Mitsui Ocean Cruises put a second ship in the water this week, and it’s a move worth watching if you’ve got Japan on the cruise radar. Mitsui Ocean Sakura sails its maiden voyage September 19 out of Yokohama, joining sister ship Fuji as the line’s second vessel since launching in 2023.
Here’s the twist: neither ship is a new build. Both are converted Seabourn Odyssey-class ships, re-hulled and reflagged rather than ordered fresh from a shipyard. Having watched a handful of luxury lines try to scale fast, I like this play. Skipping the newbuild queue means Mitsui went from one ship to two in under two years instead of waiting five.
Sakura runs short, one-to-three-night sailings out of Japanese ports through December, with a sushi bar and open-air footbath carried over from Fuji. If short-format Japan luxury cruising is on your list, this is the year it got easier to book.
