Forty nautical miles west, on the eastern tip of Osaki Shimojima island, lies little-known Mitarai. We explored its Edo-era geisha house, sento bathhouse, and shop houses unhindered by other visitors. Locals pulled out all the stops, with hands-on ikebana, gagaku (imperial court music) by the sea at Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine, and a shamisen and classical dance recital in a former cartographer’s residence. Ponant handed out vouchers for passengers to spend in local cafés and later brought onboard a haul of local red snapper.
Each day brimmed with memorable moments. In Shimokamagari, I took part in an odori folk dance with ladies in traditional tube-sleeve happi coats. The next evening, Le Soléal‘s packed dance floor swayed to the in-house band above six-foot swells in the Sea of Japan. In Hagi Castle Town, I scoured the historic grid for pink-hued Hagi-yaki pottery. Later, I relaxed with a full-body scrub in Le Soléal’s Sothys spa. Tsushima Island, midway between Japan and Korea, marked our final full day in Japan. Le Soléal departed though the magnificent Aso Bay, becoming the first cruise ship ever to do so. As the sun set, sake flowed and musicians played beside the pool.
This Ponant sailing was not Bucket List Japan. You could easily bookend this too-short cruise with the popular Golden Route, as many of my fellow travelers did. This was a version of Japan reserved only for those traveling by sea, in the manner and pace of a bygone era. A matchless guest speaker, the Japan authority Alex Kerr, summed up the pioneering journey by saying: “We did not go to Naoshima, the world-famous art island. They don’t need us. But Inujima and Mitarai—those places need us. I am thrilled Ponant chose the beautiful Inland Sea, which everyone has been ignoring up until now.”
This article appeared in the January/February 2024 issue of Condé Nast Traveler. Subscribe to the magazine here.
