Dream of Japan: 10 Reasons I Now Dream of Cruising Japan

Have you ever heard the term “busman’s holiday”?

It is a phrase from an earlier time and refers to a vacation or day off during which someone ends up doing the same thing they do in their regular job, like a bus driver spending their vacation riding buses as a passenger, unable to truly escape their regular routine.

I am guilty as charged in taking many of these. Not only do I very fortunately visit Italy for work (as the founder of the magazine Dream of Italy and host and executive producer of the PBS series with the same name) and sample all of its travel offerings, I vacation in Italy too.

2025 is a year to shake things up! It was time to spread my wings and an invitation to Japan (I have never been to Asia before) did just that. I am filled with memories of a colorful, peaceful and replenishing journey, one that satisfied me intellectually and spiritually and felt like a true vacation.

“We like your work with Italy and wonder what you might think of Japan if you had the chance to experience it.” That was the invitation from one of the lovely people who run the cruise company Japanet America.

Japan has always been on my bucket list, a someday, that of course with each passing year seemed to just get away from me.  My grandparents visited a Japan few years before I was born and even had a souvenir photo plate of the trip in their living room of the trip. I would look at that plate from time to time and dream of this place called Japan. How prescient!

Established in 1986, Japanet is a leading mail order and TV shopping company in Japan that entered the cruise business in 2017 and has since welcomed over 70,000 passengers aboard their luxury ships, with primarily Japanese passengers. And now they’ve started taking Americans to cruise Japan in luxury through Japanet America.

Japan has become a hot destination for Americans in recent years with a 16% increase in just one year (2024 to 2025) and a 58% in American visitors since 2019.

Here are 10 reasons I’m happy I saw Japan by cruise with Japanet America:
(if you’re interested in doing the same in 2026, use the code: DREAM for $500 savings per cabin)

1. Cruising can be the best way to see a new country or region for the first time.  Along the way, I’ve become a big fan of cruising as a way to travel, having taken four cruises in the past 18 months. For this Japan cruise, everything was taken care and all shore excursions meticulously planned. There’s no matching the distance a cruise can cover and on our 10-day Japanet America cruise, except for one sea day, we woke up to a new destination almost every day, leaving the traveling to overnight. As someone who travels so much via land for work, and changes hotels every few nights, it was pure luxury to be able to stay on the ship and settle in for so long, developing a routine for where to eat breakfast and listen to music or have a drink after dinner. I love how a cruise ship can really become a home away from home.

2. There’s magic, healing (and negative ions) in that sea air. I’m a huge believer in the healing power of travel and the way in which we visit certain places can help us feel better physically and mentally.  Sea air contains negative ions (molecules with an extra electron) created when waves crash and water molecules break apart. Research suggests negative ions can increase oxygen flow to the brain and boost serotonin levels, improving mood and alertness. Coastal air is also typically cleaner, with fewer pollutants. Neuroscientists have identified what they call a “blue mind” state—a meditative, calm condition triggered by water. I crave sea air and could look at the ocean forever. Every cabin on our Japanet America ship had its own balcony and I reveled in the views of the water and coastline while in my cabin.

3. You cannot understand Japan without understanding its relationship to the sea. Japan has approximately 18,486 miles of coastline, making it the sixth-longest in the world! As an island nation with a long, narrow landmass, no point anywhere in Japan is more than 93 miles from the ocean. I now wonder how much others miss by not sailing around the country.

4. Japanet America offered the best of both worlds: high luxury standards with a very local Japanese touch.  This unique combination sold me on the trip from the very start. Japanet leases ships from well-known luxury lines (in this case Viking) so I knew exactly what to expect in terms of quality. The ship has an international crew and numerous dining experiences including the famous Manfredi’s Italian restaurant found on all Viking ships. I’m not a huge seafood eater so having so many choices on the ship allowed me to mix up traditional Japanese cuisine (I fell in love with Wagyu beef) with other fare. The other passengers were predominantly Japanese (the American guests had their own English-language excursions) and I enjoyed some of the specifically Japanese touches onboard like the morning radio calisthenics.

5. Every single day I felt like I was being let in on some kind of local secret. The places that we were able to go by ship were not inundated with foreign travelers, including Americans. 70% of foreign travelers visit Japan’s three major metropolitan areas (Tokyo, Osaka, Aichi) but there’s so much more to discover. Our cruise included two nights on land in Tokyo so we could get a taste of city life. I had two favorite places we stopped. Shimosheki is the home to the Akama Shrine with a red vermillion of torii gates stretching across the sea front – heart-stopping beauty. I also totally fell in love with Ise Shima, home to the Ise Grand Shrine, Japan’s most sacred Shinto shrine were Japanese have pilgrimaged for a thousand years. Here I bought many “lucky charms” (small fabric ornaments with prayers inside) to bring home as gifts.

6. The shore excursions really offered a layered approach to understanding Japanese culture with pops of fun. One day we were drinking matcha tea in a bamboo forest and another taking a chairlift up to an ancient castle. I got a huge thrill out of our boat trip to see the whirlpools of Naruto, such a natural wonder. Shinto and Buddhism are Japan’s two main religions and have co-existed for more than 1,400 years. We visited some of the most important sites in both religions but it felt like just the right amount and not to much. (I say this as a frequent visitor to a country where you might visit 10 or 20 churches in a week.)

7. The tour guides who accompanied us were simply the best. I’ve met 100s and 100s and tour guides in my work. On our Japanet America cruise (and pre-cruise stay in the port of Yokonoawa) we had a dedicated guide with us each day – either Dori or Mikawo. They were the best – smart, funny, accommodating. We had some free time in Kamakura (where I also saw the larger than life Great Buddha) and saw a shop offering palm readings. I convinced Dori to come with me to translate. We totally bonded and laughed over the experience. Mikawo was with us when we visited the Peace Park at Nagasaki, where the American atomic bomb reigned down terror at the end of World War II. She knew how we must feel as Americans to visit this place and shared a touching story of how when she visited Pearl Harbor (which of course had been attacked by Japan), she was nervous but felt so warmly accepted by the Americans there. This is what travel is all about: the people.

8. Japan’s calm and respectful culture and reverence for beauty and order calmed my nervous system. Look 2025 has been an uncertain and anxious year, especially in the U.S. and on this trip, I felt so far away from any chaos or worry. Everything in Japan exuded warmth, comfort and calm. From the tradition of a small bow to say hello to the Japanese desire to please to the amazing efficiency in how all of our tours and transfers on-time and almost effortless (a change from Italy for me for sure!) Even in the best of times, travel is meant to be an escape and the landscape, architecture, colors, sounds (and sometimes lovely lack there of) and smells of Japan provided a welcome change.

9. Japan reminded me of Italy in so many ways and I loved that. First of all both cultures value aesthetics. Everything from the temples to some of the cool gift trinkets I bought at Tokyo’s equivalent of the dollar store, carried intentional design and beauty. Something I also find all over Italy. The history and traditions are deep and reverence for the past is mixed with a push towards an innovative future, though Japan may always have Italy beat on this front. Cool tech is everywhere in Japan even at the cat cafe where I received and returned my slippers to a machine that cleaned them. Both cultures have fresh, seasonal food at the forefront and a respect for family and heritage.

10. On this cruise, I even had the unique opportunity to visit another country: South Korea. Every world traveler wants to add another country to their list and I was pleased to also get a day in South Korea at Jeju Island. We resumed traveling on the right (the Japanese drive on the left as the British do), enjoyed an amazing lunch of Korean barbecue and visited Hallasan National Park, a volcano that looks like something out of Jurassic Park!

I love Italy and never think you can visit too many times. But we sometimes need to spread our wings even further and I cannot recommend Japan enough for a safe, transformative journey especially with the unique cruise/land tour Japanet America offers.  If you’re interested in sailing with Japanet America in 2026, use the code: DREAM for $500 savings per cabin. I know you will be in good hands! If you would like to ask me any questions about my experience or want me to connect you directly with my contact at Japanet America, feel free to email me.