Norwegian Jade - Autumn Japan & Korea: Tokyo to Seoul

Where this cruise calls, day by day

9 ports and 3 sea days over 11 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Tokyo

   JapanDepart

   Most itineraries that say Tokyo actually berth at Yokohama, half an hour down the bay - Osanbashi Pier for medium ships, Daikoku Pier for the very large ones, with the Tokyo International Cruise Terminal at Odaiba as the third option. Yokohama is not a consolation prize: Osanbashi opens straight onto the waterfront, with Chinatown and Minato Mirai on foot. But if you want Tokyo proper, budget the round trip and pick two neighbourhoods rather than five.

   • Senso-ji temple and Nakamise shopping street in Asakusa
   • Meiji Jingu shrine and the walk down through Harajuku to Shibuya Crossing
   • The Imperial Palace East Gardens and the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno
   • Yokohama's Chinatown, Sankeien Garden and the Minato Mirai waterfront

   Getting ashore

   Docked. Osanbashi Pier in Yokohama is walkable to Chinatown and about 30 minutes by train from central Tokyo; Daikoku Pier is an industrial berth 15km out needing a shuttle, and Odaiba's terminal is on the Yurikamome line.

   Best months

   Late Mar-early Apr (cherry blossom), Oct-Nov (autumn colour)

2. Day 2

   Shimizu

   JapanPort

   Shimizu exists on Japan itineraries for one reason: on a clear morning Mount Fuji stands directly across Suruga Bay from the berth, and you can see it from the ship. The port itself is part of Shizuoka, a green-tea and tuna-fishing city rather than a tourist town. Whether the day is memorable depends almost entirely on cloud cover, which is worth knowing before you book anything.

   • Miho no Matsubara, the pine-lined shore with the classic Fuji view across the bay
   • The Nihondaira plateau and the ropeway down to Kunozan Toshogu shrine
   • Shizuoka's Sumpu Castle Park, once Tokugawa Ieyasu's retirement seat
   • Green tea plantations in the hills inland, and the sashimi counters at Shimizu fish market

   Getting ashore

   Docked at Hinode Pier in Shimizu, with the S-Pulse Dream Plaza waterfront complex beside the terminal; Miho no Matsubara is about 20 minutes by taxi and Shizuoka city around 15 minutes by train.

   Best months

   Nov-Feb (clearest Fuji views); summer haze often hides it

3. Day 3

   Nagoya

   JapanPort

   Nagoya is Japan's industrial heartland - Toyota country - and it makes no particular effort to charm visitors, which some people find refreshing. The cruise berth is at Kinjo Pier in the port district, about half an hour from the centre. The castle is a postwar reconstruction, but Atsuta Shrine is genuinely ancient, and the manufacturing museums are better than that description sounds.

   • Nagoya Castle and its restored Honmaru Palace interiors
   • Atsuta Shrine, one of the most important Shinto sites in Japan
   • The Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology
   • Hitsumabushi - grilled eel over rice, the local dish worth planning lunch around

   Getting ashore

   Docked at Kinjo Pier in Nagoya Port; central Nagoya is about 30 minutes by road or on the Aonami Line.

   Best months

   Late Mar-Apr and Oct-Nov

4. Day 4

   Osaka

   JapanPort

   Osaka docks at Tempozan Pier in the western harbour, five minutes' walk from a subway station, which makes it one of the more self-sufficient ports in Japan. The city is the blunt, food-obsessed counterweight to Kyoto - neon, street snacks and a rebuilt castle rather than temples and moss. It also works as the gateway to Kyoto and Nara, both about an hour away, which is what many passengers use the day for.

   • Osaka Castle and its park
   • Dotonbori and Kuromon Ichiba market for takoyaki and kushikatsu
   • Fushimi Inari's torii gates or Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto
   • Todai-ji and the free-roaming deer of Nara Park

   Getting ashore

   Docked at Tempozan Pier; Osakako subway station is a five-minute walk, central Osaka about 20 minutes, and Kyoto roughly an hour by train.

   Best months

   Late Mar-Apr (blossom), Oct-Nov; Aug is punishingly humid

5. Day 5 · At sea

6. Day 6

   Kanazawa

   JapanPort

   Kanazawa came through the war unbombed, so its geisha districts and samurai quarter are the real thing rather than reconstructions. The city sits on the Sea of Japan coast and made its money from rice and gold leaf, which is why the gardens are so good and why half the souvenirs are gilded. The port is a few kilometres out at Mukaihama, so you will be shuttled in.

   • Kenrokuen, generally ranked among Japan's three great landscape gardens
   • The Higashi Chaya teahouse district and its gold-leaf workshops
   • Kanazawa Castle Park, next door to Kenrokuen
   • Omicho Market for crab and sea urchin, and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art

   Getting ashore

   Docked at Kanazawa Port (Mukaihama Pier), roughly 10km from the centre - 20-30 minutes by shuttle or taxi to Kenrokuen and the old districts.

   Best months

   Apr-May and Oct-Nov; heavy snow Dec-Feb

7. Day 7

   Akita

   JapanPort

   Akita is a rice and sake prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast, thinly visited and heavy with snow in winter. The port is a working one a short drive from the city, and the city itself is quiet - the draw is what surrounds it, particularly the preserved samurai street at Kakunodate. Local specialities are worth chasing here: kiritanpo, Hinai chicken, and some of Japan's best sake.

   • The samurai houses and weeping cherry trees of Kakunodate
   • Senshu Park, on the ruins of Kubota Castle in central Akita
   • The Namahage folklore museum on the Oga Peninsula
   • A sake brewery visit in the rice country inland

   Getting ashore

   Docked at Akita Port; the city centre is about 30 minutes away and Kakunodate roughly an hour inland by coach.

   Best months

   Late Apr-May (late blossom) and Oct (autumn colour)

8. Day 8 · At sea

9. Day 9

   Busan

   South KoreaPort

   Busan is Korea's port city and second-largest, wedged between mountains and beaches with a working fish market at its heart. Ships use the international terminal near Busan Station, which puts the old downtown within a short taxi ride. The two things people remember are Jagalchi's tanks of live seafood and the painted hillside houses of Gamcheon.

   • Jagalchi Fish Market and the neighbouring Gukje Market
   • Gamcheon Culture Village, the terraced hillside of painted houses
   • Haedong Yonggungsa, a Buddhist temple built right on the rocks above the sea
   • Beomeosa Temple on the slopes of Geumjeongsan, or the sand at Haeundae

   Getting ashore

   Docked, but check which terminal - the Busan Port International Passenger Terminal in North Port is beside Busan Station, while the largest ships use the Yeongdo cruise terminal out on the island, which has no walk-out option and depends on shuttles.

   Best months

   Apr-Jun and Sep-Oct (mild, dry); Jul-Aug brings the monsoon

10. Day 10

    Jeju

    South KoreaPort

    Jeju is a volcanic island off the southern tip of Korea, built up from lava flows around the cone of Hallasan, and it is where mainland Koreans go on honeymoon. The coastline is black rock and the interior is a national park. Most calls use Jeju Port on the north side, though some ships berth at the newer facility near Seogwipo in the south, which changes which half of the island is convenient.

    • Seongsan Ilchulbong, the tuff cone rising straight out of the sea on the east coast
    • Manjanggul Lava Tube, one of the longest lava caves in the world
    • The Jusangjeolli basalt columns on the south coast near Jungmun
    • Haenyeo diving demonstrations, and Hallasan's lower trails

    Getting ashore

    Docked. Mid-size ships use Jeju Port beside Jeju City; the largest berth at the Gangjeong terminal near Seogwipo on the opposite coast. Seongsan Ilchulbong is roughly 45 minutes from Jeju Port and about 50 from Gangjeong.

    Best months

    Apr-Jun and Sep-Oct; canola blooms in April

11. Day 11 · At sea

12. Day 12

    Incheon (Seoul)

    South KoreaArrive

    Incheon's cruise terminal opened in 2019 out near Songdo, and it is a long way from the Seoul most passengers have in mind - reckon on an hour or more each way. That leaves a real choice: one concentrated run at the palaces and old quarters of Seoul, or a slower day around Incheon itself, which has Korea's only Chinatown and the harbour where the 1950 landings took place.

    • Gyeongbokgung Palace and the changing of the guard, in central Seoul
    • Bukchon Hanok Village and the craft shops of Insadong
    • Incheon Chinatown and the Jayu (Freedom) Park above it
    • Songdo Central Park, close to the terminal, if you would rather not commit to the drive

    Getting ashore

    Docked at Incheon International Cruise Terminal on reclaimed land south of Songdo, about 7km from the nearest metro station; central Seoul is 60-90 minutes each way, so the ship's transfer is usually the sane option.

    Best months

    Apr-Jun and Sep-Oct; winter is bitterly cold