Richseen Private Journeys · Japan

Seto Inland Sea: A Journey of Quiet Perfection

City · Ryokan · Voyage — Fukuoka · Setoda · Seto Inland Sea · Hiroshima
7 Days · 6 Nights
From USD 22,000+ per person
"A slow voyage through Japan's most refined coastal landscapes — rhythm, design, and cultural depth."
The Journey

Into the
Quiet Interior

The Seto Inland Sea — enclosed between the islands of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu — is the Japan that most travellers never reach. Its waters are calm and silver, its islands are scattered like punctuation across a still sentence, and its coastline carries the quiet authority of a civilisation that has been refining itself for centuries without audience or interruption.

This seven-day itinerary is designed around rhythm: a night in Fukuoka to arrive without urgency, a traditional ryokan stay in Setoda to calibrate the pace, and then embarkation aboard guntû — the most design-considered vessel on the inland sea, carrying a maximum of eighteen guests through waters that have been the subject of Japanese woodblock prints for three hundred years.

The guntû does not rush. It anchors off islands that have no roads to speak of, allows guests to cycle through villages where the seasons still matter, and serves kaiseki cuisine prepared from ingredients gathered that morning from the surrounding sea. This is Japan experienced at the pace Japan actually moves — slowly, deliberately, and with an attention to detail that requires stillness to perceive.

Signature Moments

Six Encounters
with the Inland Sea

The guntû does not rush. It anchors where stillness is complete — and the Japan it reveals is the one that most travellers never reach.

01
Eighteen Guests — Maximum — on the guntû
The most design-considered vessel on the Seto Inland Sea carries a maximum of eighteen guests through waters that have been the subject of Japanese woodblock prints for three hundred years.
02
Kaiseki Cuisine — Ingredients Gathered That Morning
The onboard kitchen sources from the surrounding sea and the islands passed each day — kaiseki prepared at the pace of the tide rather than a supply chain.
03
Anchored Off Islands with No Roads to Speak Of
Cycling through villages where the seasons still determine the rhythm — the Seto islands as they have existed for centuries, accessible only to guests who arrive by water.
04
Setoda Ryokan — One Night to Calibrate the Pace
Before embarkation, a traditional ryokan stay in Setoda — the tatami rooms, the onsen, and the unhurried breakfast that establishes the register for everything that follows.
05
The Communal Bath — Open to the Silver Sea
The guntû's onboard communal bath, open to the water — the Seto light changing on the surface as the vessel moves slowly through the morning, the islands passing without urgency.
06
The Attention to Detail That Requires Stillness to Perceive
Japan experienced at the pace Japan actually moves — the refinement of a civilisation that has been practicing it for centuries, most legible from the deck of a vessel that is in no hurry at all.
Curated Highlights

What Defines This Journey

01⛵
guntû — Vessel of Quiet Authority
A maximum of eighteen guests. Floor-to-ceiling windows facing the inland sea. Hinoki cypress baths. Kaiseki cuisine prepared from the morning's catch. The guntû is not a cruise ship — it is a Japanese inn that moves slowly across the water.
02🏯
Seamless Blend — City, Ryokan, and Voyage
Fukuoka for arrival and urban orientation. Setoda's Azumi ryokan for traditional Japanese immersion. Then the guntû for the final revelation. Three distinct experiences, one coherent arc — each preparing you for the next.
03🎨
The Seto Inland Sea islands — Naoshima, Ōmishima, Ōkunoshima — carry centuries of accumulated aesthetic intelligence: traditional architecture, contemporary art museums built into hillsides, and the particular silence of an island that has not yet been discovered.
Art Islands of the Inland Sea
04🍱
Traditional Japanese Cuisine Throughout
Kaiseki aboard guntû — the most structured and considered form of Japanese dining, in which each course reflects the season and the location. Alongside: Fukuoka's celebrated ramen culture and Setoda's coastal seafood tradition.
05🚴
Cycling the Shimanami Kaidō
The Shimanami Kaidō — a series of bridges connecting six islands across the inland sea — is one of the world's great cycling routes. At island pace, with the sea on both sides and no particular destination in mind, it becomes something closer to meditation.
06⚖️
Balanced Pace — Exploration and Rest
This itinerary is constructed to avoid exhaustion. Two nights in each principal location. Mornings for exploration; afternoons for stillness. The guntû does not stop at every island — it chooses the right ones, at the right time, in the right light.
Sample Itinerary

Key Moments & Movements

The Seto Inland Sea changes with the season — spring cherry blossoms along the coastal hillsides, summer light on the water until nine in the evening, autumn colour on the island ridges. The itinerary accommodates any season; the landscape provides the context.

Every Richseen journey is individually crafted. Your private consultant will tailor each day to your preferences, pace, and passions.

Day 1
Fukuoka Arrival
Private transfer from Fukuoka Airport to The Ritz-Carlton, Fukuoka — the city's most considered luxury address, positioned above the Tenjin district with views across the city to the sea. Evening at leisure: Fukuoka's Nakasu district for the yatai street stalls, or the quieter izakayas of Daimyo.
The Ritz-Carlton, Fukuoka
Day 2
Fukuoka — Urban Exploration
Fukuoka is Japan's fastest-growing city and its least visited by international travellers — which is precisely what makes it interesting. Dazaifu Tenman-gū for the plum blossom season and the ancient shrine atmosphere; the Canal City Hakata district for the architecture; Ohori Park for the measured silence of a Japanese garden in a modern city.
The Ritz-Carlton, Fukuoka
Day 3
Transfer to Setoda — Ryokan Arrival
Private transfer east toward the Seto Inland Sea and the island of Ikuchijima. Check in to Azumi Setoda — a ryokan converted from a traditional Japanese residence in the coastal village of Setoda, with direct access to the Shimanami Kaidō cycling route and views across the Hiroshima Bay. An afternoon to arrive without agenda.
Azumi Setoda
Day 4
Setoda & Art Islands — Cycling and Culture
Morning cycling on the Shimanami Kaidō — the bridge-connected island route across the inland sea, with the water visible from both sides and the islands growing quieter as the route progresses. Afternoon: Kōsan-ji Temple in Setoda — a remarkable private temple complex built by a single man as a monument to his mother, and one of the most extraordinary architectural sites in western Japan.
Azumi Setoda
Day 5
Embark guntû — The Voyage Begins
Transfer to the embarkation point and board guntû — the most refined vessel on the Seto Inland Sea. Eighteen guests maximum. Every suite faces the water through floor-to-ceiling windows; every interior surface is Japanese hinoki cypress or washi paper. The vessel departs into the silver light of the inland sea as the afternoon begins its long decline toward evening.
guntû, Seto Inland Sea
Day 6
Inland Sea Sailing — Islands and Kaiseki
The guntû anchors off an island in the morning — guests disembark by tender for a walk through a village where the streets are too narrow for cars and the cats outnumber the residents. Return aboard for a lunch prepared from that morning's catch. Afternoon: the vessel moves slowly through the most scenic channel of the inland sea as the light changes from gold to amber. Kaiseki dinner as the stars appear over the water.
guntû, Seto Inland Sea
Day 7
Hiroshima — Disembarkation and Departure
Morning on the water before disembarkation at Hiroshima. The Peace Memorial Park and the Atomic Bomb Dome require no itinerary management — they simply require time, and the willingness to stand in a place where something very important happened. Transfer to Hiroshima Station or Hiroshima Airport for onward journey.
Sheraton Grand Hiroshima (if overnight)
Luxury Stays

Where You Rest Matters

Tenjin District, Fukuoka
Fukuoka — 2 Nights
The Ritz-Carlton, Fukuoka
Tenjin District, Fukuoka, Japan
Opened in 2023, the Ritz-Carlton Fukuoka occupies the upper floors of a tower above the Tenjin district — Fukuoka's most considered address, with views across the city and the capacity to position guests within walking distance of everything the city does best.
Setoda, Ikuchijima Island
Setoda — 1 Night
Azumi Setoda
Setoda, Ikuchijima Island, Hiroshima Prefecture
A former residential building on the Seto Inland Sea coast, converted into a ryokan of considerable restraint and intelligence. Direct access to the Shimanami Kaidō cycling route; a coastal atmosphere that is entirely removed from the pace of urban Japan.
Seto Inland Sea, Japan
Inland Sea — 2 Nights
guntû
Seto Inland Sea, Japan
Eighteen guests. Hinoki cypress baths. Floor-to-ceiling windows facing the water. Kaiseki cuisine from the morning's catch. The guntû carries the design intelligence of a Japanese ryokan, the cuisine of a kaiseki restaurant, and the complete stillness of a sea that has been calm for three hundred years of recorded history.
Exclusive Experiences

Moments Designed for You

⛵
Voyage
guntû — The Inland Sea at 10 Knots
The guntû moves at 10 knots — the pace at which the Seto Inland Sea reveals itself most honestly. Island silhouettes appear and recede; fishing boats cross the bow; the light on the water changes every thirty minutes. This is not transportation. It is the journey.
🚴
Coastal Cycling
Shimanami Kaidō — Island Bridge Route
Six islands connected by suspension bridges above the inland sea — one of the world's most considered cycling routes, where the water is visible from both sides and the islands become quieter as the route progresses. At any pace; at any distance.
🍱
Kaiseki
Traditional Japanese Dinner Aboard
Kaiseki — the most structured form of Japanese cuisine — served in the guntû dining room as the vessel moves across the dark water. Each course reflects the season, the location, and the particular intelligence of a chef who sources ingredients from the sea surrounding the hull.
🎋
Cultural Depth
Kōsan-ji Temple — A Private Monument
Built between 1936 and 1968 by a single man — Kōzō Kōsaka — as a monument to his deceased mother, Kōsan-ji reproduces architectural styles from across Japanese history on a hillside above Setoda. It is one of the most extraordinary private undertakings in the history of Japanese architecture.
Visual Journey

Through the Lens

Begin Your Story

Craft Your
Private Journey

Every detail — from your arrival in Fukuoka to your final morning on the inland sea — is composed entirely around you. Speak with your dedicated Richseen journey consultant today.

From USD 22,000+ per person

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