For residents of The World

The World in Japan

The World lies alongside for days, not hours. This is what that makes possible in Japan — port by port on the rotation now published, written for residents who would rather see one place properly than six in passing.

This rotation

The ports below are the Japanese calls on the rotation the port authorities have published. Each one gathers what a day there can actually hold: real places, real distances, and what is closed stated as plainly as what is open. Earlier calls are kept further down rather than deleted.

Also on this rotation, with coverage still being written: Ōzu, Beppu. The concierge can plan a day at any of them now.

Takamatsu

Kagawa · Seto Inland Sea

Experiences

August 21, 2026 · 6 min read

Where Japan's Pine Bonsai Are Grown — The World at Takamatsu

Roughly eight in ten of Japan's pine bonsai are grown in two districts of Takamatsu. A grower's garden, a pruning demonstration, a craft in your hands, and dinner from the vessels their makers threw.

Experiences

August 21, 2026 · 11 min read

The Stonecutters of Aji

Aji stone is called the diamond of granite, and only 3–5% of what is quarried qualifies. A private shore excursion into Japan's finest stone country.

The Castle With Sea Bream in the Moat — The World at Takamatsu

Nature

August 21, 2026 · 4 min read

The Castle With Sea Bream in the Moat — The World at Takamatsu

Takamatsu Castle's moat is seawater, tidal, and full of sea bream. One of three castles in Japan built this way — and a four-minute walk from the berth.

Experiences

August 21, 2026 · 8 min read

Sanukite: The Stone That Rings

A 13-million-year-old andesite that rings like a bell, worked into blades before it was worked into instruments. Kagawa's ringing stone.

Sanuki Temari, and a Craft That Travels — The World at Takamatsu

Art

August 21, 2026 · 5 min read

Sanuki Temari, and a Craft That Travels — The World at Takamatsu

Cotton thread dyed with plants, wound over rice husks, stitched into geometry by counting. Nearly extinct, deliberately revived — and one of the few crafts here that can be brought to you.

Real Lacquer Takes a Week to Dry — The World at Takamatsu

Experiences

August 21, 2026 · 7 min read

Real Lacquer Takes a Week to Dry — The World at Takamatsu

You cannot take your piece home the same day. Real urushi needs a week to cure — which is how you know a lacquer workshop is using the real thing. A working family studio, three generations of it, ten minutes from the berth.

Naoshima in a Day, by Sea or by Air — The World at Takamatsu

Art

August 21, 2026 · 7 min read

Naoshima in a Day, by Sea or by Air — The World at Takamatsu

Naoshima has a heliport beside the museums, and almost nobody knows it. Fifteen minutes by air, or an hour by private catamaran with a chef cooking aboard.

Tange, Ōe and the Design Governor — The World at Takamatsu

Art

August 21, 2026 · 7 min read

Tange, Ōe and the Design Governor — The World at Takamatsu

A poor prefecture decided it could not out-spend anyone but could out-think them. Tange's 1958 government building, Ōe's culture hall, and the lacquer institute inside it — all ten minutes from the berth.

Experiences

August 21, 2026 · 9 min read

Isamu Noguchi's Studio at Mure

A private shore excursion from Sunport Takamatsu to the studio Noguchi kept for twenty years, preserved as he left it.

George Nakashima's Japanese Workshop — The World at Takamatsu

Experiences

August 21, 2026 · 5 min read

George Nakashima's Japanese Workshop — The World at Takamatsu

He left the repair showing, because hiding it would be a lie about the wood. A Takamatsu workshop has made his designs under licence for sixty years, and still takes commissions.

A Private Noh Performance — The World at Takamatsu

Experiences

August 21, 2026 · 7 min read

A Private Noh Performance — The World at Takamatsu

Six hundred and fifty years unbroken, and a mask carved to have no fixed expression. A private mai-bayashi in full costume — with the masks, the costumes and the drums put in your hands afterwards.

Nature

August 21, 2026 · 9 min read

A Private Morning at Ritsurin Garden

A private shore excursion from Sunport Takamatsu — Japan's largest cultural-property garden before opening, timed to your sailing window.

Experiences

August 21, 2026 · 8 min read

A Private Evening on Yashima

Sunset and city lights run continuous from the plateau above Takamatsu. A private evening on Yashima, and why it needs an overnight call.

Matsuyama

Ehime · Seto Inland Sea

Wellness

August 21, 2026 · 7 min read

The Only Imperial Bath in Japan — The World at Matsuyama

Built in 1899 for one family and used a handful of times since. Yūshinden is the only imperial bathing facility in Japan — a room preserved by disuse, and it can be shown to you.

Stays

August 21, 2026 · 12 min read

One Night as the Lord of Ōzu Castle

Japan's first castle stay in a wooden reconstructed keep. One group a night, thirty groups a year, and a 1617 entry ceremony performed by the town.

Hiroshima

Hiroshima · Seto Inland Sea

Culture

August 21, 2026 · 5 min read

Miyajima on Both Tides — The World at Hiroshima

The great torii is not fixed to the seabed. Twice a day you can walk to it; twice a day the shrine appears to float. A day ashore gets one. Three days gets both.

Earlier calls

Ports from previous rotations

The ship does not call at these on the present rotation. The days are kept because they remain accurate, and because she comes back.

Hokkaido · Tsugaru Strait

Hakodate

Itineraries

August 6, 2026 · 10 min read

Hakodate Shore Day: One Unhurried Private Itinerary

Hakodate's port sits minutes from the morning market and the Motomachi hillside. A private single-day itinerary, paced slowly and timed to your ship.

Kanagawa · Tokyo Bay

Yokohama

Itineraries

August 6, 2026 · 9 min readYokohama

Yokohama Shore Day: One Unhurried Private Itinerary

A single-day itinerary from Yokohama port, built around your sailing time rather than a fixed tour schedule. Private car, private guide, no group pacing.

Ishikawa · Sea of Japan

Kanazawa

Itineraries

August 6, 2026 · 9 min readKanazawa

Kanazawa Shore Day: One Unhurried Private Itinerary

Kanazawa rewards a slow day — Kenrokuen before the coaches, samurai streets, gold leaf workshops — all within a short drive of the port, timed to your ship.

Hyōgo · Osaka Bay

Kobe

Itineraries

August 6, 2026 · 10 min read

Kobe Shore Day: A Private Himeji Castle Itinerary

Himeji Castle is under an hour from Kobe port. A single-day private itinerary built around your ship's window, with the timing that avoids the queue.

Nagasaki · East China Sea

Nagasaki

Itineraries

August 6, 2026 · 10 min read

Nagasaki Shore Day: One Unhurried Private Itinerary

Nagasaki's port sits close to everything. A single-day private itinerary through the city's trading history and memorial sites, timed to your ship's window.

Kagoshima · Kinkō Bay, below Sakurajima

Kagoshima

Itineraries

August 6, 2026 · 10 min read

Kagoshima Shore Day: One Unhurried Private Itinerary

Sengan-en frames an active volcano across the water. A private single-day Kagoshima itinerary — garden, bay views, and imo-shochu — paced to your ship's window.

Okinawa · East China Sea

Naha

Itineraries

August 6, 2026 · 10 min read

Naha Shore Day: One Unhurried Okinawa Itinerary

Okinawa moves at its own pace, which suits a single day ashore. A private Naha itinerary — Shurijo, the southern coast, and awamori at the source.

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