Aboard Azamara Pursuit with Azamara
Cruise Overview
In 1853, a fleet of four American warships under Commodore Matthew Perry sailed into the bay of Tokyo (then Edo) and presented the reluctant Japanese with the demands of the U.S.
Government for the opening of diplomatic and commercial relations.
The following year Perry returned and first set foot on Japanese soil at Yokohama—then a small fishing village on the mudflats of Tokyo bay.
Two years later New York businessman Townsend Harris became America's first diplomatic representative to Japan.
In 1858 he was finally able to negotiate a commercial treaty between the two countries; part of the deal designated four locations—one of them Yokohama—as treaty ports.
In 1859 the shogunate created a special settlement in Yokohama for the growing community of merchants, traders, missionaries, and other assorted adventurers drawn to this exotic new land of opportunity.
The foreigners (predominantly Chinese and British, plus a few French, Americans, and Dutch) were confined here to a guarded compound about 5 square km (2 square miles)—placed, in effect, in isolation—but not for long.
Within a few short years the shogunal government collapsed, and Japan began to modernize.
Western ideas were welcomed, as were Western goods, and the little treaty port became Japan's principal gateway to the outside world.
In 1872 Japan's first railway was built, linking Yokohama and Tokyo.
In 1889 Yokohama became a city; by then the population had grown to some 120,000.
As the city prospered, so did the international community and by the early 1900s Yokohama was the busiest and most modern center of international trade in all of East Asia.
Then Yokohama came tumbling down.
On September 1, 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake devastated the city.
The ensuing fires destroyed some 60,000 homes and took more than 40,000 lives.
During the six years it took to rebuild the city, many foreign businesses took up quarters elsewhere, primarily in Kobe and Osaka, and did not return.
Over the next 20 years Yokohama continued to grow as an industrial center—until May 29, 1945, when in a span of four hours, some 500 American B-29 bombers leveled nearly half the city and left more than half a million people homeless.
When the war ended, what remained became—in effect—the center of the Allied occupation.
General Douglas MacArthur set up headquarters here, briefly, before moving to Tokyo; the entire port facility and about a quarter of the city remained in the hands of the U.S.
Military throughout the 1950s.
By the 1970s Yokohama was once more rising from the debris; in 1978 it surpassed Osaka as the nation's second-largest city, and the population is now inching up to the 3.5 million mark.
Boosted by Japan's postwar economic miracle, Yokohama has extended its urban sprawl north to Tokyo and south to Kamakura—in the process creating a whole new subcenter around the Shinkansen Station at Shin-Yokohama.
The development of air travel and the competition from other ports have changed the city's role in Japan's economy.
The great liners that once docked at Yokohama's piers are now but a memory, kept alive by a museum ship and the occasional visit of a luxury vessel on a Pacific cruise.
Modern Large as Yokohama is, the central area is very negotiable.
As with any other port city, much of what it has to offer centers on the waterfront—in this case, on the west side of Tokyo Bay.
The downtown area is called Kannai (literally, "within the checkpoint"); this is where the international community was originally confined by the shogunate.
Though the center of interest has expanded to include the waterfront and Ishikawa-cho, to the south, Kannai remains the heart of town.
Think of that heart as two adjacent areas.
One is the old district of Kannai, bounded by Basha-michi on the northwest and Nippon-odori on the southeast, the Keihin Tohoku Line tracks on the southwest, and the waterfront on the northeast.
This area contains the business offices of modern Yokohama.
The other area extends southeast from Nippon-odori to the Moto-machi shopping street and the International Cemetery, bordered by Yamashita Koen and the waterfront to the northeast; in the center is Chinatown, with Ishikawa-cho Station to the southwest.
This is the most interesting part of town for tourists.
Whether you're coming from Tokyo, Nagoya, or Kamakura, make Ishikawa-cho Station your starting point.
Take the South Exit from the station and head in the direction of the waterfront.
In 1853, a fleet of four American warships under Commodore Matthew Perry sailed into the bay of Tokyo (then Edo) and presented the reluctant Japanese with the demands of the U.S.
Government for the opening of diplomatic and commercial relations.
The following year Perry returned and first set foot on Japanese soil at Yokohama—then a small fishing village on the mudflats of Tokyo bay.
Two years later New York businessman Townsend Harris became America's first diplomatic representative to Japan.
In 1858 he was finally able to negotiate a commercial treaty between the two countries; part of the deal designated four locations—one of them Yokohama—as treaty ports.
In 1859 the shogunate created a special settlement in Yokohama for the growing community of merchants, traders, missionaries, and other assorted adventurers drawn to this exotic new land of opportunity.
The foreigners (predominantly Chinese and British, plus a few French, Americans, and Dutch) were confined here to a guarded compound about 5 square km (2 square miles)—placed, in effect, in isolation—but not for long.
Within a few short years the shogunal government collapsed, and Japan began to modernize.
Western ideas were welcomed, as were Western goods, and the little treaty port became Japan's principal gateway to the outside world.
In 1872 Japan's first railway was built, linking Yokohama and Tokyo.
In 1889 Yokohama became a city; by then the population had grown to some 120,000.
As the city prospered, so did the international community and by the early 1900s Yokohama was the busiest and most modern center of international trade in all of East Asia.
Then Yokohama came tumbling down.
On September 1, 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake devastated the city.
The ensuing fires destroyed some 60,000 homes and took more than 40,000 lives.
During the six years it took to rebuild the city, many foreign businesses took up quarters elsewhere, primarily in Kobe and Osaka, and did not return.
Over the next 20 years Yokohama continued to grow as an industrial center—until May 29, 1945, when in a span of four hours, some 500 American B-29 bombers leveled nearly half the city and left more than half a million people homeless.
When the war ended, what remained became—in effect—the center of the Allied occupation.
General Douglas MacArthur set up headquarters here, briefly, before moving to Tokyo; the entire port facility and about a quarter of the city remained in the hands of the U.S.
Military throughout the 1950s.
By the 1970s Yokohama was once more rising from the debris; in 1978 it surpassed Osaka as the nation's second-largest city, and the population is now inching up to the 3.5 million mark.
Boosted by Japan's postwar economic miracle, Yokohama has extended its urban sprawl north to Tokyo and south to Kamakura—in the process creating a whole new subcenter around the Shinkansen Station at Shin-Yokohama.
The development of air travel and the competition from other ports have changed the city's role in Japan's economy.
The great liners that once docked at Yokohama's piers are now but a memory, kept alive by a museum ship and the occasional visit of a luxury vessel on a Pacific cruise.
Modern Large as Yokohama is, the central area is very negotiable.
As with any other port city, much of what it has to offer centers on the waterfront—in this case, on the west side of Tokyo Bay.
The downtown area is called Kannai (literally, "within the checkpoint"); this is where the international community was originally confined by the shogunate.
Though the center of interest has expanded to include the waterfront and Ishikawa-cho, to the south, Kannai remains the heart of town.
Think of that heart as two adjacent areas.
One is the old district of Kannai, bounded by Basha-michi on the northwest and Nippon-odori on the southeast, the Keihin Tohoku Line tracks on the southwest, and the waterfront on the northeast.
This area contains the business offices of modern Yokohama.
The other area extends southeast from Nippon-odori to the Moto-machi shopping street and the International Cemetery, bordered by Yamashita Koen and the waterfront to the northeast; in the center is Chinatown, with Ishikawa-cho Station to the southwest.
This is the most interesting part of town for tourists.
Whether you're coming from Tokyo, Nagoya, or Kamakura, make Ishikawa-cho Station your starting point.
Take the South Exit from the station and head in the direction of the waterfront.
Aomori's main event is its Nebuta Matsuri Festival,held August 2 to 7.
People come to see illuminated floats of gigantic samurai figures paraded through the streets at night.
Aomori's festival is one of Japan's largest, and is said to celebrate the euphoria of post-battle victory, and is thus encouraged to be noisier and livelier than you may have been exposed to in other Japanese festivals.
Dancers, called heneto, run alongside the floats, dancing crazily, and you're encouraged to join in.
Throughout the year you can enjoy delicious seafood from Aomori Bay, including Oma no Maguro (tuna of Oma), as well as delicious fruits and vegetables (particularly garlic).
And come every summer, the town cuts loose to throw the decidedly wild Nebuta Matsuri festival, a frenzied, utterly unaccountable period when normal gets thrown to the wind.
Government for the opening of diplomatic and commercial relations.
The following year Perry returned and first set foot on Japanese soil at Yokohama—then a small fishing village on the mudflats of Tokyo bay.
Two years later New York businessman Townsend Harris became America's first diplomatic representative to Japan.
In 1858 he was finally able to negotiate a commercial treaty between the two countries; part of the deal designated four locations—one of them Yokohama—as treaty ports.
In 1859 the shogunate created a special settlement in Yokohama for the growing community of merchants, traders, missionaries, and other assorted adventurers drawn to this exotic new land of opportunity.
The foreigners (predominantly Chinese and British, plus a few French, Americans, and Dutch) were confined here to a guarded compound about 5 square km (2 square miles)—placed, in effect, in isolation—but not for long.
Within a few short years the shogunal government collapsed, and Japan began to modernize.
Western ideas were welcomed, as were Western goods, and the little treaty port became Japan's principal gateway to the outside world.
In 1872 Japan's first railway was built, linking Yokohama and Tokyo.
In 1889 Yokohama became a city; by then the population had grown to some 120,000.
As the city prospered, so did the international community and by the early 1900s Yokohama was the busiest and most modern center of international trade in all of East Asia.
Then Yokohama came tumbling down.
On September 1, 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake devastated the city.
The ensuing fires destroyed some 60,000 homes and took more than 40,000 lives.
During the six years it took to rebuild the city, many foreign businesses took up quarters elsewhere, primarily in Kobe and Osaka, and did not return.
Over the next 20 years Yokohama continued to grow as an industrial center—until May 29, 1945, when in a span of four hours, some 500 American B-29 bombers leveled nearly half the city and left more than half a million people homeless.
When the war ended, what remained became—in effect—the center of the Allied occupation.
General Douglas MacArthur set up headquarters here, briefly, before moving to Tokyo; the entire port facility and about a quarter of the city remained in the hands of the U.S.
Military throughout the 1950s.
By the 1970s Yokohama was once more rising from the debris; in 1978 it surpassed Osaka as the nation's second-largest city, and the population is now inching up to the 3.5 million mark.
Boosted by Japan's postwar economic miracle, Yokohama has extended its urban sprawl north to Tokyo and south to Kamakura—in the process creating a whole new subcenter around the Shinkansen Station at Shin-Yokohama.
The development of air travel and the competition from other ports have changed the city's role in Japan's economy.
The great liners that once docked at Yokohama's piers are now but a memory, kept alive by a museum ship and the occasional visit of a luxury vessel on a Pacific cruise.
Modern Large as Yokohama is, the central area is very negotiable.
As with any other port city, much of what it has to offer centers on the waterfront—in this case, on the west side of Tokyo Bay.
The downtown area is called Kannai (literally, "within the checkpoint"); this is where the international community was originally confined by the shogunate.
Though the center of interest has expanded to include the waterfront and Ishikawa-cho, to the south, Kannai remains the heart of town.
Think of that heart as two adjacent areas.
One is the old district of Kannai, bounded by Basha-michi on the northwest and Nippon-odori on the southeast, the Keihin Tohoku Line tracks on the southwest, and the waterfront on the northeast.
This area contains the business offices of modern Yokohama.
The other area extends southeast from Nippon-odori to the Moto-machi shopping street and the International Cemetery, bordered by Yamashita Koen and the waterfront to the northeast; in the center is Chinatown, with Ishikawa-cho Station to the southwest.
This is the most interesting part of town for tourists.
Whether you're coming from Tokyo, Nagoya, or Kamakura, make Ishikawa-cho Station your starting point.
Take the South Exit from the station and head in the direction of the waterfront.
In 1853, a fleet of four American warships under Commodore Matthew Perry sailed into the bay of Tokyo (then Edo) and presented the reluctant Japanese with the demands of the U.S.
Government for the opening of diplomatic and commercial relations.
The following year Perry returned and first set foot on Japanese soil at Yokohama—then a small fishing village on the mudflats of Tokyo bay.
Two years later New York businessman Townsend Harris became America's first diplomatic representative to Japan.
In 1858 he was finally able to negotiate a commercial treaty between the two countries; part of the deal designated four locations—one of them Yokohama—as treaty ports.
In 1859 the shogunate created a special settlement in Yokohama for the growing community of merchants, traders, missionaries, and other assorted adventurers drawn to this exotic new land of opportunity.
The foreigners (predominantly Chinese and British, plus a few French, Americans, and Dutch) were confined here to a guarded compound about 5 square km (2 square miles)—placed, in effect, in isolation—but not for long.
Within a few short years the shogunal government collapsed, and Japan began to modernize.
Western ideas were welcomed, as were Western goods, and the little treaty port became Japan's principal gateway to the outside world.
In 1872 Japan's first railway was built, linking Yokohama and Tokyo.
In 1889 Yokohama became a city; by then the population had grown to some 120,000.
As the city prospered, so did the international community and by the early 1900s Yokohama was the busiest and most modern center of international trade in all of East Asia.
Then Yokohama came tumbling down.
On September 1, 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake devastated the city.
The ensuing fires destroyed some 60,000 homes and took more than 40,000 lives.
During the six years it took to rebuild the city, many foreign businesses took up quarters elsewhere, primarily in Kobe and Osaka, and did not return.
Over the next 20 years Yokohama continued to grow as an industrial center—until May 29, 1945, when in a span of four hours, some 500 American B-29 bombers leveled nearly half the city and left more than half a million people homeless.
When the war ended, what remained became—in effect—the center of the Allied occupation.
General Douglas MacArthur set up headquarters here, briefly, before moving to Tokyo; the entire port facility and about a quarter of the city remained in the hands of the U.S.
Military throughout the 1950s.
By the 1970s Yokohama was once more rising from the debris; in 1978 it surpassed Osaka as the nation's second-largest city, and the population is now inching up to the 3.5 million mark.
Boosted by Japan's postwar economic miracle, Yokohama has extended its urban sprawl north to Tokyo and south to Kamakura—in the process creating a whole new subcenter around the Shinkansen Station at Shin-Yokohama.
The development of air travel and the competition from other ports have changed the city's role in Japan's economy.
The great liners that once docked at Yokohama's piers are now but a memory, kept alive by a museum ship and the occasional visit of a luxury vessel on a Pacific cruise.
Modern Large as Yokohama is, the central area is very negotiable.
As with any other port city, much of what it has to offer centers on the waterfront—in this case, on the west side of Tokyo Bay.
The downtown area is called Kannai (literally, "within the checkpoint"); this is where the international community was originally confined by the shogunate.
Though the center of interest has expanded to include the waterfront and Ishikawa-cho, to the south, Kannai remains the heart of town.
Think of that heart as two adjacent areas.
One is the old district of Kannai, bounded by Basha-michi on the northwest and Nippon-odori on the southeast, the Keihin Tohoku Line tracks on the southwest, and the waterfront on the northeast.
This area contains the business offices of modern Yokohama.
The other area extends southeast from Nippon-odori to the Moto-machi shopping street and the International Cemetery, bordered by Yamashita Koen and the waterfront to the northeast; in the center is Chinatown, with Ishikawa-cho Station to the southwest.
This is the most interesting part of town for tourists.
Whether you're coming from Tokyo, Nagoya, or Kamakura, make Ishikawa-cho Station your starting point.
Take the South Exit from the station and head in the direction of the waterfront.
Aomori's main event is its Nebuta Matsuri Festival,held August 2 to 7.
People come to see illuminated floats of gigantic samurai figures paraded through the streets at night.
Aomori's festival is one of Japan's largest, and is said to celebrate the euphoria of post-battle victory, and is thus encouraged to be noisier and livelier than you may have been exposed to in other Japanese festivals.
Dancers, called heneto, run alongside the floats, dancing crazily, and you're encouraged to join in.
Throughout the year you can enjoy delicious seafood from Aomori Bay, including Oma no Maguro (tuna of Oma), as well as delicious fruits and vegetables (particularly garlic).
And come every summer, the town cuts loose to throw the decidedly wild Nebuta Matsuri festival, a frenzied, utterly unaccountable period when normal gets thrown to the wind.
Cruise Itinerary
Aboard Azamara Pursuit
Launch Year: 2001 Length: 180 Width: 25 Currency: USD Capacity: 690 Crew Count: 408 Deck Count: 8 Cabin Count: 345
The launch of Azamara Pursuit® in 2018 opened the seas to maiden ports, new itineraries, and the opportunity to provide our guests with even more unforgettable, unique, and immersive experiences than ever before. Like our sister ships, Azamara Pursuit offers some of the most extraordinary adventures on Earth, to places you’ve always dreamed of. Or, perhaps, only just heard about.
New-to-Azamara destinations include Antofagasta (Chile), Lima (Peru), and the Beagle Channel—and those are just some of our South American maiden destinations. Not only do we now take you to 15 unique ports and a whole host of bucket-list locales, but we also stay longer in each one, so you have more time to experience the world’s many wonders in a truly AzAmazing way.
Azamara Pursuit Facilities
Azamara Pursuit Includes
Cabin Details
YOUR OWN SEASIDE RETREAT
Welcome to your vacation home with ocean views, sea breezes, and all the style and amenities of a boutique hotel. Relax in your cruise stateroom with plush cotton robes and slippers, French bath products, fresh flowers, and 24-hour room service. Our goal is to make you comfortable so you can spend more time on important things. Like exploring the world.
EXPERIENCE THE SUITE LIFE
The premier way to travel, discover luxury with each Azamara voyage from our Club World Owner's Suite, Club Ocean Suite, Club Continent Suite or Club Spa Suites. As a suite guest receive a variety of exclusive benefits in addition to modern accommodations and authentic service. We take care of all the details, so you can focus on the adventure ahead.
A boutique hotel at sea, each of our cruise suites offer the comforts of a five-star hotel suite with the added decadence of ocean views, sea breezes, and butler service. Relax with spa-like sea breezes, and butler service. Relax with spa-like amenities including plush cotton robes and slippers, French bath products, fresh flowers, and fine linens. Open the sliding glass doors to your private balcony and curl up with book, dine al fresco dining, or stargaze. Share a drink of your favorite spirit—on the house. And should you need anything, your English-trained butler is never more than a call away, ready to assist with reservations, private parties, dinners for two, and much more.
THE LUXE LIFE: YOUR CRUISE STATEROOM
When you book a cruise stateroom, you'll love the polished style and stellar service in your own private retreat. You'll appreciate the finer touches included, but it takes more than a beautiful room to elevate a voyage from "good" to "great." With Azamara®, you'll discover just how much professional service and a friendly attitude can add to your enjoyment.
