Maizuru cruise

The bamboo forest of Arashiyama
The extraordinary Amanohashidate
The 1001 statues of the Sanjūsangen-dō temple

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Maizuru

Onwards to Kyoto

The trip to Maizuru on an MSC cruise is the starting point for discovering the beautiful city of Kyoto. On an excursion you will be able to visit the Kasamatsu Park, the temple of Kiyomizu and the Arashiyama district.

The Kasamatsu Park can be visited on an excursion. There you can admire the Amanohashidate, a thin strip of land covered in pine trees and characterised by the beautiful sandy beaches of Miyazu bay. It is a natural wonder, whose name means "a bridge to heaven" because if you look at it upside down it resembles a bridge stretching up to the sky. At the southernmost end of Amanohashidate, the Buddhist temple of Chionji rises up. Here, one of the "Three important Monju Bosatsu statues", the God of Intellect and Wisdom, is held. 


The Higashiyama Temple district, in the eastern part of Kyoto, conceals other wonders. For example the ancient Buddhist temple of Sanjūsangen-dō, where 1001 statues of Kannon, the Goddess of mercy, are kept; these are carved in wood covered with gold leaf to bear witness to order and continuity. The temple was founded in 1164 and was destroyed by fire shortly after. It was rebuilt identically one hundred years later. Older still is the Kiyomizu Temple. Founded in 780 near the Otowa waterfall on the wooded hillside east of Kyoto, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994. 


On the western outskirts of Kyoto a stroll to Arashiyama, a pleasant neighbourhood with restaurants and shops, is not to be missed. It is also famous for its bamboo forest and Togetsukyo bridge, which was rebuilt in the 1930s and is a reproduction of a medieval wooden bridge. You can rent boats on the banks of the river.

Must see places in Maizuru

Discover excursions in Maizuru

    Japan

    A dìfferent planet
    A dìfferent planet

    There’s nothing quite like a cruise to Japan. The very quintessence of Eastern culture, it has long excited the imagination of the West, with a great many of its joys etched indelibly into the minds of folk who live oceans away.


    Sushi and sake, anime and manga, samurai, ninja and the bullet train: everyone knows something of this island nation’s culture, but there’s far more to discover beyond these highly enjoyable stereotypes. Prepare to be pleasantly disorientated. 

    One of the joys of visiting Japan is experiencing the ordinary ways in which the Japanese aesthetic enters into everyday life. The presentation of food, a window display or the simplest flower arrangement can convey, beyond the walls of any museum or gallery, the essential nature of Japanese art. 


    An MSC cruise to Japan will reveal the major attraction of this “Land of contrasts”; it may be the world’s laziest travel cliché, but those who visit Japan find themselves constantly surprised at the easy co-existence between the country’s past and present. 

    Discover Japan and its unexpectedly beautiful landscapes, its charmingly courteous people and its tangible sense of history and cherished traditions – few will be able to resist the chance to get to grips with its mysterious, yet tantalizing, culture.