S$1,178

Embarkation

Leisure at Sea

For most travelers, Nagasaki is a symbol of the horror and the inhumanity of war. An estimated 75,000 people perished in 1945 when the city became the second target of a nuclear attack. Today, Nagasaki's Peace Park and Atomic Bomb Museum draw visitors from around the world. But this beautiful city on Kyushu offers other sights. Often described as the San Francisco of Japan, the city occupies verdant hills surrounded by a deep-water bay. For three centuries, Nagasaki was Japan's sole window on the world. The city is also celebrated as the setting for Puccini's opera "Madame Butterfly."

Seogwipo is the second-largest city on Jeju Island, settled on a rocky volcanic coastline in the southern part of Jeju Province, South Korea. In July 2006, Seogwipo's boundaries were expanded to include the entire southern half of Jeju island. Lying off the south coast of Korea, Jeju-do is the warmest and wettest place in the entire country. The island is at its most beautiful in spring when the canola flower blooms in a riot of delicate colours and the wooded areas display the most fascinating shades of green. The seasons determine the changing hues of color through the island. In the autumn the color that dominates is brown and orange due to the falling leaves, in summer the aqua blue waters of the sea and golden beaches take over as in spring the brilliant yellow flowers cover the landscape. Jeju Island, also known as the "Island of the Gods," is a popular vacation spot for Koreans and many Japanese. The island's mixture of volcanic rock, frequent rains, and temperate climate, make it very similar to the Hawaiian Islands in the U.S. The island offers visitors a wide range of activities: hiking on Halla-san (South Korea's highest peak), catching sunrises and sunsets over the ocean, viewing majestic waterfalls, riding horses, or just lying around on the sandy beaches. One of the most outstanding features of the island is a regular maze of tunnels, caves and pillars formed by the cooling of lava flows from ancient volcanoes. Jeju-do is basically an island composed of extinct volcanoes formed by volcanic matter such as basalt and trachyte and layered with sedimentary rock. It still has a volcano- an extinct one, called Mt Hallasan, which, at 1950 m also doubles up as the island's main mountain.

From the 12th century to the Meiji Restoration of 1868, Kagoshima was the chief stronghold of the mighty Shimazu clan. The city lies at the top of the Satsuma Peninsula, a mountainous, geothermal wonderland of hot springs and geysers. The area is also rich in modern Japanese history: Saigo Takamori and the Satsuma samurai were leaders of the Meiji Restoration that toppled the shogun and restored the Emperor to power in 1868. In 1877, dissatisfied with the direction of the new government, Saigo led the Satsuma Rebellion, which ended in his death and the final defeat of the samurai. The symbol of Kagoshima is Sakura Jima - the volcanic island that sits just offshore. The volcano has erupted over 30 times in recorded history.

Leisure at Sea

A mesmerizing landscape, a revered cultural history, and Japan's most sacred volcano are just a few of the many delights beckoning you to come and explore this ancient city. While Shimizu may have the reputation as being bustling and modern, its cultural and spiritual side is on display in the form of ancient and enthralling shrines. Of course, it may be the sacred and snow-capped Mount Fuji that garners the most attention. Towering over the region at approximately 12,388 feet above sea level, the active volcano, designated a "place and source of artistic inspiration" by UNESCO is just one of the many unforgettable adventures Shimizu inspires.

Disembarkation.