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The Inland Sea of Japan & South Korea

Program Overview

A mysterious island nation of unsurpassed natural beauty and customs, Japan and its fascinating culture are laden with ancient spiritual rituals and rich, storied tradition. This 13-day, 12-night land and sea voyage showcases sites from the ethereal temples, jewel box pagodas and shogun castles of Kyoto to the latticed merchant houses of Hagi’s samurai district. On a specially arranged excursion to Miyajima's Itsukushima Shrine, marvel at its iconic "floating" Torii gate on the Seto Inland Sea. Explore seven different UNESCO World Heritage sites in two countries. Discover the Inland Sea of Japan and South Korea, featuring an 8-night, all‑inclusive cruise on the deluxe expedition small ship Heritage Adventurer. Emmy Award‑winning international news correspondent Jim Laurie will join us as guest speaker, sharing insights about this remarkable region on a journey to remember! Enhance your incredible visit with a Pre-Tour extension in Tokyo and/or a Post-Tour extension in Osaka.

Program Details

April 13 to 25, 2025 (Heritage Adventurer)
From approximately $7,895 plus air View Terms & Conditions

• Exclusive land and cruise journey introduces you to the cultural highlights of Japan plus historic sites in South Korea.
• Created in our tradition of innovative programming and educational travel.
• Access to ports unavailable to larger vessels and included excursions throughout your program.
• Specially arranged excursion to Miyajima's Itsukushima Shrine to see its iconic "floating" Torii gate on the Seto Inland Sea.
• Distinguished guest speaker Jim Laurie, former NBC News Tokyo bureau chief.
• Seven UNESCO World Heritage sites:
Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto; Shirakawa-go; Town of Hagi; Hiroshima Peace Memorial; Itsukushima Shinto Shrine in Japan; Bulguksa Temple and Gyeongju Historic Areas in South Korea.
• Tokyo Pre-Tour Extension and Osaka Post‑Tour Extenion.

Day 1 Depart home city

Day 2 Osaka, Japan/Kyoto

Day 3 Kyoto

Day 4 Kyoto

Day 5 Kyoto/Kanazawa/Embark Heritage Adventurer

Day 6 Kanazawa/Shirakawa-go

Day 7 Sakaiminato/Matsue

Day 8 Hagi

Day 9 Busan, South Korea

Day 10 Hiroshima, Japan

Day 11 Hiroshima/Miyajima

Day 12 Uno Ko

Day 13 Osaka/Disembark/Return to home city

Heritage Adventurer

Deluxe Expedition Small Ship

Built for adventure in 1991 at Finland’s Rauma shipyard and specifically designed for polar exploration, Heritage Adventurer boasts an impressive history of polar and remote region exploration. Originally designed to accommodate 184 guests, we now welcome only 140 expeditioners on board, to create a spacious, comfortable experience with exceptional, personalized service synonymous with the Heritage company name.

Learn more about the Heritage Adventurer >

Tokyo Pre-Tour Extension

Pass through Tokyo’s Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate) to visit the seventh-century Senso-ji Temple. Tour the Tokyo National Museum, one of the largest art museums in the world. Enjoy a full‑day excursion to Hakone, home to majestic Mount Fuji, and a journey aboard the memorably high‑speed Shinkansen, or bullet train.

Osaka Post-Tour Extension

This vibrant, bustling port city is the second largest in Japan. Visit the Osaka History Museum, with its fascinating exhibits and lovely views of Osaka Castle. Enjoy an excursion to the tranquil city of Nara. Visit the iconic Horyu‑ji, one of the world’s oldest wooden structures, and Todai-ji, with its imposing 50-foot bronze Buddha.

The Optional Extensions are available at additional cost. Details will be provided with your reservation confirmation.


Jim Laurie

Jim Laurie is a distinguished international broadcaster, writer and media consultant who has witnessed many defining moments in Asia’s history for over 50 years. He began covering Indochina for NBC News in 1972 and became the only American network correspondent to witness the fall of Saigon to the North Vietnamese in 1975. Laurie's memoir of his early days in Vietnam and Cambodia, "The Last Helicopter: Two Lives in Indochina" was published in April 2020. He is the recipient of a Peabody Award, two Emmy Awards and an Amnesty International Award and has also co-produced, written and directed several television documentaries.

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Program Itinerary

Day 1 Depart home city

Depart for Osaka, Japan. Please check your bags from your gateway city to your arrival city.

Day 2 Osaka, Japan/Kyoto

Arrive at Kansai International Airport or Osaka Itami International Airport. Transfer to the Kyoto Hotel Okura.

Your first evening in Kyoto is at leisure to explore on your own. Enjoy a walk through the city that is the cultural heart of Japan. Your hotel is ideally located near many restaurants, shops and other attractions. Stop by the Gohagan Hospitality Desk for suggestions and inspiration.

Day 3 Kyoto

Visit the iconic temples of Ryoan-ji and Kinkaku-ji this morning. Ryoan-ji is a Zen Buddhist temple with a world-famous rock garden. Continue to Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion. The top two stories of this stunning Zen temple are covered in gold leaf.  These two temples, along with the temples you will visit tomorrow, are on the UNESCO World Heritage list as part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto.

 The rest of the afternoon is free to explore Kyoto on your own. You may wish to take a stroll through Nishiki Market, home to some 130 vendors. Kyoto residents have been shopping at this illustrious market for four centuries. Not only can you find fresh fish, tsukemono (the pickles that accompany nearly every Japanese meal), sake, seasonings and other foods and condiments, but there are shops that specialize in chopsticks, cookware, pottery, hand fans and more. There also are several restaurants, where you can enjoy the traditional flavors of Kyoto. Stop by the Gohagan Hospitality Desk for sightseeing and dining suggestions.

 Tonight, join your fellow passengers for a Welcome Reception, followed by dinner on your own.

Day 4 Kyoto

First built 14 years before Kyoto was selected in 794 as the capital of Japan, Kiyomizu-dera looks over the city from its perch on the eastern hills. Many people gather on the temple’s large terrace, noted for being built without any nails, to gaze at the delicate cherry blossoms in the spring and colorful maple leaves in the autumn. After touring the temple, take a walk through the surrounding charming neighborhood, where the streets are lined with traditional shops and restaurants.

  Visit Nijo-jo, a castle built by Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first ruler of the Tokugawa shogunate, in 1603. One of the distinguishing features of the castle are its nightingale floors, which squeak when walked upon. This served as an alarm system to alert the occupants of intruders. The castle is regarded as a top example of samurai residential architecture.

 

 

Day 5 Kyoto/Kanazawa/Embark Adventurer

Take a private tour of Kanazawa and its main highlights. Visit two fascinating districts of the city. Higashi Chaya is an area known for its teahouses where geishas entertain with song and dance performances (Chaya means teahouse). The Nagamachi Samurai district is located outside Kanazawa Castle and traditionally housed the samurais. Notice the distinctive narrow lanes with private gates, earthen walls and canals that characterize this neighborhood. Finally, stroll through the beautiful Kenrokuen Garden, one of Japan’s top three landscape gardens. The grounds were formerly the outer garden of the Kanazawa Castle and took two centuries to create. Look for the beautiful cherry blossoms on the grounds. We’ll have lunch today while touring Kanazawa.

Transfer to the Heritage Adventurer for embarkation. Shortly after, gather for a welcome briefing and a safety drill.

Join your fellow passengers for a Captain’s Welcome Reception, followed by dinner.

Day 6 Kanazawa/Shirakawa-go

Nestled in a remote valley and flanked by the mountains of Gifu, Shirakawa-go is an isolated settlement. This UNESCO World Heritage site is famous for its traditional farmhouses, some dating back 250 years. The heavily forested region receives considerable snowfall in the winter, and the farmhouses need roofs that will easily shed the high volume of snow. Their distinctive architectural style, developed over many generations, boasts steep, thatched roofs, made without nails. The steeply pitched roofs shed the snow, and as an added bonus, they provide a large attic space used for cultivating silkworms.

Return to the ship to savor a delectable dinner each night on board.

Day 7 Sakaiminato/Matsue

Visit the Adachi Museum, which has a large collection of 20th-century art and a garden that has been selected as the best garden in Japan each year since 2003 by the Journal of Japanese Gardening. Stop at the village of Matsue for an opportunity to see Matsue-jo, one of Japan’s 12 original castles that has not been damaged or destroyed and rebuilt, and its moat. It is often called the “black castle” because of its dark-tiled roof and predominantly dark exterior.

Day 8 Hagi

Explore Hagi, a well-preserved castle town that maintained its feudal ambience despite the industrial revolution ushered in by the Meiji Restoration, the period of Westernization in the second half of the 18th century. For this reason, the town is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Visit Toko-ji, a complex of Zen Buddhist temples. The forested compound features beautiful wooden temples and a cemetery with the graves of half of the daimyo (lords) of the Mori feudal clan, who ruled this region (the present-day Yamaguchi Prefecture) from Hagi. The Mori daimyo were among the most powerful in Japan. Continue to Kikuyake, the home of a wealthy merchant family. During a tour of the home and the grounds, learn about the history of the Kikuya family and admire the details of a patrician home. The excursion also includes a visit to the Hagi Uragami Museum, which has an impressive collection of woodblock prints by master artists Hokusai and Hiroshige.

Day 9 Busan, South Korea/Gyeongjyu

Spend the day getting acquainted with the ancient capital of Gyeongju, seat of the Silla Dynasty for nearly 900 years. The Gyeongju Historic Areas—comprised of pagodas, sculptures, tumuli and ruins of temples and palaces—are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. During your excursion, visit Bulguksa Temple, another UNESCO-inscribed site, which is the center of Korea’s Buddhist culture. Admire the wooden buildings sitting on stone terraces. The temple’s design is considered a masterpiece not only of Korean Buddhist architecture, but also of secular architecture.

Tour the Gyeongju National Museum, boasting many precious archaeological artifacts, including gold jewelry, pottery, art and more. Stop for lunch, where you’ll enjoy a performance of traditional music and dance. The tour concludes at Tumuli Park, part of the Gyeongju Historic Areas, and home to nearly two dozen royal tumuli, or burial mounds. Visit a fifth-century tomb, named Cheonmachong (Heavenly Horse) Tomb after a leather ceremonial saddle found during the tomb’s excavation, and see many of the artifacts that were found inside.

Day 10 Hiroshima, Japan

Visit Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and learn about the events of August 6, 1945, when the United States dropped an atomic bomb during World War II. See the iconic domed Peace Memorial—the only building that withstood the blast— now a UNESCO World Heritage site. Tour the Peace Memorial Museum to learn more about the human toll caused by the events of that day. Today’s visit will include a talk with the family member of a Hiroshima survivor.

Day 11 Hiroshima/Miyajima

Take a walking excursion to one of Japan’s most iconic sites, the Itsukushima Shrine. The famous imposing, vermilion Torii gate rises 48 feet above the surface of the Seto Inland Sea. Tour this UNESCO-listed shrine, which was built in 593 B.C. to honor Empress Suiko in the first year of her reign.

Day 12 Uno Ko

Stroll through a charming 17th-century neighborhood in the city of Kurashiki. The Bikan District is the old merchant quarter, where white-walled homes, shops and storehouses preserve the ambiance of the affluent years of an important trading port on the Kurashiki River.

Return to the ship for lunch.

Visit the tranquil Koraku-en garden in the heart of Okayama. Built over several years beginning in the late 1600s, the garden was a retreat for the daimyo, the feudal lords. Vast lawns surround ponds and small pools of water. Admire the various pavilions and buildings interspersed around the garden. This garden is iconic and recognized throughout Japan as one of the top three parks in the country. It is located just beside Okayama Castle, which can be seen from the garden as “borrowed scenery.”

Join your fellow passengers for a Farewell Reception and Dinner, and raise a glass to your amazing adventure!