Ponant has announced a new sailing, “An Immersion of Japanese Culture.”

The new sailing is part of the line’s Quintessential Collection, a series of themed cruises featuring notable onboard speakers and excursions ashore that embrace the local culture.

The nine-day/eight-night cruise, scheduled for May 30 to June 7, 2020 aboard Le Soléal, departs from Osaka and ends in Maizuru with stops in Hiroshima, Okayama, among other ports, including a visit to Busan in South Korea.

Fares start at $5,920 per person.

Highlights of the total immersion itinerary include a private audience with the Abbot of Kofukuji Temple in the heart of Nagasaki and the elegance of a private tea-making ceremony available to all passengers.

Optional activities include a special performance of Kagura dances at Itsukushima Shrine, a Shinto holy place; a private visit to the beautiful Yuushien Garden in Sakaiminato; a cooking class demonstrating how to cut and plate deadly puffer fish; and a guided walk through the Busan fish market in South Korea with lunch included. In addition, an optional two-night pre-cruise visit to Kyoto is also available.

Three noted experts will join the cruise to add depth and insight to the exploration in port and onboard ship: Timon Screech, Author and Professor of the History of Art at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London; Holly H. Shimizu, Former Executive Director of the U.S. Botanic Garden and former Host of Victory Garden on PBS; and Osama Shimizu, an expert in contemporary Japanese gardens.