Here's the nine places you'll see:


• Tokyo, Japan
• Toba, Japan
• Kochi, Japan
• Busan, South Korea
• Nagasaki, Japan
• Kagoshima, Japan
• Matsuyama, Japan
• Miyazaki (Aburatsu), Japan
• Kobi, Japan

(route might differ slightly)

click map to enlarge

The 2027 Spirit of the West Cruise.

Day

Date

Port

Itinerary (times are tentative)

Day 1

March 2nd

Fly from Canada to Tokyo, Japan

Day 2

March 3rd

Arrive Tokyo, Japan

Grand Nikko Tokyo Daiba Hotel

Day 3

March 4th

Tokyo, Japan

Mother Farm in Chiba and Tokyo Highlights Tour

Day 4

March 5th

Tokyo, Japan

Cultural Discovery day. Tour the Food and Agriculture Museum and the popular Ueno Zoo

Day 5

March 6th

Tokyo, Japan

3:00 pm Board the Sapphire Princess

Day 6

March 7th

Toba, Japan (tender)

7:00 am till 4:00 pm Ise Jingu Shrine and Okage Yokocho Ancient Street

Day 7

March 8th

Kochi, Japan

9:00 am till 5:00 pm Chikurin-ji Temple, Kochi Castle and Hirome Market

Day 8

March 9th

at sea

Day 9

March 10th

Busan, South Korea

7:00 am till 4:00 pm a day on your own to explore

Day 10

March 11th

Nagasaki, Japan

7:00 am till 4:00 pm Peace Memorial Park and Museum and Glover Garden

Day 11

March 12th

Kagoshima, Japan

7:00 am till 4:00 pm A ferry ride to Sakurajima Volcanic Island. Hands on pottery and Sand Art

Day 12

March 13th

Matsuyama, Japan

10:00 am till 7:00 pm Matsuyama Castle and Dogo Giyaman Glass Museum

Day 13

March 14th

Miyazaki (Aburatsu), Japan

7:00 am till 4:00 pm Aoshima Shrine, The Devil’s Washboard,and Botanic Garden Aoshima

Day 14

March 15th

Kobe (for Kyoto), Japan

9:00 am till 11:00 pm Kyoto, Kinkaku-ji, Kobe Beef lunch, Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Ninen-zaka and Sannen-zaka St

Day 15

March 16th

at sea

Day 16

March 17th

Tokyo, Japan

6:30 am

Here's what some folks on past cruises had to say!

The 2009 Spirit of the West was our second, and probably, hopefully anyway, not our last. (they have now done 15) Both crusies were what we considered trips of a lifetime. We had a super time! It's hard to put such an enjoyable experience into words. The fact that there were so many like-minded people in our group made the Spirit of the West cruise very special, something that no other cruise could offer.

Thank you for another Spirit of the West Cruise (this is their sixth cruise) - what a great group! It was nice to catch up on everyone's news and meet still more industry related folks. Coming home with a bit of tan is not bad either.

Thank you both so much for giving us yet another (once in a lifetime) experience. A holiday that we could not even have dreamed of. Thanks so much!

We basicaly came on the trip because Dad wanted to see the Panama Canal - he heard it on the radio show. He said "we should go" ... Well I wasn't about to argue with that so I grabbed the phone. It was a wonderful time. Andrew and Kathy were great.

I found the presenters to be informative and well presented.

Enjoyed the cruise and enjoyed the people. Appreciated all the events set up to enjoy - appreciate Jim & Karen and their time to set everything up, thank you! Enjoyed the sing-a-longs and Hugh's poems. Enjoyed Anrew's harmonica, lyrics, and humour! Thank you both.

Great tour in Costa Rica thanks!

Speakers topics were good - very informative.

Conference speakers informative - topics OK. I am personally interested in the cattle and ranching tours.

We thought about booking on our own but didn't, and we're glad we didn't as it was like we thought ... we would never have had such a good time. We would have missed the network of fellow ranchers and Spirit of the West listeners. We would have missed the presentations that were not only educational but were a lot of fun. No one could have ever had a coffee tour like we got in Costa Rica. It was super as was the trip to get there - what a great way to see the country! The cattle ranch tour was good too, very interesting. Wish we'd had more time there but guess we can't win 'em all. For our next cruise we'll definitely be with the Spirit of the West and will definitely book with Jim and Karen again! Thanks for making this cruise an annual event.

Presenters very good.

Conference was very much appreciated and interesting.

Speakers were good.

We tried to book on our own thinking that we would save some money. It didn't work - it was so involved and complicated we gave up and booked through Jim and Karen ... and sooo glad we did. What a super time!

The Panama cruise was excellent. What an incredible place! The Caribbean, too, - we've never been there before and the sun shone every day! Sure beats January at home all to heck! Thanks for making this cruise possible to your radio show listeners! Oh ya - we love the show, too!