Silversea: Silver Muse

Yokohama is located on the southern part of Honshu Island, on the western shore of Tokyo Bay, and is our gateway to Tokyo. It has excellent harbour facilities and is one of the leading ports industrial centres of Japan. There are numerous shrines, temples, and Christian churches and a number of beautiful parks. A small fishing village in 1854, Yokohama was almost totally destroyed in 1923 by an earthquake. Gradually reconstructed the city is now among the most modern in Japan. It was heavily bombed in 1945, during World War II.

Shimizu is located on the northwest coast of Suruga Bay on the island of Honshu. Protected by a sandspit, it is a major commercial port and fishing centre. Places of scenic and historic interest include the Pine Groves of Miho, the Ryuge Temple, containing a fern palm believed to be more than 1,000 years old, and the nearby Nippon-Daira plateau.

Kobe, located in Japan, is capital of Hyogo Prefecture, southwestern Honshu Island, on Osaka Bay, near the city of Osaka. Since the 1890s several adjoining cities, including Hyogo, have been absorbed by Kobe. Behind the narrow coastal site of the city are mountains on which suburban residences and hotels have been built. Many Christian churches, Shinto and Buddhist temples and shrines, two famous statues of Buddha, a fine arts museum, and a municipal museum with a collection on Western cultural contact are in Kobe. From here you can also visit Kyoto, Nara and Sorakuen Garden.

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Hiroshima in southwestern Honshu has grown rapidly as a commercial city, and after 1868 it was developed as a military base. Every August 6 since 1947, thousands participate in multidenominational services in the Peace Memorial Park built on the site where the bomb exploded. After the war the city was largely rebuilt, and commercial activity gradually resumed. Visit the Peace Park but also explore Miyajima Island and its colourful shrines and mysterious forests.

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.

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.

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Kanazawa's importance grew in the 15th century, when the powerful and militant Ikko sect established its new headquarters there after being chased out of Kyoto by the monks of Mt.Hiei.

During the Edo Period, Kanazawa was the seat of the Maeda clan, the second most powerful clan after the Tokugawa in terms of rice production and fief size. Accordingly, Kanazawa grew to become a town of great cultural achievements, rivaling Kyoto and Edo (Tokyo).

In World War Two, Kanazawa was Japan's second largest city (after Kyoto) to escape destruction by air raids. Consequently, parts of the old castle town, such as samurai, temple and pleasure districts, have survived in pretty good condition.

Kanazawa is capital of Ishikawa Prefecture, a prefecture along the Sea of Japan.

Kanazawa's importance grew in the 15th century, when the powerful and militant Ikko sect established its new headquarters there after being chased out of Kyoto by the monks of Mt.Hiei.

During the Edo Period, Kanazawa was the seat of the Maeda clan, the second most powerful clan after the Tokugawa in terms of rice production and fief size. Accordingly, Kanazawa grew to become a town of great cultural achievements, rivaling Kyoto and Edo (Tokyo).

In World War Two, Kanazawa was Japan's second largest city (after Kyoto) to escape destruction by air raids. Consequently, parts of the old castle town, such as samurai, temple and pleasure districts, have survived in pretty good condition.

Kanazawa is capital of Ishikawa Prefecture, a prefecture along the Sea of Japan.

Akita is a prefecture in the north of Japan's main island known for it's natural beauty and old world charm.

From November to March it's a winter wonderland with deep drifts, icicle sheets hanging off every roof and superb skiing and snowboarding. Winter festivals celebrate ancient traditions like the building of snow shrines, or kamakura, complete with offerings of sake and fruit.

A city for all seasons, Aomori attracts visitors from afar for its beauty and events. In the spring, Hirosaki Castle Park is one of Japan’s most famous sites for viewing the cherry blossoms. The Nebuta Festival is held in the summer time and is one of the largest and most colorful summer events in Japan. Lake Towada is famous for the changing of her leaves in the autumn, and the winter months bring glorious snow for skiing, skating and snowboarding. Aomori is also home to the largest outdoor Buddha’s in Japan – weighing over 220 tons.

The fan shaped city Hakodate was once an island but now straddles a sandbar linking it to the mainland. Sites worth visiting include Mount Hakodate (cable car), the Old Public Hall, the Russian Orthodox Church and Goryokaku Fort. Nearby is the Onuma Quasi-National Park and Mount Komagatake.

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Yokohama is located on the southern part of Honshu Island, on the western shore of Tokyo Bay, and is our gateway to Tokyo. It has excellent harbour facilities and is one of the leading ports industrial centres of Japan. There are numerous shrines, temples, and Christian churches and a number of beautiful parks. A small fishing village in 1854, Yokohama was almost totally destroyed in 1923 by an earthquake. Gradually reconstructed the city is now among the most modern in Japan. It was heavily bombed in 1945, during World War II.