The Painted East

Vancouver is a sophisticated coastal city located to the south of British Columbia, Canada. The city is linguistically and ethnically diverse as reflected in the fact that 52 percent of its inhabitants do not speak English as their first language. Ranked highly in worldwide ‘liveable city’ rankings for many years and being surrounded by nature’s scenery at its best, makes tourism its second largest industry. Read more about Vancouver, Canada

Alaska’s ‘first city’ Ketchikan is situated along the shores of Alaska's Inside Passage within the heart of the Tongass National Forest. Evergreen mountains rise out of the water, the lush green landscape nurtured by the abundant rainfall of the temperate rainforest environment. Visitors are presented with a remarkable array of activities and attractions that highlight the town's history, industry and culture, and bring them up close to resident wildlife. Read more about Ketchikan, USA

Built on a narrow shelf between Mt. Juneau and the deep waters of Gastineau Channel, Juneau is Alaska's state capital and a rewarding destination for glacier viewing. Juneau is a blend of fishermen and teachers, legislators and artists, homemakers and lawyers, union workers and frontier entrepreneurs, students and Native elders, all sharing an active port city within an inspiring wilderness setting. Read more about Juneau, USA

Skagway in Alaska, USA, is an historical city where the past lives on, and a place where the romance and excitement of yesteryear linger around every street corner as well as in every bend of the trail. Gateway to the Klondike and the Gold Rush, visitors can still ride the antique White Pass and Yukon narrow-gauge railway up through silvery-purple rock faces, past Deadhorse Gulch, to see what it was like back then. While in Skagway you can easily walk around town, see all of the historical sites along the back streets and stroll down historic Broadway. Read more about Skagway, USA

Ships call at the ports of Seward and Whittier on the SE coast of Alaska as gateways to Anchorage, which is home to almost half the population of Alaska. What better way to see Alaska than taking the impressive train ride from Seward to Anchorage. You'll see wild animals, beautiful scenery, and enjoy a great meal in the diner car. Read more about Anchorage (Whittier), USA

Kushiro is the capital city of the Kushiro Subprefecture and the most populous city in eastern Hokkaido, Japan. It is situated along both banks of the mouth of the Kushiro River, facing the Pacific Ocean. The natural year-round ice-free harbour has been transformed into a very large commercial and fishing port that serves the nearby coalfield. Read more about Kushiro, Japan

Aomori is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, situated on the northernmost tip of the main Japanese island facing Hokkaido. It has a cold maritime climate with short cool summers and has heavy snowfalls in winter. It is a World Heritage Site, as it has the world's largest virgin forest of beech trees. Read more about Aomori, Japan

Miyako is a small city of 60,000 people on the eastern-most coast of Honshu, Japan's main island. The island of Miyako-jima is home to beautiful beaches, perfect for sunning, swimming and snorkelling. When you are ‘sun-spent’, migrate to the Miyako-jima City Tropical Plant Garden to marvel at over 1,500 species of exotic tropical plants. Read more about Miyako, Japan

Tokyo, located on the eastern side of the main island of Honshu, is the core of the most populated area in the world (urban area 38M). The small fishing village of Edo was fortified in 1457 with Edo Castle (The Imperial Palace now stands at this location) and became one of the largest cities in the world by the 18th C. Its stringent policy of seclusion ended in 1854 and opened Japan to outside trade. Read more about Tokyo, Japan

Shimizu is located on the coast of Suruga Bay, 140km SW of Tokyo, on the island of Honshu, facing the Pacific Ocean. Shimizu-ku is actually a ward or sub-division of the city of Shiuoka. The Kakita River flows through the town. Read more about Shimizu, Japan

Tokushima is the capital city of Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku Island, Japan. The city of a quarter million is a typical Japanese castle town. Tokushima Castle was built in 1587. Read more about Tokushima, Japan

Kobe is the capital of the Hyogo Prefecture and lies on the southern side of the main island of Honshu, Japan. A cosmopolitan port city with an international flavour it is hemmed in by Mt. Rokko, and it constantly comes up number one in expatriate rankings of the best place to live in Japan. Read more about Kobe, Japan

Kochi is the capital of Kochi Prefecture on the southern coast of Shikoku Island, Japan. The city is small and friendly, with a casual atmosphere and a dose of southern flair. It boasts several attractions of interest to travellers. Read more about Kochi, Japan

The capital of the prefecture of the same name, Hiroshima, situated at the centre of the Chugoku region in western Honshu – Japan’s largest island – is possibly best known for being the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon. Today, though, it is a modern cosmopolitan city with wide boulevards and criss-crossing rivers. Many of the famous attractions are connected to the horrific split second of the bomb blast on August 6, 1945, and are truly well worth visiting. Read more about Hiroshima, Japan

Busan (formerly Pusan), the second largest city and principal port of South Korea, is situated in the SE of the peninsula on the Korea Strait. The city has many steep hills, creating a delightful mix of mountains and ocean. While Busan was relatively untouched during the Korean War, the flood of refugees has shaped the city. Read more about Busan, South Korea

Nagasaki City, on the island of Kyushu in Japan, lies at the heart of Nagasaki-hanto Peninsula. As one of Japan's closest port cities to the Asian mainland, Nagasaki has played a prominent role in foreign trade relations for many centuries. This is a port city that developed up the steep slope of a mountain, while also stretching horizontally to hug the Nagasaki Gulf. Read more about Nagasaki, Japan

Beppu, a city that overlooks Beppu Bay and is backed by mountains, is located in the Oita Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It is considered to be Japan’s hot springs capital as it has the second largest volume of hot water in the world - after Yellowstone in the United States - and the largest number of hot spring sources in Japan. This tourist town has nine spectacular geothermal hot springs that are referred to as the ‘nine hells of Beppu’, certainly the major attraction for visitors. Read more about Beppu, Japan

Tokyo, located on the eastern side of the main island of Honshu, is the core of the most populated area in the world (urban area 38M). The small fishing village of Edo was fortified in 1457 with Edo Castle (The Imperial Palace now stands at this location) and became one of the largest cities in the world by the 18th C. Its stringent policy of seclusion ended in 1854 and opened Japan to outside trade. Read more about Tokyo, Japan