Kyoto and Osaka shore excursions from the ports of Kobe and Osaka on Celebrity Millennium Japan Asia

Kyoto/Osaka Our Japanese Cruise on Celebrity Millennium took us to the ports of Kobe and Osaka which are right across the bay from each other and are the ports used for excursions to Kyoto. The ship was in Kobe for the first day and then moved across to Osaka where we stayed for a day and a half. We did three excursions, One with Celebrity Cruises, One with a local company arranged by Iglu Cruises and the other was our own DIY port tour. But what did we think of each one? And would we have done it differently? First, we did the Kyoto Fushimi Inari Taisha and Temples tour at a cost £152 per person with Celebrity Cruises. The start of this tour took us to a hotel in the north west of Kyoto for a traditional Japanese lunch. We had about an hour to eat lunch and look around the hotel gift shop. Next we went to Higashiyama Jisho-ji which is an incredible Buddhist Temple sat in perfectly manicured gardens. An hour later we went to Maruyama Park and spent an hour and a half wandering around the Gion District for a bit of Geisha spotting. There are many costume hire shops around Gion so many people were dress up in Kimonos as they promenaded. During our walk we saw the Chionin Budhist Temple, The Yasaka Shrine, The Bishamontendo Temple, the Kenninji Temple and the Hokan-Ji Temple also known as the Yasaka Pagoda, but alas the real Geishas were illusive. Finally, we arrive at the Fushimi Inari Taisha with over ten thousand Torii gates covering a 5 kilometre pathway. It is recommended to spend 2 to three hours at this incredible attraction. But due to traffic and other delays we were given 20 minutes to see the one thing we had taken the tour for. The whole excursion was badly organised, with time wasted going to a restaurant and shop on the opposite side of the city to all the attractions, which meant we spent around two extra unnecessary hours in traffic. Time which should have been spent at the Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine. We complained to Celebrity and were told Fushimi Inari Taisha was not the main attraction even though it is the name of the tour, and were given just a 20% refund. So we cancelled all other excursions we had booked with them. Early next morning the ship moved to Osaka where we were met by our guide from Hankyu Travel for our 2nd tour of Kyoto including the Tenryu-Ji Temple, Arashiyama Bamboo Forest and the Heian-Jingu Shrine. This was included in our Iglu Cruise booking but it too, cost around £150 each. We arrived at the Heian-Jingu Shrine at around 11:20 after passing along the riverbank to see the cherry blossoms. Built to commemorate the 1,100th anniversary of Kyoto's reign as the capital of Japan, Heian-jingu Shrine's most recognizable feature is its towering red torii gate. With its vibrant colors and immaculate grounds, the shrine is an iconic symbol of Kyoto. We were given 50 minutes to wander around the Shrine by ourselves. There was quite a commotion at the stepping stones, when a lady fell into the pond dragging her husband with her. I didn't laugh, Honest! We then crossed the city, passing by the Kyoto Imperial Palace situated in the Kyoto National Garden and on to a restaurant close to Tenru-Ji, where we had another Japanese Banquet, which I found delicious, but many of our group were not too keen on it, due to the different flavours and textures. After lunch we were shown around the Tenru-Ji Temple and gardens, before exiting into the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest where we had 45 minutes to explore the forest and shops before returning to the coach for our journey back to ship. ********* The next morning we left the ship at 8:30 and walked about 400 meters and took the Metro to Osaka Castle which looks amazing but apparently it is just a concrete reconstruction of the original with a museum inside but the grounds are beautiful. Afterwards we took the metro to the Dotonbori District and were blown away by the sheer spectacle of the area with its neon signs and its animated hordings, it is quite incredible and a sensory overload. As we had missed out on our Kobe beef in Kobe, we went to a Teppanyaki Grill in Dotonbori called Wanomiya for a Kobe Beef Lunch. It was delicious, so succulent you almost didn't need to chew. The Wasabi set your nasal passages alight though. At only £25 per person this was a very special dining experience with everything carefully explained by our own private chef. Amazing! The metro got us back to the ship by 2pm to sail at 3pm So would we have done these ports differently? Yes! We could have done the seen the same sights and more in a more relaxed manner if we had done it independently AND it would have been a third of the cost. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but now you have foresight. See our alternative to organised excursions in the video. There is absolutely now chance of missing the ship with the efficient Japanese Transport network.