Aboard Silver Muse with Silversea Cruises
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.
Kagoshima city is the capital of Kagoshima prefecture and also Kyushu’s southernmost major city.
This city is often compared to its Italian sister city Naples, due to its’s similarities such as mild climate and active volcano, Sakurajima.
Sakurajima is one of the most renowned active volcanos not only in Japan but also in the whole entire world.
This smoking Sakurajima is centred in Kinko Bay and is one of the main symbols of this prefecture.
We cannot talk about Sakurajima without the history of continuous eruption.
Sakurajima used to be an isolated island; however, the land has banded together with Osumi peninsula from the eruption in 1914.
You may have a chance to see the smoke coming from the top of Sakurajima depending on the weather condition.
Not only does the scenery of Sakurajima represent the beauty of Kagoshima City but Senganen garden is also symbolic to elegance in the Kagoshima region.
This Japanese garden was constructed by a feudal lord, Mitsuhisa Shimazu, as a guest house of the Kagoshima castle which attracts many visitors for its splendid view.
Shanghai is a city of two faces.
It is home to some of the world’s tallest skyscrapers, miles of luxury goods shops, and scores of trendy bars and restaurants.
But look just beyond the main streets and you’ll find narrow alleyways packed with traditional lane houses, where laundry billows from bamboo poles, and local communities are alive and well.Shanghai has always been China’s most Westernized city.
In its heyday, Shanghai had the best nightlife, the greatest architecture, and the strongest business in Asia.
Nearly a century later, after extreme tumult and political upheaval, it’s back on top.Shanghai’s charm lies not in a list of must-see sites, but in quiet, tree-lined streets, the Bund’s majestic colonial buildings, sweet boutiques, and a dizzying array of places to eat and drink, from literal hole-in-the-walls to celebrity chef restaurants.Today, Shanghai has nearly 24 million people, the skyscrapers keep getting taller, the metro keeps getting longer, and the historical buildings continue to evade the wrecking ball.
For how much longer is anyone’s guess.
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.
Kagoshima city is the capital of Kagoshima prefecture and also Kyushu’s southernmost major city.
This city is often compared to its Italian sister city Naples, due to its’s similarities such as mild climate and active volcano, Sakurajima.
Sakurajima is one of the most renowned active volcanos not only in Japan but also in the whole entire world.
This smoking Sakurajima is centred in Kinko Bay and is one of the main symbols of this prefecture.
We cannot talk about Sakurajima without the history of continuous eruption.
Sakurajima used to be an isolated island; however, the land has banded together with Osumi peninsula from the eruption in 1914.
You may have a chance to see the smoke coming from the top of Sakurajima depending on the weather condition.
Not only does the scenery of Sakurajima represent the beauty of Kagoshima City but Senganen garden is also symbolic to elegance in the Kagoshima region.
This Japanese garden was constructed by a feudal lord, Mitsuhisa Shimazu, as a guest house of the Kagoshima castle which attracts many visitors for its splendid view.
Shanghai is a city of two faces.
It is home to some of the world’s tallest skyscrapers, miles of luxury goods shops, and scores of trendy bars and restaurants.
But look just beyond the main streets and you’ll find narrow alleyways packed with traditional lane houses, where laundry billows from bamboo poles, and local communities are alive and well.Shanghai has always been China’s most Westernized city.
In its heyday, Shanghai had the best nightlife, the greatest architecture, and the strongest business in Asia.
Nearly a century later, after extreme tumult and political upheaval, it’s back on top.Shanghai’s charm lies not in a list of must-see sites, but in quiet, tree-lined streets, the Bund’s majestic colonial buildings, sweet boutiques, and a dizzying array of places to eat and drink, from literal hole-in-the-walls to celebrity chef restaurants.Today, Shanghai has nearly 24 million people, the skyscrapers keep getting taller, the metro keeps getting longer, and the historical buildings continue to evade the wrecking ball.
For how much longer is anyone’s guess.
Cruise Itinerary
Aboard Silver Muse
Launch Year: 2017 Length: 213 Width: 26 Currency: USD Capacity: 596 Crew Count: 411 Deck Count: 8 Cabin Count: 288
Silver Muse is our inspirational work of art. With her eight dining venues, spacious outdoor areas and up-to-the-minute technology, she’s the best place between sea and sky.
Silver Muse marked a new era of ultra-luxury ocean travel for us - enhancing the small-ship intimacy and spacious all-suite accommodation that are our hallmarks but raising the bar in terms of luxury. Silver Muse offers a wealth of enhancements to the onboard experience while satisfying our uncompromising requirements for comfort, service, dining and quality of the world's most discerning travellers.
Silver Muse pioneered the balance between small-ship intimacy and spacious all-suite accommodation. One of the larger ships in our fleet, she offers eight dining offers, plenty of onboard entertainment and a wide choice of public areas. She’s simply divine! View the deck plan here.
Silver Muse Facilities
Silver Muse Includes
Cabin Details
Silversea’s suites offer one of the highest space-per-guest ratios of any luxury cruise accommodations. All Silversea suites have ocean views, and most include a private teak veranda so that you can breathe in the fresh sea air simply by stepping outside your door. Regardless of the ship or suite category, all guests will be pampered with the personalised services of an attentive butler.
For a truly personal experience, customise your suite with an abundance of thoughtful options and luxurious amenities from Bulgari toiletries and personalised stationery to a bar with your favourite wines and liquors. Settle in with a complimentary movie or choose instead to simply watch the ocean swim by. You can even have dinner in-suite served course by course by your butler. Then, when it’s time to retire, curl up beneath Egyptian cotton linens and a fluffy duvet, with your choice of nine different pillow types. The ultimate in luxury cruise accommodations, Silversea’s suites are your home away from home.
