YOKOHAMA
Japan's biggest port – and these days practically a suburb of Tokyo – towers with neon-lit skyscrapers and a giant harbour-side Ferris wheel. Cruise ships dock at Osanbashi right in the city centre at a terminal with a bold, undulating design and grassy roofs from which to admire the views. It's a short walk to Yamashita Park, and a half-hour waterside stroll brings you to Minato Mirai 2, a waterfront redevelopment with good museums and shopping. The European-era The Bluff district, throbbing Chinatown (one of the world's largest) and the traditional Sankei Gardens are other highlights of this historic port city. See yokohamajapan.com
OSAKA
View of Sakurajima volcano from Shiroyama Hill in Kagoshima.
This lively, fun-loving and outward-looking city is often the start or finish point for Japan cruises and a fantastic counterpoint to Japan's tranquil, historic sights. Be tempted into a two-night hotel stay: this city doesn't just have great shopping, a pulsating nightlife and a few top sights (including an impressive samurai castle) but is the best place to eat in Japan, especially at its informal eateries and street food. The docks at Tempozan are well out of the city centre but right beside a waterfront entertainment precinct that incudes a terrific aquarium and Universal Studios Japan. See www.osaka-info.jp
NAGASAKI
A location deep in a natural harbour dotted with silvery little islands and surrounded by forested hills makes Nagasaki one of Japan's most beautiful cities to approach by ship. You can further admire the appeal of its setting by heading uphill into Glover Garden, a walk from the cruise terminal, where colonial-era villas sit amid gardens with wonderful views. The city's European-influenced history is fascinating and includes tiny Dejima Island, settled by Dutch traders in the 1640s. A compact but lively Chinatown and the harrowing Atomic Bomb Museum are other attractions in this charming port city. See travel.at-nagasaki.jp
KAGOSHIMA
Though Kagoshima's port is a long tram ride from the city centre, you can't fault the approach as your ship sails into a graceful bay over which Sakurakima volcano rumbles and smokes. The sunny southern city is often compared to Naples, but only for its setting; Kagoshima is a small, well-organised and slightly old-fashioned city full of small shops and eateries, and a delight to explore. It has a ruined shogun's castle and decent art museum, but its top sight is historic Sengan-en Villa, whose gorgeous gardens have views across the bay to the omnipresent volcano. See www.kagoshima-yokanavi.jp
HAKODATE
Hakodate on the northern island of Hokkaido sprawls over two bays on either side of a mountain-topped peninsula which Japanese visitors like to ascend in the evening for light-twinkled views. The small city has curiously Western-style architecture and brick warehouses, since Hakodate was isolationist Japan's first cities to trade with the outside world. Much of the historic architecture sits along the renovated waterfront, where street performers entertain, and up the slopes of adjacent Motomachi district, often used as a movie location. Plunder the town's morning food market, which covers four city blocks with 280-odd stalls, for the freshest seafood imaginable. See hakodate.travel
KUSHIRO
One of Japan's biggest fishing ports, often shrouded in mist, sits astride the Kushiro River and crams much of its entertainment along the Fisherman's Wharf waterfront: restaurants, fish markets, an art museum and shops selling ceramics and wood carvings. Elsewhere, it provides an interesting look at a mid-size, industrial Japanese city. It's also the jumping-off point for surrounding national parks rich in bird life, notably rare Japanese cranes, and the increasingly dramatic coastline that unfolds to the north towards Cape Aikappu, with its wild blue bays and views to islands where puffins roost. See easthokkaido.com
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