Photo: Adobe Stock / LicensedThe port has not published Noordam's berth in Sakaiminato for 3 Oct.
0:40Matsue Castle, about an hour
1:40Drive to the Adachi Museum (~40 min)
2:20Adachi gardens, about 1 h 50 min — framed like paintings, viewed from within
5:00Back at the terminalFollow this route6 stops, the clock and the map ↓
Also fits this call: The yokai road (about 2.5h) · Road + market feast (about 4h)
Each takes no more than the 3 Oct call leaves you. Booked through Viator; there is no tour desk at the pier.
Fits your 3 Oct callPrivate car · per personAn eight-hour chartered car with a driver, with a route you choose on a form after booking and an optional restaurant reservation.
US$269 each · US$538 for twoPickup on requestneeds a 10-hour callfits 47% of calls hereNon-refundableWhy it is here
Fits your 3 Oct callPrivate car · per person5.0★ · 1An eight-hour private-car garden day: Yuushien on Daikon Island, the Adachi Museum of Art, and the Tottori Hanakairo flower park.
US$865 each · US$1730 for twoPickup at the pierneeds a 10-hour callfits 47% of calls hereFree cancellation 24h aheadWhy it is here
Fits your 3 Oct callShared car · per person5.0★ · 4A five-hour small-group run from the cruise terminal to Matsue Castle and the Adachi Museum of Art, with both tickets included.
US$220 each · US$440 for twoMeets at the pierneeds a 7-hour callfits 92% of calls hereFree cancellation 24h aheadWhy it is hereTours 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.
Cut to the 3 Oct 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 2.5hwalkhistory
For those who want one street done well: one ride in, one ride back, all on foot between.
Taxi about ¥2,300 each way from the Yumeminato Terminal (estimate), or about ¥250 pp by bus 41; a ship shuttle only if your line runs one
Open in Google Maps, in 3 parts
Needs a 6-hour callabout 4hwalkfood
For those who want yokai first, then Japan's biggest crab port at lunch.
Costs about ¥4,900 per car by taxi (terminal to station ~¥2,300, road to market ~¥900, market back to the terminal ~¥1,700; tariff estimates), or about ¥250 pp by bus 41 into town
Open in Google Maps, in 3 parts
Needs a 7-hour callabout 5hviewshistory
For long calls who want Japan's best garden and an original castle keep.
Covered by the tour (from US$220 pp, both entry tickets included)
Open in Google Maps, in 3 parts
Sun, 3 Oct 2027, 08:00–18:00 (10 h in port). Off the ship from 08:30, back at the gangway by 16:30. Print it or save it before you lose the ship's Wi-Fi.
Japan checks every foreign passenger in person at the first Japanese port, before anyone goes ashore: a passport check and fingerprints. No official time is published for it, so plan the start of the day around the queue.
Sources: Immigration Services Agency of Japan (Immigration Control Act, Art. 14-2 and 23), Japan Customs, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Checked 25 October 2026. Our guide to the first Japanese port
Rain on about 10 days in 30 — the rain-day plan if the day turns wet
A layer for the evening
The forecast for Sun 3 Oct appears here from Mon 27 Sept.
Normals 1991–2020: Japan Meteorological Agency, Sakai station · The official figures →
Every upcoming call keeps the same hours, 08:00–18:00: 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.
08:00–18:00 · about 8 usable hours · gangway by 16:30
About 8 usable hours, back at the gangway by 16:30: the port's full timed day fits, and so does a guided day that returns in time.
The guided day for these callsSakaiminato Shore Excursion: Matsue Castle, Yushien and Yokai Road (Shared Coach)Shared car · per personfrom US$82 per person · fits 1 of 1 full-day callWhy it is here, and the clockThe port has not published Noordam's berth in Sakaiminato for 3 Oct; ships here normally use Sakai Yumeminato Terminal (nearly all ships, 6 km by road from town) — Showa quays for small expedition ships only. Berths can be reassigned on busy days; the daily programme has the final word.
Sun, 3 Oct 2027: 08:00–18:00 (10 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 8 usable hours on the call of Sun, 3 Oct 2027, back at the gangway by 16:30.
3 of the port's timed days fit the call of Sun, 3 Oct 2027: The yokai road (about 2.5h), Road + market feast (about 4h), The Adachi excursion (about 5h). 3 guided days fit the call.
On a usual October day Sakaiminato reaches about 22 °C (72 °F), with a low of about 14 °C (57 °F); rain (1 mm or more) falls on about 10 days in 30. These are the Japan Meteorological Agency's 1991–2020 normals for Sakai. 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.
