Osaka, Japan Port Reviews

Again lovely place to see, food streets vibrant and colourful ,Castle a bit congested, but worth the visit

I was last in Kyoto many years ago. Comparing then and now, it has gotten horribly commercial, and the crowds there (and in Osaka and Nara) were horrendous. It really takes away from the experience.

Not much to do there unless you did excursion which there was many and expensive. Couldn't read Trans because in Japanese

We docked in Kobe instead, about a 40 min drive to Osaka - one of the best

Interesting visit via "Highlights of Kyoto" Excursion. Lovely evening port departure offered city lights view from rear deck.

Visit to Kyoto was fantastic.

We liked Osaka and Kyoto. Book a Viator tour which was excellent.

The ship stayed 2 days in the Kyoto / Osaka port. We spent one day on the Osaka Castle tour. The outside of the castle was spectacular, however, inside the Castle looked like a modern museum anywhere in the world (the Ship's entertainment Director had warned us about that). It was still "Golden Week" so there were lots of crowds. The TV mini-series "Shogun" had just aired on FX a month before our cruise and much of that story takes place in and around Osaka. There was much information on the many battles and events shown in the Shogun TV Series. After our castle tour, we were taken to a shopping area and allowed to wander for an hour or two before the bus returned to the ship. On day 2, we visited the Osaka Aquarium - very impressive. The main tank was large enough to house 2 Whale Sharks and many large Sting Rays in addition to many, many other species of fish and sea mammals. There were also dedicated tanks of fish native to specific areas all over the world, including coral reefs with the native sea inhabitants. There is also a large shopping Mall located on the pier where we docked.

Took the tour to Big Buddha in Nara. Fascinating. Time in port was,way too short.

Got the train to Kyoto, really easy trip to do by yourself and the transport system is brilliant so we went to all the main bits