I have been on many Princess Cruises and thought this would be an interesting one - 5 ports in Japan, S Korea and then across the Bering Sea to Whittier Alaska - truly a trip of a lifetime.
I flew into Japan a week early and enjoyed touring around. I am a solo senior female and felt very safe at all times and found it fairly easy to get around.
Boarding in Yokohama is very different. You have to get a number and wait until you are called to check in. That took some time and some people were very upset at the way this was done but as it would turn out "Japan has a unique way of doing things"