18-night Grand Japan with Okinawa & Taiwan Cruise

Yokohama is located on the southern part of Honshu Island, on the western shore of Tokyo Bay, and is our gateway to Tokyo. It has excellent harbour facilities and is one of the leading ports industrial centres of Japan. There are numerous shrines, temples, and Christian churches and a number of beautiful parks. A small fishing village in 1854, Yokohama was almost totally destroyed in 1923 by an earthquake. Gradually reconstructed the city is now among the most modern in Japan. It was heavily bombed in 1945, during World War II.

Destination Guide

Keelung is situated along East China Sea on Taiwan's northeast tip and has been an important Taiwanese seaport. It is gateway to the island's most magnificent coastal scenery and a convenient location to begin a journey overland to Taipei.

Destination Guide

Keelung is situated along East China Sea on Taiwan's northeast tip and has been an important Taiwanese seaport. It is gateway to the island's most magnificent coastal scenery and a convenient location to begin a journey overland to Taipei.

Destination Guide

Ishigaki Island is the main island of the Yaeyama Islands. The island offers visitors calm beaches, snorkeling, and diving in the surrounding coral reefs.  Visitors can also explore the jungle like scenery around the rivers by taking a river kayak tour. At Tamatorizaki Observation point the platform offers lovely views of the cape.  Ishigaki also has the highest mountain in the region, which afford visitors great hiking trails throughout the island's hilly interior.

Okinawa, Japan, is a place of history, beauty and a friendly, laid-back lifestyle not seen elsewhere in the country. It is home to subtropical forests, coral reefs, sunken ships and ruins. It is a hidden paradise of warm, clear water waiting to be explored by both snorkelers and scuba divers of any level.

Off the main island of Okinawa, there are other historic dive sites to explore, as well as ecotours in the lush subtropical jungles and 15th-century castles.

Each season of the year brings special focus to nature in Okinawa Prefecture. During January and February, whale watching and cherry blossoms are spectacular; during the spring, marlin and sailfish abound; summer brings the coral blooms underwater; and fall sees the re-enactment parade and festival at Shurijo Castle.

Visitors should expect to spend at least four days there.

Destination Guide

Yokohama is located on the southern part of Honshu Island, on the western shore of Tokyo Bay, and is our gateway to Tokyo. It has excellent harbour facilities and is one of the leading ports industrial centres of Japan. There are numerous shrines, temples, and Christian churches and a number of beautiful parks. A small fishing village in 1854, Yokohama was almost totally destroyed in 1923 by an earthquake. Gradually reconstructed the city is now among the most modern in Japan. It was heavily bombed in 1945, during World War II.

Destination Guide

This large, bustling port is the starting point for tours to the ancient cities of Kyoto and Nara, the cultural fountainheads of classical Japan. Kyoto's Old Imperial Palace and the shogunal Nijo Castle remain glorious symbols of the power the city held for over 1,000 years. Until 1868, Kyoto was the capital of Japan, filled with elegant timber buildings and, perhaps more than any other Japanese city, imbued with Kami, the divine spirit. You'll sense it everywhere, for there are hundreds of Shinto shrines and over a thousand Buddhist temples, as well as sacred treasure-houses of religious sculpture, painting and exquisite gardens. Nara, City of the Seven Great Temples, lies in an idyllic setting.

Destination Guide

Excursions

Kobe - Osaka Day Tour — Optional Private Excursions
Highlights:

• Osaka Castle
• Umeda Sky Building
• Shitennoji Temple
• Dontonbori

• Transfers and sightseeing as specified in the itinerary by private vehicle
• Services of driver and private English-speaking guide during sightseeing and transfers (different guide and driver in each city)
• Local restaurant lunches including 1 drink per person (soft drink, local beer, bottled water, tea or coffee)

• Pier permits

• Complimentary local bottled water during sightseeing/transfers

• Entrance fees while sightseeing

• Any accommodations/ meals/ flights/ sightseeing/ transfers other than specified
• Excess baggage charges
• Gratuities to the local guides and drivers
• Travel insurance (recommended)
• Any expenses of a personal nature such as laundry, minibar charges, telephone charges, etc.
• Any visa

Kochi has beautiful lagoons and lakes and offers travelers an extraordinary setting for a stay of a few nights.

Excursions

Kochi, Shore Excursion - 8 hours — Optional Private Excursions

Kochi, Shore Excursion - 4 hours — Optional Private Excursions
You will be met at the pier. (Excursion timings will be subject to the ship's arrival and departure)
Once you disembark from your cruise-liner, you will meet your guide in the arrival hall. He will escort you to your waiting vehicle and together you will head to the historic town of Mattancherry. The Mattancherry Palace was built by the Portuguese in 1557 and presented to the Raja of Kochi in exchange for trading rights. The palace is two stories high and is built in the traditional Kerala style of “nalukattu” (four buildings around a central courtyard). Made of richly-carved wood, there are beautiful murals on display here depicting scenes from the Hindu epics – Ramayana and Mahabharata and some of the Hindu legends. The Palace also houses Dutch maps of old Kochi, royal Palanquins, coronation robes of former Maharajas of Kochi as well as period furniture.

You will next visit the Jewish Synagogue. One of the oldest in India, it is set in the Jewish Quarter, commonly known as “Jew Town”.  The area is famous for its aromatic spice market and its antique shops.  The interior of the Synagogue is decorated with 18^th century blue ceramic Cantonese tiles, hand painted and each one different!
 
You will end your tour at the Chinese Fishing Nets, which were first erected between 1350 and 1450 AD indicating trading ties with China.
 
You will stop for lunch at a local restaurant before heading back to the port to board your ship.

Inclusions:
Private chauffeur driven air conditioned vehicle, Private guide, Complimentary Soft beverages and Bottled water in the car, Monument entrance and still camera fee, Meet and Assist at all airports and hotels, Porterage at airports, All currently applicable taxes

Exclusions:
Expenses of any personal nature (laundry,telephone calls etc, unless specified) Tipping at hotels and to guides/escorts (unless specified), Meals (unless specified), Any insurance or Visa, Any hike in monument entrances fee or revision in government taxes, Air fare is quoted separately.

* Terms and conditions apply

HALF DAY EXPLORING OLD KOCHI — Optional Private Excursions
HALF DAY
EXPLORING OLD COCHIN
 
Leave from pier for a panoramic drive along Mahatma Gandhi Road ending with a stop at the local market, known as the Broadway. A walk through, this local market in the new town of Ernakulum, is an enriching experience. A surprise lurks at every corner and whether you like it or not, you are propelled forward in a sea of people, brightly coloured baubles and warm, comforting smells.
 
Photo stop at Shiva Temple.
 
St. George's Forane Church, locally known as Edapally Church is a Catholic pilgrimage church in Edapally Kochi, India. Asia's largest shrine to Saint George, about five million people visit it every year.
The church is thought to have been founded in 593 AD. It is regarded as one of the oldest churches in Kerala, after the seven churches founded by Thomas the Apostle in the first century AD. The church was originally dedicated to the Virgin Mary (Marth Mariam). In 1080, a new church was built adjacent to the old church. A nine-day festival is celebrated annually as part of the Feast of Saint George. The church, also a destination for non-Christians, attracts offerings of gold, chicken, and eggs.
Gaze at the ancient Chinese fishing nets that line the shores of Fort Cochin.
 
You’ll be fascinated by the Dhobi Khana, your next stop. Each morning washing from all over Kochi is brought here to be soaped, soaked, boiled, beaten, and thrashed. Stop here for photos that you’ll never be able to duplicate anywhere else.
 
 

HALF DAY HERITAGE TRAIL - A WALK THROUGH KOCHI — Optional Private Excursions
HALF DAY
HERITAGE TRAIL - A WALK THROUGH COCHIN
 
The best way to discover a new place is on foot; explore the streets of historic Fort Cochin and learn more about this town that is brimming with tales of maritime traders, who made Cochin the first European township in India.
 
A brief stop will be made at the Chinese fishing nets & St. Francis Church one of the area’s famous landmarks. These nets are set up on bamboo poles and held horizontally by huge mechanisms, which lower them into the sea. This is a unique symbol of the centuries-old influence on this coastline.
 
Princess Street is one of the oldest streets in Fort Kochi. The bungalows built in the European style and the other buildings of colonial architecture lining both sides of the street make it pretty as a picture.
    
The buildings here, with bronze stucco walls and peeling plaster, house antique stores, cigar shops, provisional stores, curio shops, kiosks, cafes, restaurants, art galleries and so on.  Some are being used as homestays for tourists.

For the best view of the street, head for the Loafer’s Corner, a popular meeting place at the confluence of Princess Street, Peter Celli Street and Bastion Street.
 
The plain, squat walls that surround the two-storey Mattancherry or “Dutch Palace”, do not offer a particularly appealing invitation, but you will be delighted once inside. Its wooden interior is decorated with a remarkable series of murals. In the royal bedroom alone are 45 paintings illustrating the Ramayana every inch of space covered with rich colour, and painstaking detail. There is also an interesting collection of Dutch maps of old Kochi, coronation robes belonging to the maharajas, royal palanquins, weapons and furniture.
 
Next. The Jew Town surrounding area called Jew Town is a fascinating mix of antique shops, warehouses, and spice auction rooms. Signs for N.X. Jacob’s tailor shop, and the offices of J.E. Cohen serve as reminders of a once thriving community now consisting of about seven families. You’ll have a chance to stroll here before returning to your ship.
 
 
Return back to pier
 

Hiroshima in southwestern Honshu has grown rapidly as a commercial city, and after 1868 it was developed as a military base. Every August 6 since 1947, thousands participate in multidenominational services in the Peace Memorial Park built on the site where the bomb exploded. After the war the city was largely rebuilt, and commercial activity gradually resumed. Visit the Peace Park but also explore Miyajima Island and its colourful shrines and mysterious forests.

Destination Guide

Korea's "museum without walls" is akin only to China in its depth and cultural wonder. From Pusan, you can journey to the ancient Silla capital of Kyongju, a dynasty which reigned in Korea for almost a thousand years. Today this small provincial town is virtually a museum without walls, dotted with many splendid ruins. Nearby, the forested mountains and valleys shelter hundreds of beautiful Buddhist shrines including the renowned Sokkuram Grotto, and Tongdosa and Pulguksa Temples. Pusan is also a shopper's mecca and Korea's vital southern link to Japanese and American trade.

Destination Guide

One of Japan's most historic cities, Nagasaki was a major port, trading with the Portuguese and Dutch in the 16th century. You can still see this colonial legacy in the brick buildings, old forts, canals and curving cobblestone streets. On a hill overlooking the bay, beautiful Glover Mansion, the setting of Madame Butterfly, is typical of the fine homes built by wealthy foreign residents. But Nagasaki's ties with Korea and China are equally apparent in the famous Chinese temple, a large Chinese colony and the numerous fine Korean and Chinese restaurants.

Destination Guide

Yokohama is located on the southern part of Honshu Island, on the western shore of Tokyo Bay, and is our gateway to Tokyo. It has excellent harbour facilities and is one of the leading ports industrial centres of Japan. There are numerous shrines, temples, and Christian churches and a number of beautiful parks. A small fishing village in 1854, Yokohama was almost totally destroyed in 1923 by an earthquake. Gradually reconstructed the city is now among the most modern in Japan. It was heavily bombed in 1945, during World War II.

Destination Guide