Kyoto’s Fushimi Inari Shrine attracts a cheerful crowd. On the hike to the Shinto shrine, built in 1400, visitors pass through hundreds of red-orange gates, which mark the transition from the everyday world to the sacred place. Photo © Natthapon Ngamnithiporn | Dreamstime.com

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This domed building was the only structure left standing in the area where the first atomic bomb exploded in 1945. Today, the preserved ruin is part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Photo © F11Photo | Dreamstime.com

Some overseas trips are not like others. Although I’ve vacationed in Europe and places as diverse as Tunisia and Colombia, I never felt so “other” as I did in Japan. And as I discovered, that was not a bad thing.  

My husband, Chuck, and I chose to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary in Japan. We wanted to go somewhere neither of us had ever been, and we were both curious about Japanese design and culture.  

After debating the benefits of a cruise versus a land tour versus exploring Japan on our own with local guides, we were amazed by how much we could see during a 10-day cruise to Japan and South Korea.  

The Regent Seven Seas Explorer accommodates about 750 guests with a crew of 550. Our large suite had a spacious walk-in closet, so we didn’t feel cramped.  

The ship’s three specialty restaurants — French, Asian and a steakhouse — were all very good, as was the beautiful main dining room. The pool deck served delicious lunches, and we usually took advantage of room service for breakfast. 

Clean, stylish Japanese culture 

Our cruise began and ended in Tokyo. We enjoyed the food and the cozy scene at one of the city’s many yakitori (grilled chicken) restaurants.  

The small place we chose had only a few tables, a couple of booths and a counter that seated 10. Two people cooked on a long charcoal grill: the chef and a sous chef, who sprinkled spices with a flourish, one arm arched high above his head.  

No one spoke English, but the chef made a special effort for us, presenting each set of skewers and laughingly pointing to her neck or thigh to let us know what we were about to eat.  

In every city and town, we admired and appreciated the Japanese people and culture. Words that come to mind are polite, quiet, considerate, neat and stylish — or at least well-groomed.  

On the subway, despite the jostling crowds, signs remind passengers not to bother others. Common etiquette includes lining up in rows before getting on trains, cell phones on silent mode, speaking quietly if talking is necessary, backpacks in front, no food or drinks. 

Here’s a funny story about the integrity of Japanese culture: At the Tokyo Hilton, where we stayed after our cruise, the room had wonderful cotton robes called yukata, which are somewhat similar to a kimono but much more casual.  

After enjoying wearing the one in our room, I shopped around Tokyo but didn’t find anything I liked as much, so I asked a concierge if I could buy one from the hotel. Unfortunately, they had run out two days ago.  

Me: Well, could I buy the one in my room?  

Concierge: Mmm, no, because that one is used.  

Me: I know. I’m using it.  

Concierge: (looking concerned) 

Me: Well, let’s say a guest took one home. Wouldn’t the hotel just charge their credit card?  

Concierge: (looking puzzled) That has never happened.  

Me: (mind blown, speechless) 

Concierge: Let me call housekeeping and see what I can do.  

After she spoke to the head of the department, she said yes, you can buy a robe, but not the “used” one. Housekeeping will put a freshly washed, ironed and folded one in your room. 

Me: (still puzzled but grateful) Arigato! 

Magical Kyoto 

Chuck and I navigated the subway in Tokyo, the electric tram in Nagasaki, and the train from the port of Kobe to Kyoto.  

We made the impulsive decision to take the train because the ship’s excursion included a two-hour bus ride each way. Instead, we took a 30-minute train ride and buzzed all around Kyoto on our own. 

Our priority in Kyoto was to visit the famous Fushimi Inari Shrine, with thousands of vermilion gates featured in thousands of photos. But no photo could do it justice.  

Walking the wooded mountain trails to the summit took about three hours. On the way, we passed through and marveled at the ancient red-orange archways, large and small, called torii. 

The shrine’s entrance and the lower pathways were crowded, and probably always are, but in a pleasant way. We saw all manner of people, all in good moods — and quite a few women in kimono — taking pictures. Being at this Shinto shrine was an experience like no other: magical, reverent and enchanting.  

Across town from the shrine, we jumped out of our taxi and followed a long trail through a garden that led to the Golden Pavilion. Originally built in 1397 for a shōgun, the palace was reconstructed after the latest fire in 1955.  

Seeing a temple whose second and third floors are covered in gold leaf, while an utterly radical idea and feat, was not much different from looking at it in photos, probably because you can’t get close. Visitors are routed around its large pond that serves as a mirror, doubling the golden effect.  

Peace and beauty 

Aside from Kyoto, our most interesting experiences were in Hiroshima and Busan, South Korea.  

While we had zero expectations of South Korea, we found that Busan is a beautiful city with intriguing skyscrapers and a crescent-shaped beach.  

Our animated guide took us to a gorgeous park, lunch at a restaurant hosting two weddings, then to a stunning shrine built into coastal cliffs. When we were given free time to shop, almost every woman made a beeline for cosmetic stores to buy the famed Korean skin care products.  

Hiroshima was a surprise, too. Despite the heaviness that you would expect, and seeing the one familiar domed building that survived the first atomic bomb, the overriding emotion was the longing for peace.  

We watched the introductory film in the Peace Memorial Museum and then wandered through the expansive and meaningful Peace Memorial Park with our guide, a retired teacher.  

Japan has many glorious public gardens. We were able to see seven private ones in a historic samurai neighborhood preserved to look as it did 200 years ago in a small town called Chiran. 

Chiran’s nearly half-mile main street is lined on both sides with stone walls, topped by tall hedges. Strange to say, but it felt like we were on a movie set for a British mystery film. 

We learned that Japanese gardens borrow from the greater landscape. If there is a mountain in the distance, for instance, that is included in the design.  

These gardens are known for their peaceful, meditative quality, achieved by balance but not symmetry. Except for some red fall foliage, there wasn’t much color, but they didn’t need it.  

We went to Chiran to visit a museum dedicated to kamikaze pilots, who were not the zealots of our imaginings. They were forced to fly these missions. It was heartbreaking to read the letters they wrote to family, mainly their mothers, on the eve of their assignments.  

Around the museum and town are more than 1,000 stone lantern statues, one for each life lost this way. Our guide was emotional when she told us that she appreciated our choice to come here instead of other options we had that day.  

As in Hiroshima, this museum was also built within a park dedicated to achieving world peace. That seems an unlikely prospect, but we can surely hope. 

If you go 

Round-trip flights from the D.C. area to Tokyo start at $909. We chose Regent, but Viking, Norwegian, Celebrity, Holland America and Royal Caribbean also offer cruises in Japan and South Korea starting at around $1,400 for nine nights.