Photo: くろふね / CC BY 3.0The port has not published Asuka III's berth in Sakata for 25 Apr.
0:00Shuttle to Nakamachi → Sankyo Warehouses
1:00Early lunch at Sakata Kaisen Ichiba
2:00Homma Family Villa
2:45Somaro — the afternoon maiko performance
4:00Hiyoriyama ParkFollow this route6 stops, the clock and the map ↓
Also fits this call: The merchant quarter on foot (about 2.5h)
Each takes no more than the 25 Apr call leaves you. Booked through Viator; there is no tour desk at the pier.
Fits your 25 Apr callPrivate car · per group
Fits your 25 Apr callPrivate car · per group4.4★ · 10
Fits your 25 Apr callPrivate car · per groupTours are booked through Viator (a Tripadvisor company). If you book, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It never decides what we recommend.
Each one is a round trip from the gangway that fits the usable hours of this call.
Cut to the 25 Apr call. The half hour to get off and the hour before all-aboard are already kept free.
Swipe sideways for the other days →
Needs a 4.5-hour callabout 2.5hhistorywalk
For short calls: the warehouses and a merchant villa, all flat and ten minutes apart.
Costs about ¥1,100 pp for the Homma residence — the warehouse row and the zelkova avenue are free
Open in Google Maps, in 4 parts
Needs a 7-hour callabout 5hhistoryfood
For those who booked Somaro: the signature Sakata day with a market lunch. Only the regular 14:00 show can be booked ahead; on cruise days Somaro posts a special schedule and sells the extra shows at the counter, and the afternoon show may be 13:45 rather than 14:00. On Diamond Princess (14 November, all-aboard 15:30) the 13:45 show is already full, so take a morning show.
Costs about ¥5,400 pp: residence ¥1,100 + Somaro with dance ¥2,500 + market lunch ~¥1,800 (cash only)
Open in Google Maps, in 3 parts
Sun, 25 Apr 2027, 10:00–18:00 (8 h in port). Off the ship from 10:30, back at the gangway by 16:30. Print it or save it before you lose the ship's Wi-Fi.
Rain on about 12 days in 30 — the rain-day plan is worth a look
A layer for the evening
The forecast for Sun 25 Apr appears here from Mon 19 Apr.
Normals 1991–2020: Japan Meteorological Agency, Sakata station · The official figures →
Every upcoming call keeps the same hours, 10:00–18:00: plan one day and repeat it.
Usable hours follow the one rule: off the ship 30 minutes after arrival, all-aboard 30 minutes before departure, back at the gangway an hour before that. Overnight calls count the longest stretch ashore between 08:00 and 21:00 (the night is not touring time). Dates and times from the cruise line’s published itinerary; the port has not listed these calls yet; the daily programme has the final word.
10:00–18:00 · about 6 usable hours · gangway by 16:30
About 6 usable hours, back at the gangway by 16:30: one district or one sight with lunch, or a half-day guided tour that starts at the pier.
The guided day for these callsMt Haguro Pagoda Express Private Tour from Sakata PortPrivate car · per groupUS$281 per person for 2 · US$561 per car · fits 1 of 1 half-day call · open on 1 of the 1 checkedWhy it is here, and the clockTour opening days from the operators' live schedules on Viator, checked 14 Nov; a date can close as seats sell.
The port has not published Asuka III's berth in Sakata for 25 Apr; ships here normally use Kominato Wharf (North Port), ~6 km / 15 min by car from the old town — no terminal building. Berths can be reassigned on busy days; the daily programme has the final word.
Sun, 25 Apr 2027: 10:00–18:00 (8 h in port). Off the ship 30 minutes after arrival, all-aboard 30 minutes before departure, back at the gangway an hour before that: plan for about 6 usable hours on the call of Sun, 25 Apr 2027, back at the gangway by 16:30.
2 of the port's timed days fit the call of Sun, 25 Apr 2027: The merchant quarter on foot (about 2.5h), Warehouses, seafood, and the maiko dance (about 5h). 3 guided days fit the call.
On a usual April day Sakata reaches about 15 °C (59 °F), with a low of about 6 °C (42 °F); rain (1 mm or more) falls on about 12 days in 30. These are the Japan Meteorological Agency's 1991–2020 normals for Sakata. From 7 days before the call, this page shows the forecast for the day itself.
Checked · Visited in person · Takumi Yamada
Dates and times from the cruise line’s published itinerary; the port has not listed these calls yet. Schedules change; your ship's daily programme has the final word.
