| Cruise line | Ponant Cruises |
|---|---|
| Ship | Le Soleal |
| Duration | 8 nights |
| Port calls | 10 |
| Departures | 4 sailings |
| From fare | $7,870 per person |
| Year built | 2013 |
| Guests | 264 |
| Cabins | 132 |
| Crew | 140 |
| Length | 142 m |
| Beam | 18 m |
| Cruising speed | 14.0 kn |
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Kyoto, Japan Cruise from Osaka to Busan — 9 Days
8 nights · Kyoto, Japan · Departs Kobe-Osaka (Japan) · Visiting Tamano, Itsukushima Island Japan, Hiroshima City, Beppu, Uwajima, Yakushima Island Japan, Kagoshima City, Nagasaki City, Busan · Aboard Ponant Cruises on the Le Soleal
Image courtesy of Ponant Cruises ©
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Day 1
Kobe-Osaka, Japan
Osaka rewards travellers who look beyond its famous appetite. Japan’s third-largest city blends merchant heritage, bold architecture and everyday energy. At Osaka Castle, stone walls and broad moats frame a defining chapter of the city’s past. Follow locals to Dotonbori, where neon reflects on the canal and takoyaki comes hot from the grill. Excellent rail links make Osaka a practical gateway to Kyoto, Nara and Kobe.
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Day 2
Tamano, Japan
Tamano is your gateway to the art islands of Japan’s Seto Inland Sea. From Uno Port, ferries make the crossing to Naoshima. There, the Chichu Art Museum and Benesse House bring contemporary art into a striking meeting of architecture, landscape, and sea. Tamano is also a shipbuilding city, with a working waterfront that reveals another side of this coast. Come for island art, memorable views, and an easy change of pace.
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Day 3
Itsukushima Island Japan, Japan
Step ashore on Itsukushima, better known as Miyajima, and the Seto Inland Sea sets the scene. Itsukushima Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage site, stands above tidal flats; its vermilion torii rises offshore at high tide. Explore the shrine’s corridors, browse local shops for maple-leaf cakes, or take the ropeway toward Mount Misen’s wooded summit. Ferries link the island with Miyajimaguchi for easy access; stay overnight to find quieter shores after day-trippers leave.
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Day 3
Hiroshima City, Japan
Hiroshima is a modern city with a history that reaches far beyond the events of 1945. At Peace Memorial Park, the Atomic Bomb Dome and museum offer a moving, carefully documented account of the bombing. Across the city, local trams make it easy to reach Shukkeien Garden, lively Hondori and the riverside. A short train and ferry journey reaches Miyajima, famed for Itsukushima Shrine and its great torii gate.
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Day 4
Beppu, Japan
Steam curls above Beppu, Japan’s celebrated hot-spring town. On Kyushu’s east coast, mineral-rich waters feed public baths and traditional inns. The famous Eight Hells are vivid geothermal pools, best admired rather than entered. Choose a soak in a neighborhood bathhouse, or sample cuisine cooked with volcanic steam. Beppu rewards travelers who make time for the water.
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Day 5
Uwajima, Japan
Uwajima sits on Shikoku’s southwestern coast, where a compact castle town overlooks the sheltered bays of the Uwa Sea. Its castle, one of Japan’s 12 surviving original keeps, rewards the climb with views across town and water. At Tensha-en, ponds, stone bridges and seasonal flowers recall the world of the Date lords. At scheduled bullfighting tournaments, two bulls lock horns in a local tradition with no riders or blades.
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Day 6
Yakushima Island Japan, Japan
Miyakojima, in Okinawa’s southern island chain, offers a quieter Japan of sugarcane fields, coral shores and turquoise water. Hirara Port puts the island’s main town, beaches and coastal viewpoints within reach. Cross the 3.5-kilometre Irabu Bridge for sweeping sea views. Yonaha Maehama’s pale sand and clear shallows reward an unhurried stop. Try Miyako soba, then take in the limestone landscape that gives this reef-fringed island its distinctive character.
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Day 7
Kagoshima City, Japan
Kagoshima sits at the southern end of Kyushu, with Sakurajima rising across its sheltered bay. Ferries cross to the active volcano, where lava fields and walking trails reveal a landscape still shaped by fire. Sengan-en, a former Shimazu estate, combines traditional gardens with striking views of Sakurajima. Kagoshima’s food is equally distinctive: tender kurobuta pork and local sweet-potato shochu give the region its own character.
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Day 8
Nagasaki City, Japan
Few Japanese cities combine harbor scenery and layered history as compellingly as Nagasaki. Its steep streets rise above a sheltered harbor that once linked Japan with Dutch and Chinese traders. At Dejima, the former Dutch trading post, exhibits trace the city’s unusual role during centuries of restricted foreign contact. The Peace Park and Atomic Bomb Museum offer a moving, carefully documented account of 1945. Come for the history; stay to see how a resilient port city lives beside its past.
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Day 9
Busan, Korea
Busan pairs the scale of a modern port city with easy access to temples, markets and broad beaches. Visit Gamcheon Culture Village, browse Jagalchi Fish Market or ride Songdo’s cable car over the sea. The city’s best-known sights are spread across several districts, so plan your day around one area. For a quieter pause, visit Beomeosa Temple on the forested slopes of Geumjeongsan.
Le Soleal Cruises
- 11 Days One-Way from Broome Wa to Darwin
- 11 Days One-Way from Broome Wa to Fremantle
- 11 Days One-Way from Darwin to Broome Wa
- 11 Days One-Way from Fremantle to Broome Wa
- 11 Days Benoa, Indonesia Round Trip
- 11 Days Cairns, Australia Round Trip
- 11 Days One-Way from Manila to Kobe-Osaka
- 12 Days Darwin, Australia Round Trip
- 13 Days One-Way from Busan to Kobe-Osaka
- 13 Days One-Way from Busan to Manila
- 13 Days One-Way from Keelung to Singapore
- 13 Days One-Way from Kobe-Osaka to Busan
- 13 Days One-Way from Manila to Singapore
- 13 Days One-Way from Singapore to Manila
- 14 Days One-Way from Benoa to Darwin
- 14 Days One-Way from Busan to Manila
- 14 Days One-Way from Hong Kong to Singapore
- 14 Days One-Way from Manila to Busan
- 14 Days One-Way from Singapore to Hong Kong
- 15 Days One-Way from Darwin to Benoa
- 15 Days One-Way from Darwin to Manila
- 15 Days One-Way from Manila to Darwin
- 15 Days One-Way from Singapore to Benoa
- 15 Days Dunedin, New Zealand Round Trip
- 16 Days One-Way from Benoa to Cairns
- 16 Days One-Way from Lautoka to Guam Island Marianas
- 17 Days One-Way from Cairns to Darwin
- 17 Days One-Way from Darwin to Cairns
- 22 Days Dunedin, New Zealand Round Trip
- 4 Days One-Way from Busan to Keelung
- 6 Days One-Way from Guam Island Marianas to Kobe-Osaka
- 8 Days One-Way from Dunedin to Lautoka
- 9 Days One-Way from Busan to Kobe-Osaka
- 9 Days One-Way from Phuket to Singapore
- 9 Days One-Way from Singapore to Phuket
- 9 Days Manila, Philippines Round Trip
- 10 Days One-Way from Cairns to Dunedin
- 10 Days One-Way from Keelung to Kobe-Osaka
- 10 Days One-Way from Manila to Keelung
Published September 26, 2026
Last updated October 3, 2026
Author: J. Richard
Cruise Disclosure
Good to know: Prices are quoted per person based on double occupancy and include all applicable taxes and fees. Availability and prices can change quickly, so please continue through the booking process to confirm the latest availability and pricing before you pay.
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