Asuka Cruises announced that Captain Minoru Taguchi, the 14th captain in the company’s history, will retire from his position aboard Asuka II at the end of September.

Taguchi will complete his final voyage with the Yokohama-Kobe Autumn Cruise, departing Yokohama on September 27 and arriving in Kobe on September 29, 2026.

He took command of Asuka II in late 2022, at a challenging time when the cruise industry was still dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. As operations returned to normal, Taguchi went on to lead the ship through several important voyages marking Asuka Cruises’ return to long-distance cruising.

Among them was Asuka II’s first round-the-world cruise in six years in 2024, followed by its first Grand Oceania Cruise in seven years in 2025 and the Alaska-Hawaii Grand Cruise in 2026, also the first such voyage in seven years.

Looking back on his time at the helm, Taguchi said his years aboard Asuka II felt like a journey to restore the ship to the way it was before the difficult pandemic period.

Some destinations left particularly strong memories for the veteran captain, including the Manhattan skyline in New York, the clear skies over Milford Sound in New Zealand and the peaceful scenery of College Fjord in Alaska.

In his farewell message to passengers, Taguchi said that beyond the destinations and smooth voyages, the people he met during his time aboard Asuka II would remain his greatest memory.

“Above all, meeting our passengers and all those involved who dedicated themselves to the Asuka II has become an invaluable treasure for me,” he said.

With around two months remaining before his retirement, Taguchi said he hopes to spend as much time as possible aboard the ship saying goodbye to passengers and those he has worked with during his years in command.