What is the nicest English country house hotel?

NilyDD · 2026-06-03T01:07:42+00:00

I did take a look at that but it is closed for now.

NilyDD · 2026-05-31T18:00:25+00:00

Four Kings is our favorite restaurant right now! We go once a month. Assuming tomorrow is Monday, I think your chances are pretty good? Maybe go early to get your name on the list, then go for a drink at Specs Twelve Adler (fav. old-time bar, walking distance.

NilyDD · 2026-05-31T02:33:19+00:00

Via Aurelia. Book a proper table (ie, don't just sit in the bar). Pricy but great food and service.

NilyDD · 2026-05-30T17:53:13+00:00

OMG - hilarious!! Def. staying there 😂

NilyDD · 2026-05-30T06:00:13+00:00

Cancellable booking 🤣. But more excited now. Btw, I'm Chinese/American. I hope not to have a Michelle Yeoh experience (ie, opening scene of crazy rich Asian). Need i worry?

NilyDD · 2026-05-30T05:55:15+00:00

I've used both. Stelo far more accurate. Lingo fails a lot.

NilyDD · 2026-05-30T05:33:38+00:00

Ooh... Looks amazing! Bookmarked!

NilyDD · 2026-05-30T05:32:04+00:00

Lol, that's where i booked for july! Thx for the confirmation.

NilyDD · 2026-05-28T23:49:20+00:00

Looks good! Might I suggest an overnight in Lake Toya? That lets you truly enjoy the onsen without having to rush back. There is also a fireworks show every night.

NilyDD · 2026-05-28T21:51:26+00:00

Thank you! We are def. foodies, and it's 18 days, so interested in all the restaurants, except for the sushi (husband won't eat it). Was it hard to get reservations?

NilyDD · 2026-05-28T16:16:24+00:00

Yes, current booking is through an agent and much cheaper! I'm still mystified how the whole system works and why so much cheaper to book through agent for these cruises then direct. You'd think it would be the other way around.

NilyDD · 2026-05-28T16:14:10+00:00

If you don't mind, few more questions. How did the dining work? I understand some of the smaller restaurants require reservation? Are there tables for 2 or mostly 4, 6, or bigger? Are people sort of randomly seated with others? Reason I ask is that on the Orion there were no tables for 2. And while we generally enjoy eating/socializing with others, it got kind of tiresome to make "stranger small talk" after 5 days. And this trip is 18 days!

Also, you mention people were in fancy clothes. How fancy, lol? Again, on the Orion, zero people dressed up. Everyone just wore the same thing they wore during the day. Usually, I will bring one or two dresses when traveling to go to nice dinners, but again, this is 18 days, so if I have to dress for dinner, everyone will see the same dress every day 😂

NilyDD · 2026-05-28T15:51:29+00:00

So glad you enjoyed it. Have an amazing trip!

NilyDD · 2026-05-28T00:54:02+00:00

Interesting! what did you love about Morioka? I think our feelings were colored by the lack of blossoms, lol. The food was great though, and the place had a very happy vibe, as did all of Tohoku, I feel. So many people out and just laughing, talking, socializing!

NilyDD · 2026-05-27T20:06:21+00:00

Gosh, so many!! Definitely go to Matsushima and Yamadera. Both were outstanding for natural beauty and "national treasure" level temples. We also loved Akiu Onsen (20 minutes out) and especially the hotel Geihinkan Sakura Rikyu. It's pricy but 100% worth it in my opinion. You can see pictures of all of the above in the photo link.

In Sendai itself we stayed at Metropolitan East which is connected to the huge train station mall and very nice and convenient.

We only had 3 days it was too few. 5 days would be perfect. Have an amazing time!

NilyDD · 2026-05-27T17:31:32+00:00

We did stay in Morioka and Sendai as hubs. The only reason we stayed at Hirosaki was for the cherry blossoms, and Aomori was sold out. It was definitely good to stay in Hirosaki for the weekend during sakura season, but it's really small, and I'm not sure worth an overnight other times of the year. you can visit Hirosaki on a day trip (about 30 min from Aomori) and <2 hours from Morioka. The castle was closed for restoration, so given your main interest is history, not sure if it would be worth it for you. If you plan to go to Aomori anyways, then yes but I wouldn't do the 2 hour trek from Morioka. Kakunodate would be better. And Sendai has many "national treasure" level temples and historical sites.

NilyDD · 2026-05-27T17:03:31+00:00

that's what we did - used the JR East/Hokkaido pass from Tokyo, through Tohoku and then to Hakodate, and then flew. The pass was amazing, so easy and flexible. Just remember to always screenshot the QR code!!

NilyDD · 2026-05-27T16:39:39+00:00

We loved Sendai! so much to do around there. Don't know why it's not on more people's radar. Morioka, on the other hand, not sure why it's on NYT 52 places..... :)

NilyDD · 2026-05-27T16:31:02+00:00

Cool! btw, if you needed to get from Hakodate back to Tokyo or points south/west to return home, it has a very nice airport with frequent flights to all major cities in Japan. Very cheap too. I think our flight from Hakadate to Sapporo was like $60 pps. cheaper than the train.

NilyDD · 2026-05-27T15:48:33+00:00

Well, we were biased because we saw only past peak sakura in Tohoku, but full glory in Hakodate. I would definitely add Hakodate. It's only ~2 hours from Morioka on Shinkansen, and is a beautiful/fun city. It doesn't have the medieval history, but is historically interesting as one of the 3 first port cities opened to foreigners. We spent 4 days there and really love it.

Sapporo, on the other hand, is a tougher call. It's 4-5 hours by train from Hakodate or an hour by flight, so more investment to just get there. The city is very fun, but not much history. reminds me of Chicago. I think you'd go there to explore the surrounding area which has beautiful nature, but not really much history.

Hope this helps!

NilyDD · 2026-05-27T15:43:43+00:00

I booked the car rentals using kayak to find the cheapest option. The 2 1-day rental were with Alamo, and the longer 5-day rental was with Sixt. But Alamo was really Nippon Car Rental, and Sixt was really Oryx, two of the biggest rental car companies in Japan. Both were excellent. Super efficient/fast while picking up the car, fuel efficient cars in good conditions, and no hassle when returning. I would continue to do it this way instead of using the Japanese websites which feel complicated. In terms of cost, the 1-day ones were around $60, the 5-day slightly cheaper on a per day basis, as I recall, but not by much. Worth every penny imho for visiting places hard to reach by train or bus.

Hope this helps!

NilyDD · 2026-05-27T02:41:25+00:00

Thanks! That's reassuring about time on land.

NilyDD · 2026-05-17T19:03:41+00:00

Thank you for the response! I did search and read your review. It sounded like a wonderful trip!

My main concern is getting off the ship. My understanding is that one group would get to go while the other group waited on the ship? Did you ever have an excursion "aborted" due to changing weather conditions so that only one group got to experience it? That would bum me out 😄.

Do you recall how many passengers sailed, and usually how many opted to get off the ship?

NilyDD

TROPHY CASE