Westerdam has won multiple Best Cruise Ship awards and features superb bar, entertainment and dining venues. During the day, rejuvenate with a spa treatment at the heavenly Greenhouse Spa & Salon®. Head to the upper decks for a friendly game of Pickleball at Sea with top-deck views. Catch a performance at the World Stage or spend your evening on the dance floor at Rolling Stone Lounge.
Day 1 Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan, presents a different view at every turn. It's one of the world's main economic centers and its most populous agglomeration. The business of Tokyo is business, but you can still find harmony and small-scale gardens on back streets. Around the corner from neon and concrete, you may find the bonsai-lined courtyard of a traditional inn.
Tokyo was nearly destroyed by bombs and fires during World War II, and by earthquakes at other times, but it has always rebuilt itself. As a result, there is little left of Old Japan in the city, but there's plenty of New Japan to take its place.
The streets are a confusing maze, so a map is essential. The transit system is excellent, however, and there are kobans (police boxes) throughout the metropolis, as well as a populace generally willing to answer questions.
Visitors to Tokyo represent both business and leisure travelers. And despite its past reputation, Tokyo is no longer fearsomely expensive. It's relatively easy to visit Tokyo on a budget.
Day 2 At Sea
Day 3 Kochi
Kochi has beautiful lagoons and lakes and offers travelers an extraordinary setting for a stay of a few nights.
Day 4 At Sea
Day 5 Cheju (Jeju) City, Cheju (Jeju) Island
Cheju Island is known as a place of fantasy or mystery and is highlighted for its uniqueness. In the center of this island, there is Halla Mountain which was a volcano once rising 6,397 feet above sea level. About 1,800 kinds of plants find home in this island. It holds rich underground resources, and every kind of fish and corals in the clean blue sea area. Cheju is a tourist resort due to the many guests visiting this blessed island from around the world.
Day 6 Incheon
Incheon is the capital city's gateway for international visitors. At the start of the 21st century, the metropolitan city gained a higher international status with its strategic position for trade and cultural exchanges, particularly with China and its newly-emerging economy. Incheon’s citizens are generally progressive and independent. The western port city hosts numerous historical sites, and tourist destinations attract people from across the country. Some major attractions include Weolmido – home of the Weolmi Food Festival, Yeonan Wharf (at the cruise ship pier), Woelmi Amusement Park, Incheon Principal Museum, Memorial Hall of the Incheon Landing, City Tour (by bus), and Munhak Stadium (stadium of the World Cup Soccer Championship).
Day 7 Incheon
Incheon is the capital city's gateway for international visitors. At the start of the 21st century, the metropolitan city gained a higher international status with its strategic position for trade and cultural exchanges, particularly with China and its newly-emerging economy. Incheon’s citizens are generally progressive and independent. The western port city hosts numerous historical sites, and tourist destinations attract people from across the country. Some major attractions include Weolmido – home of the Weolmi Food Festival, Yeonan Wharf (at the cruise ship pier), Woelmi Amusement Park, Incheon Principal Museum, Memorial Hall of the Incheon Landing, City Tour (by bus), and Munhak Stadium (stadium of the World Cup Soccer Championship).
Day 8 At Sea
Day 9 Pusan (Busan)
Korea's "museum without walls" is akin only to China in its depth and cultural wonder. From Pusan, you can journey to the ancient Silla capital of Kyongju, a dynasty which reigned in Korea for almost a thousand years. Today this small provincial town is virtually a museum without walls, dotted with many splendid ruins. Nearby, the forested mountains and valleys shelter hundreds of beautiful Buddhist shrines including the renowned Sokkuram Grotto, and Tongdosa and Pulguksa Temples. Pusan is also a shopper's mecca and Korea's vital southern link to Japanese and American trade.
Day 10 Fukuoka
Fukuoka is the second largest city on Japan's Kyushu Island. Fukuoka is historically know for it's castles and visitors can visit castle ruins, and beautiful wooden temples. In central Fukuoka there are many food stalls and restaurants, and visitors can go from stall to stall tasting a variety of Japanese dishes. Moreover Fukuoka offers excellent shopping, and has a every unique shopping and entertainment complex called, Canal City.
Day 11 Nagasaki
One of Japan's most historic cities, Nagasaki was a major port, trading with the Portuguese and Dutch in the 16th century. You can still see this colonial legacy in the brick buildings, old forts, canals and curving cobblestone streets. On a hill overlooking the bay, beautiful Glover Mansion, the setting of Madame Butterfly, is typical of the fine homes built by wealthy foreign residents. But Nagasaki's ties with Korea and China are equally apparent in the famous Chinese temple, a large Chinese colony and the numerous fine Korean and Chinese restaurants.
Day 12 Osaka
This large, bustling port is the starting point for tours to the ancient cities of Kyoto and Nara, the cultural fountainheads of classical Japan. Kyoto's Old Imperial Palace and the shogunal Nijo Castle remain glorious symbols of the power the city held for over 1,000 years. Until 1868, Kyoto was the capital of Japan, filled with elegant timber buildings and, perhaps more than any other Japanese city, imbued with Kami, the divine spirit. You'll sense it everywhere, for there are hundreds of Shinto shrines and over a thousand Buddhist temples, as well as sacred treasure-houses of religious sculpture, painting and exquisite gardens. Nara, City of the Seven Great Temples, lies in an idyllic setting.
Day 13 Osaka
This large, bustling port is the starting point for tours to the ancient cities of Kyoto and Nara, the cultural fountainheads of classical Japan. Kyoto's Old Imperial Palace and the shogunal Nijo Castle remain glorious symbols of the power the city held for over 1,000 years. Until 1868, Kyoto was the capital of Japan, filled with elegant timber buildings and, perhaps more than any other Japanese city, imbued with Kami, the divine spirit. You'll sense it everywhere, for there are hundreds of Shinto shrines and over a thousand Buddhist temples, as well as sacred treasure-houses of religious sculpture, painting and exquisite gardens. Nara, City of the Seven Great Temples, lies in an idyllic setting.
Day 14 At Sea
Day 15 Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan, presents a different view at every turn. It's one of the world's main economic centers and its most populous agglomeration. The business of Tokyo is business, but you can still find harmony and small-scale gardens on back streets. Around the corner from neon and concrete, you may find the bonsai-lined courtyard of a traditional inn.
Tokyo was nearly destroyed by bombs and fires during World War II, and by earthquakes at other times, but it has always rebuilt itself. As a result, there is little left of Old Japan in the city, but there's plenty of New Japan to take its place.
The streets are a confusing maze, so a map is essential. The transit system is excellent, however, and there are kobans (police boxes) throughout the metropolis, as well as a populace generally willing to answer questions.
Visitors to Tokyo represent both business and leisure travelers. And despite its past reputation, Tokyo is no longer fearsomely expensive. It's relatively easy to visit Tokyo on a budget.