Note that since your passport is checked in with the ship just before the tour begins, you will need to carry a copy of your photo page (which you will receive on board) with you at ports of call to prove your identity.
The itinerary of the Mitsui Ocean Fuji, on which we boarded this time, was set to depart from Naha Port and sail around Taiwan from the bottom, visiting three cities from Tainan to Taichung. In fact, on the third and fourth days, the sea became so rough that the planned third city, Taichung, could not be reached, and the port of call was hastily changed to Keelung in the northern part of the island. According to MOL Cruises, by strengthening cooperation with local land operators on a regular basis, the company is able to respond to such sudden changes in ports of call (and the accompanying shore excursions).
One of the attractions of a cruise is to enjoy the cruise itself in a leisurely manner, but the real question is how to make the most of the ship’s stops (ports of call).
Kaohsiung (Kaohsiung), a port city in Tainan
The first port of call on the third day of the tour is Kaohsiung, a rapidly developing trade port in Taiwan. Recently, Jetstar has just launched Japan’s first Narita-Kaohsiung route in December 2025, making it more accessible from Japan, and at the same time, it is attracting more attention as a tourist destination.
Kaohsiung, like Taipei, is well served by transportation, with the subway (MRT) and light rail (LRT) lines extending from the harbor area to the center of the city in a north-south direction, and bus routes running through the blank spaces. The city is relatively compact to begin with, so it should not be difficult to get around, even if walking is involved.
Since we did not choose a port of call tour, we went sightseeing in Kaohsiung on our own. Although I attended the “port of call briefing” held on board the ship, there was no model plan, so I had to come up with a specific itinerary on my own. So, the day before, I made Google Map pins of the places I wanted to visit. I went to bed thinking that I could manage the rest by train and cab.
The next morning after disembarking from the ship, I walked out of the Kaohsiung Port terminal building and saw the light rail station right in front of me, just as a train was about to slide into the station. It would have been fine to just get on the train, but walking through the streets of an unfamiliar country is one of the best parts of traveling, and knowing even a little bit about what kind of cars are driving around, what kind of signs are posted, and what kind of lifestyle is being practiced, I think it raises the resolution of the trip. Therefore, I decided to take a short walk from the port.
It is about a 15-20 minute walk from the harbor to the MRT’s “Sanda Commercial Area”. Sanda Commercial Area is a station on the Red Line, which runs north-south in the Kaohsiung MRT network, and department stores are said to be clustered around the area. In fact, we came across a sign for Sogo (Far Eastern SOGO) in front of the station. The station was past the entrance to the department store and led underground to the premises.
When I got here, I remembered that I had not brought the “Yuyu Card” (Suica/PASMO in Japan) that I had purchased in Taipei before, but the MRT ticket machines also support touch payment of major credit cards such as Visa/JCB. The ticket machines at the station can issue paper tickets printed with QR codes (as thin as a receipt), and I tried it once to test it out, but as is the case in Japan, only tourists were issuing tickets on paper.
© Source travel watch