Experience Japan With Regent Seven Seas Cruises

Japan is an exotic melting pot of extraordinary rituals and time-honoured traditions that give it a delicate aura quite unlike anywhere else.

Having been strictly off-bounds during the Covid pandemic, the Land of the Rising Sun is now enjoying a new dawn with tourists, and cruise ships, flocking back and, as I witnessed on a voyage with Regent Seven Seas Cruises, they are being welcomed with open arms.

During a sailing from Tokyo aboard the 746-passenger Seven Seas Explorer, our arrival at ports such as Nagoya and Beppu was enthusiastically marked with official welcome delegations of dancing troupes and brass bands accompanied, in some cases, by a few curious locals too.

Once ashore, it was clear from numerous signs that social distancing was still recommended, as was regular hand-washing, with most locals and officials still wearing facemasks, but life was clearly back to normal.

Yet the distinctive flavour of Japanese society, far removed from Western lifestyles, adds a unique twist to holidays here. If you’re yearning for a culture shock, then Japan is the place to find it.

Even as we flew into the capital Tokyo, it was fascinating to witness the orderliness of this society with groups of workers in identikit smart black suits walking purposefully through immaculate streets where there was no trace of litter or the Western malaise of graffiti.

An introductory city bus tour had me gasping in amazement, not just at the sight of Tokyo’s graceful parliament building and lofty Tokyo Tower, topping 1,000ft, but at the pristine roads – silky smooth lines of tarmac with impeccably-painted traffic markings and no dreaded potholes in sight.

But, of course, there’s more to Japanese culture than this and the beauty of this cruise was that we could dip into it as much as we liked.

At the spa city of Beppu, where hot springs and natural hot air vents dotting the streets sent thick white plumes of steam curling upwards into the sky, we stripped off to try the thermal waters in one of the numerous “onsen” bathhouses.

By joining locals to savour a ritual dating back hundreds of years, we had to abide by the strict rules of no tattoos and no clothes. Though as facilities were segregated according to sex that saved the blushes of shy bathers unused to baring all.

For 90 minutes or so, we hopped between numerous pools of varying temperatures immersing ourselves in the steamy waters until I felt as though I was about to boil over and retreated to the pretty outdoor rockpools to cool down in the fresh air.

Visiting so many points along Japan’s coast highlighted this country’s contradictory balance of old and new, where its urbanised first-world society is underpinned by strict rituals and etiquette shaped over hundreds of years.

Behind the high-rises and modernist architecture dominating many of the port cities were Shinto shrines, castles and Buddhist temples with accompanying tales of warriors and all-powerful shogun rulers.

Such a human element brings Japanese culture alive, as we discovered when venturing behind Nagoya’s modern face to the city’s third-century Astuta Shrine. Interesting though this was, the highlight was seeing a young couple who had obviously just married, beautifully attired in ritual wedding kimonos as they posed for their wedding photos.

The city of Kyoto was another case in point where we spent an idyllic hour meandering between the distinctive pagodas and prayer halls of the Kiyomizudera temple to a soundtrack of tolling bells and chanting Buddhist monks.

All around us were crowds of Asian visitors, many strikingly dressed in beautiful kimonos, posing for numerous selfies against the ornate backdrop.

But this city, Japan’s third-largest, is also regarded as the home of the country’s intriguing geisha culture, principally found in the Gion district whose narrow streets are home to the traditional tea houses where visitors are entertained by these enigmatic young women.

I was desperate to see one, and wandered the streets and alleyways in hopeful anticipation. Finally, we were rewarded as a geisha in her signature elaborate kimono and snow-white face walked towards us. Camera-phones at the ready, we snapped away as she averted her eyes and whisked past on her way to work in one of the tea houses.

Back on Seven Seas Explorer, I couldn’t resist watching Memoirs of a Geisha after finding it on our in-room TV. Settling down to spend an evening watching it was no hardship amid the sumptuous furnishings of our suite that reflected the lavish opulence running throughout the ship.

This had been evident from the moment I stepped into the atrium of Seven Seas Explorer with its grand dual staircases sweeping upwards under a vast glittering chandelier. Everywhere I looked, acres of marble and granite cloaked floors, while exquisite Murano glass sculptures clung to walls and ceilings, and groaned with hundreds of crystal chandeliers.

It was like staying in a very exclusive boutique hotel, complemented by the impressively intuitive service of the crew who score top marks for attentiveness.

With free drinks (Regent is famous for being ultra all-inclusive where flights, hotel stays and excursions are covered by the price) champagne became my tipple of choice as I enjoyed superb dining in the main Compass Rose restaurant and a clutch of speciality haunts, most notably the Asian fusion Pacific Rim where the duck and watermelon salad and miso-glazed seabass were heaven on a plate.

Another treat was daily afternoon tea to the melodious notes of the piano, though on sunny days, relaxing on the squashy sunbeds around the pool or curling up on one of the Balinese pods proved the perfect way to relax after exploring ashore.

Such home comforts, and on such an opulent scale, made taking a luxury cruise to Japan on-board Seven Seas Explorer the perfect partner for discovering this intoxicating country.