Volunteer guides line the pier, enthusiastically waving colourful city maps and motioning for us to come and chat with them. Welcoming Le Soléal represents far more than a ship visit for this tiny coastal town on the smallest of Japan’s four main islands.
Imabari was struggling with a dwindling population, but an emerging tourism industry has reinvigorated it, and young people are returning as the city reinvents itself. Unlike many Japanese towns, there is no overtourism here, just a warm welcome from locals who can’t wait to show us around.
As I’m about to discover, sailing through Japan on a boutique luxury ship is a very different travel experience to the one most visitors are familiar with. Japan received more than 40 million international tourists last year, but we seldom encounter any on our journey through the Seto Inland Sea. For the next 12 nights, Ponant’s Le Soléal shows us that some of Japan’s greatest treasures lie beyond its most famous destinations. Carrying a maximum of just 264 guests, the elegant French expedition ship offers an intimate introduction to Japan and opens the door to a side of the country that many travellers never see. It’s during my first morning ashore in Karatsu that I realise this voyage will be about something much deeper than simply ticking destinations off a list.
Intimate tea ceremony
I’d long been fascinated by Japan’s rich history and its cultural traditions. Our group’s intimate tea ceremony in a restored merchant’s house provides me with a quintessential and very personal introduction to both. The building we are about to enter dates back to the early Meiji period and has been lovingly restored by Akihiro and Yuki Tokunaga. The couple moved to Karatsu to enjoy a quieter life with their young son and converted the historic building into their residence and a café. Their preservation of the town’s history was warmly welcomed by the tight-knit neighbourhood, and Calali Café has become a local community hub. We bow to our hosts, slip off our shoes and step under the heavy wooden beams at the entrance to the 100-year-old house. Outside, the garden shimmers through a curtain of silver rain. Inside, owner Akihiro Tokunaga quietly prepares matcha, every movement measured and deliberate as he whisks the vivid green tea in our cups.
Framed by washi paper screens and sitting on original tatami mats that have been restored by a retired master tatami shokunin (maker) who lives nearby, our conversation fades and we watch the ceremony unfold. The rhythmic movements, the scent of the tea and the soft sound of rain create a montage that seems suspended in time. This proves to be the first of many unexpected moments that shape my voyage.
One of the greatest pleasures of travelling on a small ship is the freedom it provides. In Nagasaki, I decide to skip the ship’s complimentary shore excursion and explore independently. Thanks to Le Soléal’s central docking location, it is easy to reach the local tourist boats travelling to Gunkanjima, better known in English as ‘Battleship Island’. This UNESCO World Heritage site holds great cultural significance, but it’s very different to Japan’s photogenic castles and temples.
From a distance, the abandoned island resembles a battleship rising from the sea. Up close, its vast collection of crumbling apartment blocks and industrial buildings reveal the remains of a city that once rivaled Tokyo for its cutting-edge facilities. Gunkanjima housed a coal mining community from the late 1890s and was incredibly wealthy at the height of its success, with high wages and an enviable lifestyle. I had decided to visit Gunkanjima because it starred as the villain’s headquarters in the James Bond film Skyfall. However, as our guide tells us about the miners and their families who lived here until 1974, the ruins take on a new meaning. What had initially seemed like an interesting film location became a powerful reminder of Japan’s rapid industrial growth and the resilience of the people who helped shape it.
Cherry blossoms in full bloom
These may have been some of the most thought-provoking experiences of the trip, but they weren’t the prettiest. That honour went to the cherry blossoms which were in full bloom thanks to the timing of our cruise. As we sail around Japan, the delicate pink flowers soften city streets and fill our photographs with clouds of blossom. After missing the cherry blossoms on my first trip to Japan, the view is especially sweet.
The following day, Sakurajima, which means ‘Cherry Blossom Island’, is filled with blooming flowers and crowned by billowing clouds of steam, as if to remind us it’s one of the world’s largest and most active volcanoes. The city of Kagoshima, which is home to more than half a million people, is calm beneath the volcano’s watchful gaze. Today we’ll explore a landscape shaped by eruptions, but there is no need to beat the crowds.
The only time we encounter a crush of tourists is during a walking tour on Miyajima Island, which we visit on a Sunday during the Japanese school holidays. Local families have come to picnic under the cherry trees and see the island’s famous deer, which sneak up behind unsuspecting tourists and steal their snacks with ninja-like stealth. The people watching is much more fun than shuffling through the crowded streets.
Excursions like this one introduce us to museums, shrines, gardens and castles, while the ship’s onboard lecturers deepen our understanding of Japanese culture between ports. Le Soléal’s menus also highlight Japan, with dishes such as saikyo-yaki seabream appearing alongside European favourites like confit beef cheek. Wines are complimentary, predominantly French and excellent.
Ponant is a French cruise line, so life aboard Le Soléal unfolds in two languages. The ship’s crew speak French and English, excursions are divided by language, and every announcement is delivered twice. I discover the side of the corridor people walk down provides a reliable guide to whether I should say “hello” or “bonjour”. Australians, New Zealanders and Brits keep left, while the French favour the right.
The convivial greetings onboard the ship and enthusiastic farewells onshore capture the joie de vivre and spirit of our voyage. Each afternoon, passengers line the decks as locals gather on the dock to perform. Sometimes schoolchildren charm us with earnest renditions of traditional Japanese songs. At other ports, dancers wearing colourful costumes beam as they twirl along the pier. Yet the most spectacular farewell is provided by a taiko drumming troupe who recreate the thunderous rhythms once used by Murakami pirates to communicate with each other.
On our final shore excursion, Nachi Waterfall is framed by cherry blossoms as it tumbles down the mountainside beside a temple. Our guide explains that long before organised religion, people worshipped here because they believed the waterfall was sacred. Looking at the country’s largest single-drop waterfall, we can see why the beauty of this place, and the entire country, inspires such devotion in those who visit.
Photographs: © Studio Ponant, Tiana Templeman.
