East Asia Expedition: From the Wild North to Hiroshima's Heritage

Otaru is a small city and port on the island of Hokkaido, Japan, NW of the larger city of Sapporo. It faces on the west the Sea of Japan and mainland China. The original inhabitants were indigenous Ainu people. Read more about Otaru, Japan

Hakodate is the largest city and port in southern Hokkaido, Japan. It is considered to have – as seen from Mt. Hakodate – one of the world's most impressive nightscapes, particularly from June through March, when the bright lights emitted from the squid fishing vessels add a touch of romantic inspiration. Read more about Hakodate, Japan

Sakata – a “city of rice” – is city of 105,000 on Japan’s island Honshu, facing the Sea of Japan. It is 1000km due east of North Korea. It has the Mogami River running through it, and 25km to the NE is the symmetrical 2236m Mount Chokai, in the Chokai Quasi-National Park. Read more about Sakata, Japan

Sado Island, which lies in the Sea of Japan off the coast of Honshu between the Kansai area and the northern areas of the archipelago, since 2004 has been almost completely comprised by the city of Sado, though not all of its area has been urbanised. In times past it was, for centuries, a penal colony where government intellectuals were banished into harsh exile. Read more about Sado Island, Japan

Maizuru is a small but major port city in Kyoto Prefecture, on the island of Honshu, situated on an inlet off the Sea of Japan. Maizuru harbour is a spread of drowned river valleys, established as a naval port since 1901. After WWII, Maizuru was a key port for returning Japanese servicemen. Read more about Maizuru, Japan

Sakaiminato is an important fishing port facing Mihio Bay and the Sea of Japan to the east, and inland Lake Nakaumi to the west. It lies in the middle of West Japan. South of the port is the sweeping 15km Yumi-ga-Hama Beach, and 30km to the ESE rises the great snow-capped summit of Mt. Read more about Sakaiminato (for Matsue), 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

Shimonoseki is located at the SW tip of Honshu, Japan. It faces the narrow Tsushima Strait that separates Japan’s largest island Honshu from Kyushu to the south. The 20 km strait links the Sea of Japan on the west, to the Inland Sea on the east. Read more about Shimonoseki, 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

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