From Incheon (Seoul) to Yokohama (Tokyo) · Asia · 10 nights
Purpose built for Oceania and bursting with style, sister ships Marina & Riviera are the perfect combination: small enough to be friendly and large enough to offer great facilities.
Above all, we love the fact that these ships are packed full of
fabulous stuff – loads of amazing dining options, a collection of
amazing artworks, wonderful learning opportunities and great
accommodation. All of this is combined with the Oceania signatures:
well-designed port intensive itineraries, great food, and a relaxed
ambience.
Incheon serves as a transport hub for neighbouring Seoul, with a cruise terminal and the country's main airport. Seoul is a captivating capital city, a dynamic metropolis where you can still find tea shops and temples amongst the skyscrapers and neon signs. The culinary scene here is superb, from mouthwatering street food to world class haute cuisine, and the excellent public transport system makes it easy to get around. Incheon itself also has some interesting history; it was here, in 1950, that UN Forces launched a daring raid behind enemy lines in the early stages of the Korean War, and halted the North's seemingly inexorable advance.
Booming Shanghai has long been China’s most outward-looking, cosmopolitan city, as evidenced by the fascinating mixture of European and Asian architecture. The Bund, a riverfront promenade flanked by grand colonial era buildings, is the city's most famous thoroughfare, while the Pudong financial district lights up the city skyline at night with its futuristic towers.
The friendly southern Japanese city of Kagoshima enjoys a balmy climate, and sits just across the bay from the very active Sakurajima volcano, which erupts so regularly that an ‘ash forecast’ is included in local weather reports.
Steam rises over the spa town of Beppu, home to numerous onsen (hot springs) and the surreal red waters of the macabre-sounding ‘blood pond hell’. Beppu is also close to Mount Aso, the largest active volcano in Japan, and the ancient temples of the Kunisaki Peninsula.
On 6 August 1945 the world witnessed the terrifying power of nuclear weapons for the first time, unleashed on the unsuspecting Japanese city of Hiroshima. The modern city's sobering Peace Memorial Park commemorates that fateful day, which left more than 140,000 dead.
The small, laid back city of Kochi is situated on the south coast of Shikoku island, an important place of pilgrimage for Japanese Buddhists. Three of the 88 temples on the pilgrimage route are in Kochi, and the city is also known for its elegant 17th century hilltop castle.
Nagoya is Japan’s fourth largest city, though it remains well off the radar of most tourists, overshadowed by nearby Tokyo and Kyoto. The city is an important manufacturing hub, home to companies including Toyota and Lexus, and sights include a fascinating railway museum featuring maglev and ‘shinkansen’ bullet trains.
In a state of constant renewal and forever looking to the future, densely populated Tokyo is a dazzling introduction to Japan and its utterly unique culture. With more neon than Las Vegas and more Michelin stars than Paris, it’s a real assault on the senses.
