North Asia 15-nights
Silver Shadow

As a modern city Tokyo, the capital of Japan, could be described as too good to be true. People dress in the latest fashions and experiment with the latest technologies, excellent restaurants serve up delicious food of all varieties, and the trendiest nightclubs keep things hopping. The public transport system is punctual and one of the most efficient in the world; and shops and vending machines provide necessities and luxuries both day and night. All this is achieved in a city that is home to more than 13 million people, amid the confusion of bumper-to-bumper traffic, flickering neon signs and a crush of humanity packing subways and sidewalks. In the crush and rush Tokyo remains, remarkably, one of the world’s safest cities with a low crime rate and local people who are generally only too willing to spare the time and effort to assist a stranger.

With such a dense population, Tokyo is an urban maze of buildings that jostle for space in an unplanned jumble of grey concrete, which makes parts of it drab. The city fills a huge area that seems to go on forever, with no specific city centre, but rather a succession of districts grouped together. In the back streets, where timber houses line narrow lanes, there are reminders that this is exotic Japan: kimono-clad women prune bonsai trees and colourful neighbourhood festivals take place.

The city is an exuberant experience for visitors. It is home to many museums and is the largest repository of Japanese art in the world. Then, of course, it would take forever to exhaust the shopping possibilities in this megalopolis. The more one explores Tokyo the more it becomes obvious that one cannot judge a book by its cover. Inside the modern buildings the cultural life of Japan is very much alive and well. Interiors reflect the tranquil minimalist Asian style and taste of Japan.

Enjoy this day at sea as you travel to your next port of call. This is an opportunity to swim, catch some sun on deck or take advantage of the many activities that are onboard your ship. Eat heartily, take a nap and get ready for the next port of call ! This is what makes cruising so great.

Japan’s third largest city, the industrial metropolis of Osaka lies just 26 miles (42km) south of Kyoto. Osaka is an ancient city, powerful in the days of the feudal lords and samurai. Now the city is a commercial hub, focused on making money and having a good time: it has a reputation in Japan as one of the best places to eat, drink and be merry.

It is worthwhile visiting the city just to see the magnificent Osaka Castle. Osaka’s castle dates back to the 16th century, built by the powerful lord Hideyoshi Toyotomi. It was rebuilt following World War II, renovated in 1997, and is today a national treasure. The city has a number of other attractions, including museums dedicated to science, wood-block printing, peace, and even ramen! There are also a number of beautiful temples, and the famous Bunraku Puppet Theatre. Other attractions in Osaka include an impressive aquarium and Universal Studios Japan, a theme park focusing on the American movie industry.

Osaka offers many of the same hardcore shopping opportunities that Japan’s other major metropolises do, with the most famous shopping district, Shinsaibashi, offering a mixture of department stores, fashionable boutiques, and Western stores. Nipponbashi is the best place to go for electronics.

Osaka has a distinct cuisine, putting its unique stamp on everything from sushi to Okonomiyaki (DIY-style curbside fare). After dinner, head out for some fun in one of the karaoke bars. The liveliest nightlife is found in Dotombori.

Tragedy has turned Hiroshima, the main city of the Chugoku Region on Japan’s main island of Honshu, into the country’s most famous tourist attraction. On 6 August 1945 the unfortunate city became the first ever target of an atomic bomb. Early in the morning three United States B-29 bombers flew in from the northeast; one dropped its deadly ordnance over the centre of the city, leaving a mushroom cloud that darkened the sky while more than 140,000 civilians died. Today millions of visitors make a pilgrimage to Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park to pay tribute to the victims, but also to marvel at the lively modern city that has overcome its tragedy to become the thriving home of more than a million people. Not surprisingly the city has become vehemently engaged in the promotion of peace, and American visitors are welcomed with open arms along with foreigners of all other nationalities. Visitors are drawn mainly to the Peace Memorial Park and its museum, but the rebuilt city is an attractive place to visit in its own right, criss-crossed by rivers and wide avenues and containing several good museums. Nearby are some of Japan’s most scenic excursion destinations, making Hiroshima a good base for explorations into the countryside.

Enjoy this day at sea as you travel to your next port of call. This is an opportunity to swim, catch some sun on deck or take advantage of the many activities that are onboard your ship. Eat heartily, take a nap and get ready for the next port of call ! This is what makes cruising so great.

Located in northeast China on the Gulf of Bo Hai, southeast of Beijing. It is a major industrial port for China.

Enjoy this day at sea as you travel to your next port of call. This is an opportunity to swim, catch some sun on deck or take advantage of the many activities that are onboard your ship. Eat heartily, take a nap and get ready for the next port of call ! This is what makes cruising so great.

Shanghai, home to about 24 million people, is China’s largest city and is situated in the centre of the coastline where the Yangtze River flows through its delta into the East China Sea. The name of the city means ‘on the sea’, and most of it (including Chongming Island) is only a few metres above sea level, criss-crossed by a maze of picturesque natural waterways.

Shanghai is China’s industrial and commercial capital. It is a busy seaport, a science and technology centre, and has a vibrant business community. Visitors don’t generally come to Shanghai for its scenic beauty or history but those who arrive on business can find plenty of off-duty entertainment and relaxation, and the city is drawing increasing numbers of tourists with its neon cityscape, exotic nightlife and booming shopping scene. Just walking the busy streets and soaking up the vibrant atmosphere is worthwhile, and there are some temples and gardens to visit along with a handful of excellent museums.

This great cosmopolitan metropolis has a colourful colonial background, which has had the edge rubbed off of it during half a century of Communist rule. It was the first Chinese coastal port to be opened to Western trade in 1843, resulting in an influx of British, French and American diplomats and business interests, each of which established their own independent enclaves. In the 1920s and 30s, Shanghai was regarded as a glamorous, decadent and fashionable place to visit. It all ended with World War II and the coming to power of the Communist party but, since the early 1990s, a dramatic re-building programme has been underway to put Shanghai back on the map as a major international finance and trade centre. The World Financial Centre, completed in 2008, is one of the tallest buildings on Earth and symbolic of this glitzy rejuvenation.

Enjoy this day at sea as you travel to your next port of call. This is an opportunity to swim, catch some sun on deck or take advantage of the many activities that are onboard your ship. Eat heartily, take a nap and get ready for the next port of call ! This is what makes cruising so great.

The challenge of a holiday in Hong Kong is to have enough time to fit in all the aspects of this exciting city of contrasts. There are some things not to be missed during a Hong Kong holiday, and these include the food, the superlative shopping, a cruise to the outlying islands, and spending some quiet moments in the natural setting of a peaceful park. There is nowhere on earth quite like Hong Kong, which is reason enough for anyone to travel here.

Hong Kong perches on the edge of mainland China, occupying an anomalous position as a territory straddling two worlds. Since the handover by the British in 1997 Hong Kong has become a ‘Special Administrative Region of China’ and no longer a subject of colonial sovereignty. Past and present fuse in Hong Kong to create a capitalist utopia embedded within the world’s largest Communist country.

Hong Kong offers a dense concentration of stores and shopping malls with a cross-pollinated, cosmopolitan culture that embraces the Chinese and British cuisines with equal enthusiasm. It is the perfect gateway for travellers to Southeast Asia and China, providing a smooth transition from west to east. As one of the key economies of the Pacific Rim, Hong Kong Island showcases a gleaming landscape of skyscrapers and attracts droves of business travellers.

The city of Hong Kong, despite its surviving traditional enclaves, feels delightfully futuristic; the glittering night-time skyline is one of the most iconic in the world. It is a booming business hub, a fashion centre and a celebrated foodie destination and the diversity of its population and cultural influences adds hugely to its unique appeal. In addition to all its impressive sightseeing attractions travellers will be happy to discover just how well everything seems to work in Hong Kong; most notably, the efficient transport system makes getting around a pleasure.