One of my favourite things about expedition cruising is the opportunity to explore remote locations that are off the beaten tourist track.
Cities don’t do it for me. They don’t make my heart swell with joy. I love the open seas, the first sightings of land, the soaring cliffs, the wildlife, the wonder of it all …
Our latest adventure saw us cruise through the Japanese subtropical islands aboard Ponant’s Le Soleal. There were 198 passengers on board a stylish ship featuring 11 zodiac boats for whizzing us around on excursions to deserted beaches and jungles.
There are more than 14,000 islands in the Japanese sub-tropical region, stretching over 1000 kilometres from Kyushu to Taiwan and they are difficult to visit due to infrequent flights and ferries.
Ponant expedition leader Ryo Ijichi spent many years exploring Antarctica before deciding to create a series of unique itineraries in his homeland.
After watching Ryo speak at a Ponant information night last year, I convinced DD to join me for a seven-day adventure.
Well, it wasn’t really a hard sell. DD loves Japan after visiting on numerous business and leisure trips. He was keen to see this less touristed part of the country.
The cruise offered no solo supplement, so we decided to get two cabins for the price of one! Each one featured a king-size bed, a bathroom with shower, separate toilet, balcony, Dyptique Paris bath products, minibar, Nespresso coffee maker, Bose Bluetooth speaker and flat screen TV.
Our travel agent Annalize spoke to the ship and asked them to remove the balcony barrier between the two cabins, so it was like having a mini apartment for two where we could pop between our rooms without going out into the corridor.
We loved it!
We boarded the ship in Fukuoka and settled onto our balcony with Champagne to watch the Fukouka F Queens serenade us from the dock …
Then it was time for dinner in one of the two restaurants, where I was beside myself to discover our Maitre de was Marvin from our last cruise. Marvin is suave, sweet and incredibly good at his job, so other ships in the fleet keep stealing him. He’s joining a new ship called the Paspaley Pearl by Ponant next year cruising the Kimberley.
All meals and drinks are included aboard Ponant, so we treated ourselves to Negronis afterwards on deck before heading to bed for our first night at sea.
Our first stop the next day was Yakushima, a mountainous island listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site. Its forests contain some of Japan’s oldest trees, with some up to 7000 years old.
We chose to go on what was described as having a “medium” level of difficulty but turned out to have a high degree of difficulty. The usual path was closed due to damage from a recent typhoon and we were exhausted by the time we got back down to the meeting point! But it was an incredibly beautiful part of the world and I am glad I got to see it, even if I needed to take Nurofen afterwards for my aching hip!
I was also excited to spot wild Yakushima monkeys, which are a type of macaque with ruddy faces.
That night we enjoyed welcome cocktails with the Captain, followed by a gala dinner where we shared a table with a couple who live just down the road from DD in Curl Curl. Terry and Lynne have been on lots of expedition cruises with True North so we bombarded them with questions about potential destinations on my long bucket list, including Bremer Bay and Rowley Shoals in Western Australia.
The next day we enjoyed a seafood buffet on deck before sailed into Amamioshima for the afternoon. We initially planned to go kayaking in the famed mangrove swamps but changed our minds at the last minute and headed off to snorkel instead. Who knew there were anenomes filled with clownfish in Japan? Not me! The water was crystal clear with lots of coral, including bright blue bommies and dramatic staghorns. I was beside myself with delight.
We even discovered an awesome coffee shop in the town itself, called Little Bay, where I cooled down with a delicious iced coffee.
The town put on the most lovely show for our departure, filled with dancing, singing and traditional instruments, with the mayor giving a speech to thank us for visiting.
Then we sipped the cocktail of the day, the Sidecar, as the sun set over Amamioshima.
The next morning we were up at dawn to watch the sun rise as we cruised into Zamami, a lush paradise filled with stunning white sand beaches, including one with a Michelin star, Furuzamami.
But my priority was a beach offering awesome snorkelling, on a tiny island called Gahi (pictured main). We had a fantastic time exploring the reef until DD and a sea snake startled each other.
We jumped on a zodiac soon after and headed to the mainland to check out the Michelin-starred beach (above) which was stunning.
The water in Zamami is exceptionally clear due to a current that keeps plankton levels low and the fact there are no rivers that carry sediments into the sea. It is a vivid shade of blue that has been dubbed “Kerama Blue”.
Then it was back to the ship for the cocktail of the day, a Bramble.
Following another pretty sunrise we arrived the next morning at Taketomi-jima, a preserved Okinawan village of red tiles and with fences made from coral. Hibiscus and bougainvillea tumbled over the walls and many of the roofs were guarded by shisa statues, a mythological guardian lion.
We hired bicycles and pedalled through the quaint streets, which are made from white coral sand. We passed numerous oxen pulling wagons, the traditional form of transport on the island.
Each day brought a fascinating new island for us to explore, the next was Iriomote-jima, “the jungle island”, which is so densely carpeted with mangrove forest that it looks prehistoric. However, we had signed up for snorkelling after being tipped of that it was the top spot of the trip. Unfortunately the operators made a change to their policies and wouldn’t allow people over 60, which cut out 90% of Ponant’s passengers and it had to to be cancelled.
We went snorkelling off the beach instead, which didn’t hold a candle to our previous experiences, which left me wishing we’d gone on a jungle cruise or kayaking expedition.
Our second last stop was Ishigaki, a surfing town with a Japan-meets-Hawaii vibe. We had great iced coffees and enjoyed exploring the streets, but the highlight was a drumming troupe that came on board the ship to perform. They were incredible!
Oh, and my deconstructed black rice paella for lunch on the ship wasn’t bad either!
Our final port was Yonaguni, the westernmost inhabited island of Japan, which is home to the pony-like Yonaguni horse, a rare native breed.
It’s also a drawcard for divers, who are fascinated by a mysterious 100-meter-long stretch of topography appears to be a series of steps and stone pillars, called the Yonaguni Monument. Debate still rages as to whether it is a man-made relic of a lost civilization or a natural occurrence.
After a tour of the island we sat down at a plastic table and chairs at the port to enjoy delicious miso ramen and gyozas prepared by two lovely women in a food truck.
All too soon it was our last night of the cruise.
Time for one last Old Fashioned before docking in Keelung, Taiwan. It was a fascinating week and I feel incredibly lucky to have seen so many islands in the region. We hope to return one day to explore more – and I hope I’ve given you a small taste of their magic too!
Song of the day: Nick Cave “The Ship Song”
housegoeshome 
Leave a comment