en Garden, constructed in 1868 as a retreat for the seventh lord, this garden contains 22 species of bamboo and is a pond style garden featuring Koi fish that guests could feed.

We then took a scenic ride on a winding road along the shore to a local oyster pearl farm to learn how these are cultured and harvested. A nearby shop with many beautiful jewellery items for sale had many guests making purchases.

Back at the ship for a pasta lunch, then we headed off to the Yusumizugaura Terrace fields where many years of labour have gone into creating this expansive area of terraced beds used for growing potatoes and other vegetables. We heard the story about the terraces by the owner as he took us on a walk up to the top. It was a relatively easy winding path with spectacular views looking down on the terraces and out to the bream farms, the sheer amount of rock that had been moved from a nearby island astounded us. After the tour we had a tasting of boiled potato, potato salad and Sho-ju (which is distilled, fermented potato much like sake).

Our last tour of the day was back near the city, half of us visited a local roadside market while the others go to a boutique family-owned sake brewery for a tour and tasting. The groups swapped after about 40 mins as the brewery was too small for more than 12 guests. We then made our way back to Heritage Adventurer and were greeted by a large group of locals, mainly kids, who had set up Japanese drums. We were treated to an amazing performance, some of the children looked as young as 7 and they are able to keep up the rhythm with their older peers. Another great farewell from a lovely Japanese city.

Day 9:
Saturday 6^th May
Miyajima

The weather was forecast to be cloudy and wet and, as we woke, we found that the forecast was accurate! Nathan had warned us that timings might be subject to change, but we were set to go and given the green light on time to start our excursion to Miyajima at 0900. We took the arranged bus to the ferry terminal and boarded the 0940 ferry to Miyajima. Although it was raining, it was still an amazing place to visit. Hide-san guided us through the Itsukushima Shrine pointing out the 'floating' Torii Gate in the harbour, the most photographed object in Japan. There were many distractions along the way: shrines, temples, food and cafés as well as trinket shops all hoping for our attention. Some of us found coffee, some found out-of-the-way temples, some even found a cute deer hoping for a tasty treat (or maybe even a map to chew on...!). Despite the rain, it was an awesome morning in a really special part of Japan. We re-grouped at 1200 to catch the ferry back to the mainland and headed back to Heritage Adventurer for lunch.

At 1400 we were away again, this time to the Hiroshima Peace Park. Hide-san stood in the queue for us to buy tickets to the A-Bomb Museum where we learned of the terrible impact of the first Atomic Bomb to be used in anger. A very sombre experience, shared by many hundreds of people as it was still holidays in Japan. After the museum, we walked around the Peace Park and learned more about the hopes of Japan and the World that these types of weapons will never be used again. After we walked to the A-Bomb Dome, a building iconic with the Hiroshima Bomb, we had some time to walk around and grasp the tragedy of the area during the war. We later met to board the bus and return to Heritage Adventurer by 1800, dry off and get ready for the evening. At the briefing, we had a lovely memory from Avril about people she knew involved in the war and the Atomic Bombs. It was very touching.

Day 10:
Sunday 7^th May
Uno

Another cloudy, rainy day greeted us as Heritage Adventurer docked in the Port of Uno. Although we were all set to go on time at 0900 many of us were reluctant to go out in the rain once again, so Nathan made the call to change our plans and keep us a bit drier. We departed on the bus at 0945 and went to the small town of Kurashiki. The main items to enjoy here were the Ohara Art Museum and a wander around town. For those who did not want to do the town walk, they could spend more time in the art museum which contained a great array of different art styles from around the world and some pieces from very well-known artists. It was a fabulous collection and very enjoyable.

The walk around town was a pleasant surprise with an interesting assortment of shops and cafés alongside the canals, with wonderful arched bridges crossing the canal in several places. We had some free time to look in the shops or perhaps get a drink from one of the cafés and generally take in this delightful place.

We all met back at the Ohara Art Museum then walked to a local restaurant for lunch. This was a 'Bento Box'-style meal with several dishes all prepared for each of us, with several fish and meat dishes along with rice and miso, and we could select our drink of choice as we entered.

As it was our last night aboard our home away from home we had some time to dry our things after a couple of days of rain, pack our bags, and relax in the comfort of Heritage Adventurer soaking up the atmosphere for the last few hours. We gathered again in the aft-lounge on Deck 5 at 1845 for canapes and drinks before the Captain gave us a farewell toast for our onward travels. Nathan recounted our last 10 days in an Expedition Overview and we were then shown the trip slide show, a photographic record of all that we've done since we boarded the ship in Kanazawa on the 28^th April. It really reminded us of just how much we have seen and done, the places we've visited and the wonderful experiences we have enjoyed. We really did cram in a lot! It was then time for our farewell dinner in the restaurant on Deck 4 to enjoy yet another delicious selection from the galley.

Day 11:
Monday 8^th May
Osaka

It was time for us to disembark Heritage Adventurer, our home for the last 10 days. There was a Japanese drumming display on the wharf as our ship came alongside - yet another fabulous reminder of how friendly and welcoming the Japanese people are. There was lots of chatter among the group at breakfast of what have been the highlights and where we want to spend more time for when we revisit Japan and plans for our next cruise with Heritage Expeditions. At 0830 our bags were already off and it was our turn to head down the gangway one last time, say goodbye to our wonderful crew and Expedition Team, then go through Customs and Immigration to the next part of our journey.