Luxury cruises
Kyoto, Hiroshima and the Inland Sea without the trains, hotels and luggage.
Japan by ship removes the two things that tire people on a land itinerary: moving luggage and checking in. You wake in Hiroshima, Kobe for Kyoto, Kanazawa or Busan in Korea, and your suite comes with you. Cherry blossom and autumn colour sailings are the prizes and sell early.
Best for couples and adult family groups. We add Tokyo and Kyoto hotel nights so the great cities get the time they need.
Highlights
Planning figure for a typical week in a veranda suite. Final price depends on sailing date, ship, suite and availability.
Start PlanningAdult families and teenagers who love Japan; not a young-children itinerary.
Excellent: paced, cultural, and spared the rail-and-luggage routine.
Best cruise lines here
Butler-served suites, serious destinations, and one of the strongest expedition fleets afloat.
The most inclusive fare at sea, on all-suite ships that take elegance seriously.
Small, sociable, quietly luxurious ships, with a sister expedition fleet.
Food-led, country-club casual ships of around 670 to 1,200 guests at an accessible luxury price.
Calm, adults-only ships with Scandinavian design and an excursion included in every port.
How to choose
Derived from our own ratings of the lines above, not from brochures.
Silversea and Seabourn are small-ship; Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Oceania Cruises and Viking are mid-size. Smaller ships reach the smaller harbours in Japan; larger ones carry more for children and more dining choice.
Oceania Cruises and Viking keep it relaxed; Regent Seven Seas Cruises leans formal and traditional. Ask us which suits the party before anything else.
Seabourn, Oceania Cruises and Viking are effectively adults-only. Children's facilities vary more than brochures suggest; we will say which ships really have them.
Silversea, Oceania Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Seabourn lead on food in our experience of Japan sailings.
Land & sea
A long flight deserves a soft landing. We build the nights before embarkation and after disembarkation into the same plan: the hotel, the transfers, a day or two on land, all booked by the same specialist.
Ryokan nights and slower cities, planned around the trains.
A restored townhouse with a courtyard garden.
A private onsen bath and a kaiseki dinner.
Tokyo, a ryokan in the hills, and Kyoto with mornings left open.
Connecting suites, different activity levels, dining that works for everyone, and transfers that suit grandparents and toddlers alike. The best family suites go first, so start early.
Good to know
It depends on the party. For grandparents and anyone tired of packing, the ship wins. For travellers who want days inland in Kyoto, Hakone or the Alps, we combine a shorter cruise with hotel nights, or suggest a land journey instead.
Don't spend thirty hours comparing forty ships, cabins, dates, flights and hotels. Give us five minutes and we'll narrow it down to what is worth considering.