Sea of Japan Spring Flowers
Diamond Princess Cruise Review
Contributor Level:
Second Mate
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 8
Helpful Votes: 279
9 Night Sea Of Japan Spring Flowers (Tokyo Roundtrip)
Sail date: April 11, 2023
Ship: Diamond Princess
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: A718
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 1 year ago
Review summary
Overall, a wonderful experience. The itinerary was great, and we enjoyed all of the ports and excursions. We felt blessed to see peak sakura blooms at Hirosaki Castle in Aomori, and wandering Kanazawa on our own was a highlight. The send-offs and performances from the locals at each port during sailaways are not to be missed. Really, truly lovely and touching. You must make sure to be out on deck, preferably the promenade, when leaving each port in Japan. A dining highlight onboard was the Kai Sushi restaurant (surcharge). The sushi was delicious and the service very good. The set-course menu was more than worth it. We dined there twice as we enjoyed it so much more than the main dining room experience. If Sakata is on your itinerary, try some ramen from one of the food trucks at the pier before getting back on the ship. We liked the one with shrimp wontons best. A treat!Embarkation
Embarkation could have been improved. Our sailing did not board at the main passenger terminal in Yokohama as usual but rather at the pier across the bay. Princess provided a free shuttle but did not provide good information/instructions about where to board the shuttle. Luckily, we found info from other cruisers and were able to locate the shuttle. But we later met a group of ladies that ended up having to take a taxi as they couldn't locate the shuttle bus stop.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
We found the dining room to be disorganized and poorly run for dinner. Although we had a standing reservation in the International Dining Room for the same time every evening, we had to wait to be seated each time. Sometimes the wait was 15 minutes or more. There was always a queue each night. Most folks were patient, like us, but there were some groups that got argumentative. I felt very badly for the poor hostess. This had not been our experience at all a few months prior on the Sapphire Princess, where we were seated right away each night. Also, we were given a different server each night, and the service was very inconsistent. This was true both in terms of server quality and service pacing. We had some great servers, and others were just okay. Some nights, we got our courses speedily, and on other nights it seemed to take forever. On formal night, we were basically rushed out as they had a backlog of folks waiting to get in.
Food quality was OK, but not as good as on the Sapphire Princess. A particular oddity and disappointment were the hash browns in the buffet for breakfast: they were always kind of undercooked and/or stale tasting.
Onboard Activities
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
The ship definitely needs some cosmetic improvements in the cabins. I found our bathroom unpleasant due to a discolored toilet seat. It was kept clean by the steward, though. Our desk chair had marked-up upholstery as well. Since this was a port-intensive itinerary, the cabin condition didn't matter as much, but if had we been on the ship itself more, I probably would have asked the steward to change out our toilet seat and desk chair.
Ship tip
Do not miss the send-offs and performances from the locals at each port during sailaways! Make sure to be out on deck, preferably the promenade, when leaving each port in Japan.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
SAKATA, JAPAN
Extremely welcoming port, with a small-town feel. The weather was poor the day we visited, but the locals still set up a reception area at the pier for us, with a craft market and food trucks with the local specialty ramen to try. We liked the red truck best, the one with the shrimp wonton ramen. Delicious on a cool, windy, and rainy day. There were even tents with tables set up to eat.
They gave us a great send-off, probably our favorite of the trip, with lots of dancers and performers, even in the poor weather.
We visited Kamo Aquarium on our tour, which has an impressive collection of jellyfish. The drive along the coast to reach the aquarium was also scenic. After the aquarium, we also stopped at a local park, which was having a small cherry blossom festival at the time, with food vendors. Cute place but not super memorable. We also visited the vintage rice warehouses, which are picturesque but not super exciting, in my opinion. There was a nice shop there with lots of local products, though.
Sakaiminato, Japan
We did a tour that packed a lot into one day here:
We started at the Adachi Museum of Art, which also has immaculate gardens to view (but you can't enter them).
We visited Matsue Castle and were able to climb the (many) steep steps to the top.
We went to a lovely garden, Yuushien, which had peonies in peak bloom. A beautifully presented Kaiseki-style lunch was also served at the garden.
We visited Shigeru Road, with charming bronze statues of "yokai" characters (ghosts) from an anime show.
Great day, but the port area itself is not near much of anything, so be sure to book a tour. There was a small setup of local vendors at the terminal, and there was a cute bird mascot to greet us as well.
Interesting port, and doable on your own if you're adventurous. There is a nice park area at the pier, with great views, but everything else is quite a bit away.
We took the provided shuttle bus into town and rode the ferry to Sakurajima. We then walked to the Geopark, where there are free hot-spring-fed footbaths that were fun and relaxing to use. Also had lunch at a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant near the shuttle stop prior to getting on the ferry. Recommend bringing a parasol for some shade.
Immigration process when getting off the ship in the morning was quite slow. (This only applies if your ship has been outside of Japan before docking here. We had just come from Busan, Korea.)
Excellent port to explore on your own. We used the ship-provided shuttle to go into town on our own and then used the city's tourist bus to go to Kenroku-en (garden), which was magnificent, despite some drizzles. From the garden, we walked down to the historic Chaya district and then on to the market. Foodies should not skip the market, especially seafood lovers. Our self-touring was capped off with a stop at the Pokemon Center store near the train station and shuttle bus pickup.
We went on an excursion to Hirosaki Castle Park to view sakura (cherry blossoms). Beautiful views, with flowers, castle and mountains. Friendly guide. Might choose a different excursion or just walk around town at another time of year if no blossoms to view, though.
Lots to do, but of course nowhere near enough time to do it! We went to Gamcheon Culture Village, which was fun and scenic. Good cafes and shopping opportunities. Our tour also stopped at the beach to walk on the Songdo Skywalk, which was very pretty, and a quick tour of some markets. Pier is not really close to any sights, so you'll need a tour or transport of some kind.
We didn't get to see a lot of the city, but what we did see was pleasant. Easy to navigate the metro (much simpler than Tokyo!), and felt tourist-friendly.
Disembarkation
Self-assist disembarkation was quick and smooth.
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