This is the final post from our Japan trip. Our trip started in late March and ended on May 1, 2025. The trip included a 32 day cruise on the Seabourn Quest and independent travel in Tokyo and Nikko. The cruise made two stops outside of Japan, in Busan, South Korea and Keelung, Taiwan.
The Seabourn Quest stopped overnight at Keelung Port for two days. From Keelung, we took a morning ship excursion to the hilly town of Jiufen and then we went to the Keelung Night Market on our own to explore the different foods that were available. The evening weather in Keelung was hot and humid, so we didn’t last too long before returning to the cool air conditioned ship.
On day two of our Keelung stop, we took an all-day ship excursion to Taipei. We started at the National Palace Museum and then continued to several shrines, temples and memorials. The excursion stopped for lunch at the Grand Garden Restaurant in the Grand Palace Hotel. The buffet at this restaurant served over 100 Taiwanese Chinese, Japanese and Western dishes. The dining setting was really spectacular but the lunch was typical buffet quality - a few very good dishes and other dishes that would easily satisfy your appetite but were less memorable.
Keelung, Taiwan
Keelung Port at Night Can You Read "Keelung" in This Photo?
Morning Visit to Jiufen Village, Taiwan
Jiufen Hillside
Starting to Climb to Visit Jiufen Shops
This is a Steep Set of Narrow Stairs
The A-Mei teahouse was once a blacksmith during Jiufen's mining days. From the interior, there is a great view of the ocean and mountains. The teahouse is known for its tea selection from many special Taiwan tea farms.
Tea Shop at Top of First Set of Stairs
A-Mei Teahouse
A Shop in Jiufen in the Morning
Jiufen Saturday Crowds
Tight Fit for Cars
Snails to Go
Keelung Night Market
The Keelung Night Market is known for its many food vendors that line the narrow streets, near Dianji Temple. There are at least 80 food stalls, offering a variety of hot meat items, soups, noodles, snacks. fruit, ice cream and pastries. The market is very popular with tourists and locals and gets very busy and crowded. Anthony Bourdain said that this market is "Taiwan's Best Night Market."
At 5pm, the Market was Already Crowded
Grilled Duck
Dianji Temple
Day 2 Visit to Taipei, Taiwan
The National Palace Museum, opened in 1965, contains over 700,000 artifacts and artworks. As the Republic of China retreated from the mainland to Taiwan, much of the National Palace Museum collection was relocated by General Chaing Kai-shek from Beijing Palace Museum and other institutions on mainland China. Almost 3,000 crates of artifacts and artworks were moved to Taiwan - including what some believe to be the best and most cherished. A few of the art pieces are below.
Yellow Chalcedony Tri-Seal Set Qing Dynasty, 1644-1911 (The Chain Links & Stamps are Carved from a Single Stone)
Narcissus Basin with Blueish-Green Glaze, Ru Ware Early Song Dynasty A Similar Piece Recently Sold for $7 Million USD
Drinking Vessel and Cup
From the National Palace Museum, we continued on the view the changing of the guards at the Martrys Shrine. This shrine is dedicated to the fallen soldiers of the Republic of China.
Martyrs Shrine
Soldier Sentry at Martyrs Shrine
Changing of Guards
The Grand Hotel was constructed in 1962 with support from Chaing Kai-shek. The hotel's main building rises to 14-stories and there are additional hotel wings. This five-star hotel was built to accommodate foreign dignitaries and it has hosted leaders from many countries, including US Presidents Clinton, Reagon, Nixon and Eisenhower. A "secret tunnel" was found in the hotel with slides that run about 500 feet from the hotel to nearby parks.
Very Popular for Lunch on a Sunday
Grand Hotel
The tour stopped at the Taiwan Confucius Temple. This temple is similar to the original temple in Qufu, China. The temple focuses on the teachings of Confucius. During Japn's annexation of Taiwan, the temple was destroyed. It was rebuilt in 1930.
Entry to Confucius Temple
The Dalongdong Boan Temple was constructed in 1804. The temple was inducted into the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Cultural Heritage Preservation in 2003.
Entry to Dalongdong Boan Temple
Dalongdon Baoan Temple
Dragon Faces into Temple for Protection from Fire
The Chaing Kai-shek Memorial Hall was built in 1980 and has an octagonal shape. The eight sides reflect the Chinese cultural association with abundance and good luck. There are 89 steps to reach the mausoleum, representing Chaing Kai-shek's age when he died. The ground floor contains a library and museum - including his government limousines. There is a changing of guard ceremony on the hour.
My wife and I had not previously traveled to Nikko and added this destination to our post-cruise itinerary. To make the best use of our travel time, we asked Omakase Tour to help with arranging a private Nikko guide and transportation. Omakase Tour can plan custom itineraries, activities, transportation and arrange tour logistics. The company can also assist in making needed hotel reservations and ticket purchases. Although not inexpensive, this approach was the most efficient use of our time. Moreover, the Omakase Tour arrangements worked out perfectly.
We had three days in Nikko - two days with our guide and one day on our own. We had to adjust the second day with our guide as the Lake Chuzenji boat tour was cancelled due to very high winds. On the day without a guide, we hiked in the Senjogahara Marshland.
A private car and driver took us from the port of Yokohama to Nikko (about 2.5 hour drive). After our three day visit, the same driver brought us from Nikko to Narita (about a 2 hour drive). We considered train travel as an alternative but quickly realized that train use would require train changes and greatly reduce our time in Nikko. Plus, we’d have to handle with our luggage (which had grown in number by a duffel) between train stops. We arranged our hotel reservations at the Ritz Carlton at Lake Chuzenji and the Asaya Hotel, a Kinugawa onsen.
We met our tour guide at Shinkyo Bridge, the sacred bridge to Nikko's shrines. The present bridge was constructed in 1636, but records indicate some type of bridge was previously in this location. Visitors can walk across the bridge and enter the Futarasan Shrine.
Shinkyo Bridge, Nikko
Below is a list of the places we visited in the broader Nikko area.
Toshogu Shrine: The decorated, colorful and intricately carved Yomeimon Toshogu Shrine is a memorial to Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate. It dates to the 17th century.
Main Shrine
Toshogu Ieyasu Tomb Source: Japan-guide.com
Sanjinko, Three Sacred Storehouses
Rinnoji Temple: This Buddhist temple was founded by Shodo Shonin. Shodo Shonin brought Buddhism to Nikko in the 8th century. The Sanbutsodo holds statues of Amida, Senju-Kannon and Bato-Kannon. Next to the temple is the small Japanese style garden of Shoyoen.
Futarasan Shrine: Also founded by Shodo Shonin in 782, this shrine is dedicated to the deities of Nikko's three most sacred mountains, Mount Nantai, Mount Nyoho and Mount Taro. Futarasan is the other name for Mount Nantai, the most prominent of the three mountains.
Chinese Gate
Tamozawa Imperial Villa: This 106 room villa was initially built in Tokyo and was moved to Nikko. The building served as a summer residence for the Imperial family of Emperor Taisho (1879-1926). It is one of the largest wooden buildings in Japan - though the current structure is only a third in size of the original villa. The villa building is surrounded by a Japanese-style garden. The villa opened as a public museum in 2000 and is a national Registered Treasure.
Garden View From Interior
Yu Waterfall: Located in Oku-Nikko, it is one of Japan's three great waterfalls. It is over 300 feet long and 75 feet wide. It is one of the three great waterfalls of the Oku-Nikko area
Yu Falls
Ryuzu Falls: Referred to as the "Dragon Head" waterfall, as there are two cascades falling over 600 feet. Many visitors enjoy the colorful spring rhododendrons as well as fall colors surrounding this Oku-Nikko waterfall.
Kegon Falls: Water from Lake Chuzenji feeds this third great waterfall of Oku-Nikko. There is an 300 foot elevator that brings visitors to an observation deck. In the winter, the waterfall freezes to almost completely solid.
Chuzenji Temple: One of the oldest temples in Nikko, constructed in 784 by Shodo Shonin. The temple was moved from its original location due to a rock slide. The temple is known for its carved wood statue of Kannon, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy. The Chuzenji Temple is located near the edge of Lake Chuzenji.
Italian Embassy Villa Memorial Park and British Embassy Villa Memorial Park: In the late 1800s, as Japan was opening up to foreign visitors, embassy ambassadors found the Nikko summers an enjoyable escape from the heat and humidity of Tokyo. The Italian Embassy Villa was used by ambassadors until 1997 and the British Embassy Villa was in use until 2008. Both villas are now museums, providing a glimpse of summer life on the lake from the late 1800s to 2008. Ambassadors, families and staff enjoyed hiking, fishing and social activities in the Lake Chuzenji area. We were able to tour the interior of both villas. This was our alternate tour destination given the high winds prevented a boat lake tour.
Italian Embassy Villa
British Embassy Villa
Upstairs in British Embassy Villa Overlooking Lake Chuzenji
Lake Chuzenji View from British Ambassador's Desk
Akechidaira Ropeway: We made the last ropeway car as we drove to Lake Chuzenji. This is one of the oldest ropeways in Japan, built in 1933. The ropeway reopened in 1950, after closure during WWII. The three minute ride brings visitors to an observation platform for views of Kegon Waterfall and Lake Chuzenji.
Senjogahara Marshland: We rode a bus from our hotel to Akanuma and, from there, we hiked in the Senjogahara Marshland to Yu Falls. The boardwalk hike is in the largest high-altitude marshland of Honshu Island. Spread over 1,000 acres at an altitude of 4,600 feet, the marshland is one of Japan's most famous wetlands. The marshland scenery constantly changed as we continued our hike.
Marshland Walkway
Iron-rich Soil
Yu Cascades
Ritz Carlton Nikko, Lake Chuzenji
This 94 room hotel reflects a Japanese-Western architecture. The rooms are spacious, service is excellent, dining is wonderful and the grounds are beautiful. Marriott points covered one of our two nights at the Ritz Carlton - which made the stay a bit more reasonable in cost.
As an example of the high-level hotel service: We left for the day with our mobile charging cords loose on our nightstand and counter. When we returned to our room in the afternoon, we found each charging cord neatly wrapped in a circle with a velcro tie. In all of our travels, we've never seen this attention to detail.
We had a Kaiseki dinner at the hotel's Japanese Restaurant. Kaiseki meals are well-known in Japan for artful multi-course presentations of seasonal and regional foods. Each dish balances flavor, texture and color. The breakfasts were similar, though we opted for Ala cart breakfast rather than the much larger Japanese or Western box breakfasts. The fruit plates were artfully presented, decorated with gold leaf and edible flowers.
The one downside of staying at Lake Chuzenji is that there are not many dinner alternatives, other than the Ritz Carlton restaurants. We found that most local non-hotel restaurants closed at 4pm and, the few that stayed open longer, had no seating available due to existing reservations. Thus, our dinners were either in the hotel restaurant or in-room dining. Regardless, the hotel meals were wonderful.
Our Room Had Electric Blackout Shades & Partial Shades
Neatly Wrapped Cords!
Beautiful Fruit Plate of Red & White Strawberries and Oranges Topped with Gold Foil Flakes
"Momiji" Kaiseki Dinner Menu
Dishes from Kaiseki Dinner at Ritz Carlton
Asaya Hotel, Kinugawa, Nikko
Our third night in the Nikko area was spent at the Asaya Hotel. Kinugawa, about 30 minutes by car from the Nikko shrines, was a booming and well-sought onsen destination for domestic visitors. However, many of the hotels and restaurants are now closed. During Japan’s economic downturn in the early 1990s, many hotel owners were unable to meet loan obligations and defaulted. The banks were unwilling or unable to cover demolition costs nor wanted to deal with environmental issues related to demolition. Despite this somewhat depressed business environment with "ghost-like" hotels, Asaya Hotel continues to be a premier onsen hotel for Kinugawa.
We stayed in a Western style room, with its own indoor onsen. Our room was large, comfortable, well maintained and nicely appointed. The Asaya Hotel buffet dinners and breakfasts are legendary - with 60-100 dishes from which to select. We found the buffets to be very popular with hotel guests and crowded at times. Given the somewhat remote hotel location from the Nikko shrines, I'm not sure we would recommend travelers to visit the Kinugawa area.
Asaya Hotel Interior
Asaya Hotel Interior
Dressing for Dinner
View of Other Hotels Along Kinugawa River
Final Drive: Nikko to Narita
Our driver picked us up at the Asaya Hotel mid-morning. On the drive to Narita, we made a three hour stop at the Ashigawa Flower Park in Ashigawa, Tochigi Prefecture. This 23-acre flower garden features many blue, white and pink wisteria, as well as yellow laburnum flowers. In late April the wisteria are in full bloom and many visitors are drawn to the park.
Our driver brought us to the Narita Hilton for our final overnight stay before departing Narita for San Francisco on Japan Airlines. This was the end of our six week trip and we had many great experiences and were able to view many areas of Japan that were new to us.
Our 2019 month-long trip to Japan focused more on the traditional destinations. Our 2025 itinerary added more remote locations and provided a broader perspective of Japan. First-time visitors to Japan may want to consider which travel approach best suits them. For us, visiting the traditional tour locations first gave us additional cultural awareness, understanding and knowledge for our 2025 trip.
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