From Hong Kong to Yokohama (Tokyo) · Asia · 11 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.
Hong Kong is a fantastic place to begin or end a cruise, a striking mix of ancient and modern, Chinese and British, and there is a lot more to the city than just skyscrapers and high finance. On Hong Kong Island itself you'll find the bustling financial centre of Central district, the more traditionally Chinese Western district and the shops of Causeway Bay, while on the mainland Kowloon Peninsula the district of Tsim Sha Tsui is where most of Hong Kong's best hotels are located, and the atmospheric markets of Mong Kok are just to the north.
Keelung is a fairly unremarkable port city close to Taipei, Taiwan’s capital. Taipei draws on an interesting mix of Chinese, Japanese and Western influences, and is home to attractive temples, a burgeoning street food scene and Taipei 101, which was the world's tallest building until it was eclipsed by Dubai's Burj Khalifa in 2010.
Busan is South Korea’s second biggest city and one of the world’s busiest container ports, but it’s an easygoing place with a discernibly different character to Seoul. Haeundae beach is a popular summer holiday destination for Koreans, while the pungent Jagalchi market sells every type of fish and sea creature imaginable.
Three days after Hiroshima was flattened by an atomic bomb, Nagasaki suffered the same horrifying fate. The reconstruction of both cities has been quite extraordinary; Nagasaki today is a vibrant, cosmopolitan place, with a fascinating history that goes back a lot further than 1945.
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.
Osaka, Japan’s third largest city, is a pulsating commercial hub, famous for its food, and the cityscape rivals Tokyo for neon-lit futurism. If you need respite from the urban sprawl seek out Osaka Castle and the surrounding Nishinomaru Garden, a particularly pretty spot during the cherry blossom season.
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.
